Beginner Gardening: Acid Loving Plants, 1 by DaleTheGardener

DaleTheGardener wrote:
Patty,

All the plants you have, Brunfelsia, Mimosa and Stephanotis vine will grow in well amended clay soil.

The Brunfelsia may freeze back to the ground in a real bad winter, but, if you pile up leaves around the base (remove them in Spring) you will have better luck with regrowth. I suspect you have B. pauciflora, it blooms in early spring. I don't grow that species because it's bloom season is so short here in the heat. I grow B. grandiflora because it blooms in winter, all winter as a matter of fact , for about 4 months.

I grew Mimosa julibrissin (the tree) in the ground when I lived in Austin. It was in heavy black clay that is so common around that area. They only problem it has is borers. You can beat them by heaping gravel around the base of the tree. Borers have to lay their eggs on the bark, at the base, at the soil line. If you keep them away from that area with gravel they can't attack your tree.

Stephanotis vine is a tropical that doesn't care for Zone 10's cool winters. Keep it in a big pot in the warmest location you have available. Bring it in when frost threatens. If you spray it with Neem oil in Nov and Feb you should have less problems in winter.

DP,

There is a Bauhinia that is native to Texas, Bauhinia lunarioides (congesta). It is not as showy as the tropical ones that we grow in FL, but, I have seen it and it is a charming shrub/small tree.

These folks have it> http://www.nativesoftexas.com/catalog.html

Bauhinia galipinii @Disney in Orlando>