Temple Texas Garden Club

08/17/2026

It’s hot out there...and your plants are feeling it, too!

When plants experience heat and water stress, there’s more happening than the wilting we can see. Stress can change a plant’s chemistry, including the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) it releases into the air.

And insects are remarkably good at detecting chemical cues.

Some plant-feeding insects can use changes in plant volatiles to help locate or evaluate potential host plants. Heat and drought stress can also affect sugars, amino acids, and defensive compounds within plant tissues.

Does that mean every wilted plant is sending out a dinner invitation to every pest? No! The relationship is more complicated than that. Responses vary by plant, insect, and the type and severity of the stress. In some cases, stressed plants may become more attractive or suitable to certain pests; in others, they may become less suitable.

The takeaway for gardeners is simple: reducing unnecessary plant stress is another part of good pest management.

💧 Water deeply enough to reach the root zone rather than relying on frequent shallow watering.
🌱 Mulch to conserve soil moisture and moderate soil temperature.
🪴 Keep an especially close eye on containers, which can dry out quickly in summer.
🔎 Check stressed plants regularly for early signs of insect activity.
☀️ And remember—a plant that wilts during the hottest part of a Texas afternoon isn't necessarily thirsty. Check the soil before automatically adding more water.

Healthy plants aren't pest-proof, but giving them the water and growing conditions they need helps them cope with both our Central Texas summer and the insects sharing the garden with them.

📚 Want to dig into the science? University of Illinois Extension discusses the relationship between drought stress and plant-feeding insects here:https://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/pastpest/200516f.html?utm

08/17/2026

Monarchs have many predators! Birds like the California towhee eat larvae, while ants, spiders, and other insects prey on eggs and larvae on milkweed plants. Wasps and tachinid flies attack the pupae.

08/17/2026

Ready! Set! Go! 🇲🇽

08/17/2026

08/17/2026

08/17/2026

Pasture mealybug has spread to 79 counties in Texas, putting grazing and forage grasses at risk. Losses could run $100 million to more than $1 billion a year, AgriLife Extension economists say.

Our updated fact sheet covers Centric 40WG, the first EPA-approved treatment, plus ID and monitoring tips. Get it here 🔗 tx.ag/PastureMealybugUpdate

08/17/2026

Already attended General Orientation? Join us again for Team Orientation!

Our first orientation introduced the 2026 Texas Native Plant Celebration and how volunteers can get involved. This next session goes a step further.

We'll focus on team roles, volunteer coordination, and the tools and resources available to help make your H-E-B tabling event a success. Whether you're serving as a Team Lead, Table Point of Contact, or volunteer, you'll leave with a better understanding of how local teams will work together and where to find the support you need.

📅 August 6
🌿 1:00 pm: https://tinyurl.com/3traxmn7
🌿 6:00 pm: https://tinyurl.com/mt84wbkf

If you attended the first orientation, we encourage you to join us again. This session builds on the introduction and is designed to help prepare volunteers for a successful event this October.

08/17/2026

PLANTS FIGHT BACK!

Plants can’t run away when something wants to eat them, so they’ve developed some pretty clever ways to discourage hungry visitors!

🌵 Physical defenses like thorns, spines, prickles, and irritating hairs can make a plant difficult or uncomfortable to eat.

🤢 Taste and texture can help, too. Bitter or unpleasant compounds may encourage an herbivore to move along to something else.

🧪 And then there are chemical defenses. Plants naturally produce an incredible variety of chemical compounds, some of which can cause irritation, digestive upset, or more serious effects when eaten.

But plant toxicity isn’t always as simple as “toxic” or “not toxic.” The potential effect can depend on the plant, the part of the plant eaten, the amount consumed, and the species doing the eating.

That’s one reason an important part of gardening is simply knowing what’s growing in your landscape.

👧 Teach children not to taste unfamiliar plants.
🐾 If you have pets that like to nibble, learn about the plants they can access and which ones may pose a risk.
🌱 And never assume that a pretty berry, flower, or leaf is edible just because it looks tempting!

Plants have spent millions of years developing ways to say “Don’t eat me!” Learning a little about those defenses gives us one more fascinating way to understand what’s happening in our gardens.

📚 Want to learn more? Knowing what’s growing around your home is an important part of keeping both people and pets safe. For information about plants and children, check out Poison Control’s free guide to poisonous and non-poisonous plants. Pet owners can also learn more from Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine’s Springing to Action: Shielding Pets From Plant Toxins, which explains common plant hazards and what to do if you suspect your pet has eaten something harmful.
https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk/spring-plant-toxins-pets-safety/
https://www.poison.org/articles/plant

08/17/2026