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A.  You want to cut back the spent blooms to the next 5-leaved stem. If the specimen produces hips, this will promote further blooming. For non-hip roses, it keeps them tidy and fends off disease. With shrub roses-modern or antique-you can shear them to bring on more growth and flowers. Fertilize and water after shearing or pruning. A light shear and prune in fall will bring on fall color.

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Esperanza

Esperanza (Tecoma stans), also known as Yellow Bells, is a spectacular heat-tolerant Texas native with striking masses of golden yellow, trumpet-shaped flowers. It blooms profusely through the hottest Texas summers and is highly resistant to pests and diseases. The variety 'Gold Star' begins blooming earlier than the standard, native type and has a denser growth habit. A new variety called 'Orange Jubilee' bears beautiful orange blooms. Provide Esperanza a full sun to part shade exposure and a little moisture to help get it established. Once established it can tolerate periodic dry conditions.

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• Time to get in the summer vegetables! This includes squash, cucumbers, sweet potato slips, black-eyed peas, and winter squash like pumpkins.
• Avoid over-watering the lawn. A lot of people are already bringing in disease samples from their turf. With our recent rains, there's no reason to add water to the lawn-it can go far longer than five days at this time of year. Over-watering also leads to shallow root systems, which makes it harder to handle summer's tough conditions.
• Finally, we're accepting applications for our Fall Master Gardener Class and look forward to hearing from you. -- Call (512) 854-9600, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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