Landscaping in Pflugerville, on the deepest clay in the service area
Pflugerville is 68,000 people, 70 percent of them owning their home, in subdivisions that went up fast on Blackland Prairie east of I-35. The clay grows a lawn like nowhere else in the metro, and it also cracks in August, heaves in a wet winter and floods a side yard in an hour.
Pflugerville's housing is 70 percent owner-occupied with a median home of $402,400 and a median household income of $117,799, by the Census Bureau's count: young families, newer homes, and yards that came with the house. The city grew from the small German farm town around Pecan Street into Falcon Pointe, Blackhawk, Avalon, Highland Park and the streets around Lake Pflugerville, nearly all of it since 2000. The ground is deep Blackland clay, black and sticky, the best lawn soil in Central Texas and the worst drainage.
The clay sets the work. Lawns here want Bermuda or Zoysia in the sun, fed and pre-emerged on schedule, aerated every fall because the clay compacts, and mowed only when dry because a wet clay lawn ruts for a season. Drainage is the other half: side yards and back corners that hold water after every storm get a swale, a French drain or a dry creek bed, and patios and walls get the gravel base and the footing drain that clay demands. Beds are built up and amended, because clay that is not amended becomes a brick in July and a bog in January.
Trees are younger here than in Austin, mostly red oaks, cedar elms, live oaks and crape myrtles planted by builders, now big enough to need structural pruning and, in a few cases, big enough to be protected under Pflugerville's ordinance. HOAs review front yards in Falcon Pointe, Blackhawk and the newer communities. Pflugerville is a short run up I-35 and on the daily route.
What Pflugerville yards get
Clay lawn programs
Bermuda and Zoysia fed, pre-emerged and aerated every fall on compacted Blackland clay.
Drainage fixes
Swales, French drains and dry creek beds for the side yards and corners that flood.
Beds built up
Raised and amended beds so plants have something other than brick or bog to root in.
Young trees shaped
Builder red oaks, cedar elms and crape myrtles given structural pruning while it is cheap.
Hardscape with drainage
Patios and walls on gravel base with footing drains, built for clay that moves.
HOA review handled
Falcon Pointe, Blackhawk, Avalon and the rest submitted before front-yard work.
Neighborhoods and roads
- Falcon Pointe
- Blackhawk
- Avalon
- Highland Park
- Lake Pflugerville area
- Old Town / Pecan Street
- Pfluger Farm
- Springbrook
- Wells Branch (adjacent)
- Pflugerville Parkway corridor
- FM 685 corridor
- Pflugerville 78660 · 78691
Services in Pflugerville
- Lawn care, mowing, beds and mulch, sod
- Tree trimming, tree removal, stump grinding
- Landscape design, patios and walls, xeriscaping, lighting, irrigation repair
Asked in Pflugerville
Why does my yard flood every time it rains?
Blackland clay does not absorb water fast, and most lots were graded flat. A swale or a French drain to the street, or a dry creek bed, moves the water; the walk-through happens after a rain if possible.
Can you mow when the ground is wet?
Not on this clay. Ruts from a wet mow last the season. A rain day moves the visit to the next dry day at the same price.
Why aerate every year?
Clay compacts under foot traffic and summer heat until roots and water cannot get in. Core aeration each fall is the single most useful thing for a Pflugerville lawn.
My builder-planted red oak is leaning. Is it a problem?
Often a staking or root-flare issue from planting. Structural pruning and a corrected stake fix most young trees; a tree planted too deep is dug and reset while it is small.
Does Pflugerville protect trees?
The city has a tree ordinance for larger trees. Most of Pflugerville's trees are still under the threshold, but the contractor measures before any removal.
Is there a travel charge to Pflugerville?
No. Same prices across the service area.
Nearby: Round Rock · Hutto · South Austin · whole service area