How to Master Oklahoma Gardening in 2024

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And no, I don’t mean 🎄🎅🎁 that most wonderful time, I mean the time when we get to start planning our gardens 🌷🌻🌺🌼 YAY YAY YAY!

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am a huge gardening nerd when it comes to planning what I want to grow and what I want my landscaping to look like, etc. But, with Oklahoma’s dang unpredictable weather, I have a hard time keeping everything alive.

In my 3 years of owning a home and diving head first into the world of gardening in Oklahoma, I have learned SO much, and thought I’d write out what I learned to work towards having a successful (dare I say, fruitful😏) year of Oklahoma gardening.

I have learned from many sources: by trial and error, from my mom who is a lifelong gardener, attending various seminars on lawn care, gardening, and even the tie between food and gardening and indigenous cultures, and countless YouTube/TikTok videos.

With that being said, I AM NOT AN EXPERT. So take my advice with caution, seek advice from an actual professional, and/or go with your gut! Some plants will die and that’s just a reality of becoming a plant parent.

Let’s get into it!

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General Guidelines

When to Plant

Most of Oklahoma is in Plant Hardiness Zone 7. This basically gives you a general guideline of when to plant what. But because Oklahoma’s weather (and let’s be real, climate change isn’t helping) is so unpredictable, it’s hard to say “start planting on April 15th”, because April 15th could be 100 degrees or 30 degrees.

GENERALLY, Oklahomans can start planting outdoor, in-ground plants around mid-April. But be careful of extreme weather. If the temps get high in April, be sure to keep up with watering your plants. If we get a second wave of winter weather, make sure you cover your plants if possible. Water ahead of the cold, and insulate with mulch where you can.

Where to Plant

Do not dig anywhere on your property until you have called 811. They will send out a representative from each utility and mark where any underground lines are. This service is free and helps prevent damaged power, sewer, or other utility lines you may have where you were planning to build out your flower bed.

Account for growth when planning the placement of things. If you are wanting to plant a tree, account for its maximum size once it’s fully matured. Don’t plant a tree next to your front porch. You will not be happy if you have to cut it back each year to keep it from blocking the doorway.

The same goes for planting near the house. The roots of your plant will span out several inches (maybe feet, depending on the plant), so you don’t want the roots going under the house and messing with the foundation.

Another trick to gardening in Oklahoma that you have to consider is our soil. I once heard a master gardener say “You can’t put a $50 plant in $5 soil but you can put a $5 plant in $50 soil.” Basically meaning that the investment should be more on the soil/soil amendment side than trying to find the most expensive plant. The red clay/dirt doesn’t play nicely with most plants so you’ll want to make sure you are placing your plants in organic matter like compost or a soil mixture.

Also, make sure you save room in between plants. Use the info on the plant’s tag to determine how big it will get, and for good measure, add a few inches of buffer between each plant.

Also ALSO, account for sun/shade. When I first started planting (and having just moved into a new house) I wanted to make sure I knew what types of plants would thrive in the places I wanted to have plants. I went outside at different times of the day to see how much sun that area would get. If it’s sunny most of the day, you’ll want heat-hardy plants. If it only sees 6 hours or less of sun in a day, you’ll want plants that can tolerate shady conditions.

What to Plant

Well, that’s up to you! My general rule of thumb, especially if you are just getting started, is to start small. Don’t try recreating the Pinterest garden you admire so much. It won’t look like that at first, and that’s totally ok!

Check out your local garden center and see what they have in stock. Unlike Lowe’s or Home Depot, the local nurseries will sell what grows in Oklahoma, so you won’t have to worry about what zone each particular plant will thrive in.

TLC Garden Center is my favorite garden center in Oklahoma City. Their staff can help answer any specific question you may have, and they host free seminars where they outline the fundamentals of gardening, growing fruits and vegetables, and lawn care in Oklahoma.

Another tip (that I often ignore because I think my neighborhood is BASIC) is to look around your neighborhood and see what plants exist. That will tell you what works through all seasons. My neighborhood is FULL of box bushes and they are my least favorite plant on the entire earth, but they work in Oklahoma!

Vegetable and Fruit Gardening

This is something I am just starting to dip into, and TBH it’s been somewhat frustrating. Because of the extreme heat the last 2 years, I have had trouble growing things like cucumbers and herbs. Peppers of all kinds have thrived in my garden – they love the heat – but nearly every other type of edible plant has not had a good time. Radishes are supposed to be a very easy and quick harvesting plant. About 50% of our trial run grew to full size.

Basically, do your research if you don’t want to waste a bunch of money testing things that may or may not work. And if you find anything that works, let a girl know so I can also have fresh veggies in my backyard 😆

Another tip I would say is to learn about what has historically done well, how the indigenous tribes in this area grew their crops, and take from that information and adjust it with current weather and soil conditions.

Resources

Again, because I’m not an expert, I encourage you to contact your local garden center, master gardeners club, etc. to learn more. This post was really just meant to show what I (a plant novice) have learned so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming.

Here are a few resources that I use and suggest when wanting to learn more about Oklahoma gardening.

TLC Garden Center: They have 2 locations in OKC and have an endless wealth of resources – classes, blogs, professionals, all of it.

OSU-OKC Extension: They have a ton of resources online and host events and classes throughout the year. They also have a Master Gardener program to either learn from or join if you’d like!

Bustani Plant Farm: Located in Stillwater, Bustani has an amazing variety of unique plants. This is honestly my favorite place to buy plants in Oklahoma. Yes, it is worth the 1-hour drive from OKC to Stilly. They host workshops and have experts on-site to answer all your questions.

Southwood Garden Center: If you are in the Tulsa area, check out Southwood. They not only have a huge variety of annuals and perennials, but they also offer a ton of additional services, like potting your plants for you, designing your garden, lawn care, etc. They also have a ton of home decor so it’s basically the best of both worlds as far as shopping goes.

There are so many benefits to being out in the sun and digging in the dirt, so I hope you get as much joy out of gardening in Oklahoma as I do.