Gardening with Texas Native plants & Wildflowers. Part 4

Another. This shows most of the plant.

Trois,
Could this be one of your unidentified flowers from above? Was looking for purslane and came across this - Calandrinia breweri or Brewers Redmaids.

Last one. This shows leaves and stems.

Sugerfoot, I don't think so. The tiny pink flowers we have have a yellow center.
Could you post a larger picture?

Wow! you guys are putting me to shame. Keep it up, Please.

Does anyone know what this is? I had been watching it thinking that I had planted seeds, but it appears to be a "weed" maybe a native, here...

Melanie

Here is a closeup of the pretty flower....

Trois, Here is my Eupatorium Greggs Mist Flower... Looks like yours, too, maybe...

A late post of photos from my spring garden. The bluebonnets are gone now and the Hinckley Columbine has gone to seed.

TXMel, that does look like the Mist Flower that I have, but mine is not blooming yet.

That yellow flower is new to me, but it is an attractive plant.

Great looking yard, barb_tx. I wish we could grow Columbine.

This message was edited Jun 4, 2005 7:10 AM

Trois, The Hinckley Columbine is the only one I can get to grow here. It stays on the the shady side of the birdbath and gets lots of water (and fertilizer from the birds). You might be able to grow it in a similiar situation. It will only grow for me in this one spot in the yard.

I have been lurking and looking at all the beautiful photos of the plants we can grow in our state. This is a great thread (s).

Barb

Barb, welcome to the tread, and thank you for sharing your pictures, aren't Texas native plants great? So much to learn, and so much fun in the process.
Josephine.

I think I just found another I haven't seen before. I think it's a bland looking Horse Mint. Rubbing the leaves smells like a freshly sharpened pencil with a dab of toothpaste on it. I have a picture somewhere.

Josephine - I just finished ready 1,2,3, and now 4 - wow I went on a check in the field I told you about and found a few - I will bring some photos on the 8th to show ya (my camera is on the out again, one day works three does not). If I can get it going again I will get them on here - wow some great plants! Mitch

trois, have you ever dabbed toothpaste on a freshly sharpened pencil? (Not that there's anything wrong with that, just thought I'd ask.) :-)

TexMel,
Did you plant any safflower seeds? The photo of t he yellow flower surrounded by prickly bracts looks like Safflower, Carthamus thinctorius.
Veronica


http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_browseimgs_plant_sci&enlarge=0000+0000+0802+0102

No, I never did that. If you come across one of these plants, try and see about that smell. They don't both happen at once, first the sharpened pencil smell, then a faint toothpaste smell is added.

No, veronica, I don't think that i did plant them. Now I'm really upset. My hubby pulled them up yesterday. hates weeds, and imagined that we'd have zillions of them if they went to seed. NOW I see that those seeds were worth a fortune! Have you SEEN the price of safflower....? $$$

Mel

TexMel,
I have some of these plante that came up under my birdfeeder. Will post a pic later but I'm pretty sure it's the same plant.
Linda

I had never seen the Saflower, and I was going to do some research, but I am glad Veronica found out what it is. They are really neat, I guess they came from the bird food.

Mel, if you feel bad about having lost them, just find the seed in the bird mix and plant yourself some, it shouln't be hard. Josephine.

It really shouldn't be hard, considering the great germination rate of spilled birdseed!

(Hmmm... maybe that's how I should try to start ALL my seeds. Place them in the birdfeeder, they spill, they grow! Much better success than when I try to start things myself!)

I was doing some work on the slope Sunday and look what I found.
A little Partridge Pea seedling growing out of the asphalt, they are willing, aren't they?

I have those Frostweed!!!! They are going in the side bed - so I want to keep'um right? LOL What does the flower look like?

Hello Mitch, that is great, I posted some pictures of the flowers on this thread about 50 posts back, or you can see it on the plants files. It is an annual and it has a lovely yellow flower.

I am glad you went exploring on the field close to your house, it is amazing what we can find if we look closely.

I am still looking about the trees, will look through my books today. Josephine.

Thanks Josephine - I will hunt it up - so many plant sin this thread it is hard to keep them all strait! I will start looking for the seeds then for in the yard next year - Mitch

Hello Mitch, since you are looking for some good shade trees that are native, I thought I would post the list here. I hope it helps you, and whoever needs trees. I will start with the large, deciduous shade trees.

Bur Oak, ( Quercus macrocarpa ) Fast growing, deciduous, 50 to 75 feet shade tree.

Bald Cypress, ( Taxodium distichum ) Fast growing, deciduous, 50 to 100 feet shade tree.

White Ash, ( Fraxinus americana ) Fast growing, 30 to 80 feet, deciduous shade tree.

Green Ash, ( Fraxinus pensylvanica ) Fast growing, 30 to 80 feet, decduous shade tree.

Cedar Elm ( Ulmus crassifolia ) Medium fast, deciduous, 30 to 60 feet shade tree.

Sweetgum, ( Liquidumbar styraciflua ) Medium fast, beautiful color, 30 to 90 feet, deciduous.

Texas or Spanish Oak, ( Quercus Texana ) Slow growth, beautiful color, 15 to 50 feet.

Pecan, ( Carya illinoiensis ) Slow but worth it, 50 to 90 feet, deciduous nut bearing shade tree.

Red Maple, ( Acer rubrum ) Slow, beautiful color, 30 to 90 feet, deciduous tree.

Southern Sugar Maple, ( Acer barbatum ) Slow, great color 30 to 90 feet.

If you have questions let me know. Tomorrow I will post a list of medium decidous trees.

Josephine.

Oh thank you thank you thank you!!!! waiting for the rest fo the list!

Josephine, I must have missed that Partridge Pea post. I have that stuff - or at least something that looks just like that seedling - coming up all over the place! I've been pulling it, guess I'll let a few grow. I was looking around in the back yard, and noticed this seed pod, apparently from one of the cross vines. It's the first time I've ever seen one, and I have LOTS of cross vines, have I just been blind before? Maybe I was always pulling the vines down before they got a chance to form the pods. Should I just wait until it turns brown or something, to harvest the seed?

You know.... it makes sense now! I bought Safflower seeds for my Cardinals a few months back! I enjoyed watching them feed on it alot. It never dawned on me to see what the flowers or plants looked like! That has to be it!

I wish I had not let him pull them up, but BOY the points were very sharp on them!

I learn so much here! %>)

Mel

Yes Maggiemoo, the pod should be brown and dry before you pick it.
Actually the reason you haven't seen seed pods before is because they hardly make any.
I hardly ever see pods on mine, and I have never tried to grow them from seed, although I suppose it is possible. May be you can try it and see if you have any luck, you never know.
Josephine.

Remember how lush my Tangerine Crossvine was in early spring....? Well, she gets LOTS of pods on her! I pull them off, cause they are not attractive. I would be glad to save pods for anyone that wants to give them a try!

Mel

I'd love to try the crossvine if you'd save a few pods!!

I will do that!

Mel

Mel, I would love to try the crossvine also. Please save some for me.
Veronica

If you would email me at melharris@dot11net.net I will make a list and mail them when they are ready. If it gets out of control, I may ask for postage.... ; )

mel

Email is correct now... sorry, try again!

m-

This message was edited Jun 1, 2005 4:41 PM

Last fall we thought it was so "cute" that the squirrel was gathering the native pecans in our back yard and burying them. Never did we dream that the germination rate would be so high. Counted 24 in my flowerbeds yesterday. I'll try to pot them up if anyone is interested.

Linda

Anyone want oaks? Each year the squirells here are so generous as to plant them all over the place - walkways, lawn, flowerbeds, containers - about two or three inches apart, so there are plenty more even after all the pulling I've been doing.

Want ash trees? The trees themselves are very generous to drop thousands of seeds every Spring, they must have about a 99.9% germination rate!

;->

Maggiemoo - what type of Ash are they?

I think someone told me once they are white ash? (I'm just barely getting perrenials down, I don't know nuthin' 'bout trees.)

That is likely correct. We have a lot of those here. Along the Bayou some are up to about 70 feet tall. Most are 35 to 45 feet tall. They like a lot of water and do not require a "well drained soil"