Wow! more and more learning and sharing. This is superb! What a team!
Gardening with Texas Native plants & Wildflowers. Part 4
Mel,
I tried to send you an e-mail regarding the crossvine seeds, but my e-mail was returned undeliverable. Please put me on your list.
Veronica
lots of water - well not for me then :-) looked them up stunning trees . . . everything pointed to water. I bet ya if you posted a few on the trading area you could get rid of a bunch (got rid of a few of nextdoors baby elms that way)
Oh, but that means I would have to go around digging holes everywhere! I already have squirrels doing that, I don't want to add to it. (Hey, maybe I could train the squirrels to pot them up for me...)
This is the list of small to medium deciduous native trees, including flowering trees.
Of course this is by no means a comprehensive list, just the ones I think will do well, are very attractive and easy to grow.
Redbud, ( Cersis canadensis ) Fast growing, deciduous flowering tree, 15 to 30 feet.
Prairie Flameleaf Sumac, ( Rhus lanceolata ) Fast grwoing deciduous, 15 to 30 feet, Beautiful fall color.
Goldenball Leadtree, ( Luceana retusa ) Fast growing deciduous tree, 15 to 25 feet. Lovely golden, scented, fuzzy balls.
Deser Willow, ( Chilopsis linearis ) Fast growing deciduous tree, 10 to 25 feet. Lovely orchid like flowers all summer, delicate honey like scent.
Mexican Plum, ( Prunus mexicana ) Fast growing deciduous tree, 15 to 25 feet. Lovely white flowers in early Spring, followed by fruits much loved by birds.
Red Buckeye, ( Aesculus pavia ) Slow growing understory tree, deciduous, 10 to 25 feet.
Beautiful clusters of red flwers in Spring, unusual foliage.
Flowering Dogwood, ( Cornus florida ) Slow growing understory tree, 15 to 25 feet. Beautiful flowers in Spring red fruits in the Fall.
Possom Haw, ( Ilex decidua ) Medium fast, deciduous tree, 15 to 25 feet, red berries in the Fall that remain on the tree through the Winter, good for the birds.
Desert Bird of Paradise, ( Caesalpinia gillesii ) Adapted native, 5 to 10 feet tall. Beautiful exotic looking flowers Spring and Summer.
Eve's Necklace, ( Sophora affinis ) deciduous tree 10 to 20 feet. Lovely cascade of flowers in Spring, followed by interesting seed pods.
I have some seeds of the Mexican Bird of Paradise, AKA Pride of Barbados. They get about 6 to 8 feet tall, bloom with red and orange flowers.
Last summer a truck driver delivered something to us and he said" those are the prettiest flowers I have ever seen. Do you have some seeds I could give to my wife" So I gave him a bunch. Never heard from him again.
This message was edited Jun 1, 2005 3:43 PM
Well I sure would like to have someTrois, and I promise, You will hear from me again, even more than once. I know what you mean though, I have gone out of my way to send seeds to people who asked out of the blue, and the same thing happened, but you never know, you may have given a lot of joy to someone, good deeds are never wasted.
I was not upset with the man. I hope they did bring joy to someone. I never expected any feedback.
I will be happe to send you some. They should be root hardy where you live, especially if you do about 6 or 8 inches of mulch around the base for winter.
Is your mailing address listed?
Sorry, veronica... I updated my email... just take out the 5... forgot my own address! : (
try again, ya'll.
Mel
melharris@dot11net.net
Thank you Trois, yes, my address is listed. Josephine.
Got it.
I just a few minutes ago spotted the first Salt Marsh MG blooming. This one is only a couple of inches high, but the flower is still 4 inches plus.
This message was edited Jun 1, 2005 6:45 PM
Lots of flowers on the trees - now I have like a mile long list to get down to the 5 or 6 best. . . Mitch
For those of you that thought I was giving you an Evergreen Wisteria, one of the plants I kept has bloomed. Yesterday it was pink, today this is how it looks.
I hope this helps.
WWWWWOOOOOOWWWWWW !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
While I was down in the swamp earlier today, I found a patch of these. Any ideas?
Hmmm, some sort of gall?
John, as in gallstone? :-)
And a whole patch just alike?
They're caused by an insect.
Cut one open and see if there is a critter in there.
I guess I will have to try that.
they are from a wasp right? at least that is what we were told long ago to keep up from playing with them...
Wasps lay an egg in the tissue so if you see anythings it would be the larvae. If there's a hole in the gall the larvae became a wasp and flew the coop — gall.
Thanks for the information. They just look so perfect, like inline tomatos.
This message was edited Jun 2, 2005 2:38 PM
Trois, that was my thought too, inline tomatos that hadn't ripened yet.
Since rhere are several, I guess I will open one today and see what's in there.
They still look like tomatos.
So is that vine that bloomed, a snail vine? Ohhh one on my want list! So it grew fast, huh?
I'm not sure if that is a snail vine or not. My daughter that professes to know nothing about plants took one look and said "
Snail Vine" I hope for a verdict soon.
If you drop by to of from your cruise at Galveston, you can dig one up for your self.
Google "Goldenrod Gall Flies" There is a very interesting article about the Gall Fly, and the Wasps that eat them, as well as the Downey Woodpeckers also eat them. They stay in the plant for a year, and the adults never eat.
trois
Trois, which plants are the galls on, is it one kind? or different kinds of plants.
OOOohhhh. I just might do that! We come down there on the 26th, and ship leaves 27th. I will see what the timing is like. We are meeting another family at the port, so my kids will be anxious to get there. If you could email me an address and phone, I will return my phone # too.
thanks! Can I bring YOU something?
mel
Very cool, Trois!
Here is a list of evergreen native trees, starting with the largest.
Coastal Live Oak, ( Quercus virginiana ) Slow growing tree, dense shade, 30 to 60 feet.
American Holly, ( Ilex opaca ) Slow growing beautiful tree, red berries for the birds, 20 to 50 feet.
Laurel Cherry, ( Prunus caroliniana ) Fast growing,lovely flowers, black berries for the birds,20 to 40 feet.
Yaupon Holly, ( Ilex vomitoria) Fast growing small tree, with red berries loved by the birds, 15 to 20 feet.
Wax Myrtle, ( Myrica cerifera) Fast growing small tree, nutlets in the fall for the birds, 6 to 15 feet.
Texas Mountain Laurel, ( Sophora secundiflora) Slow growing small tree, beautiful flowers,10 to 15 feet
I hope this will be useful in your selection. Remember to have an evergreen area for your winter bird shelter. Josephine.
This message was edited Jun 2, 2005 2:35 PM
Right - everygreen for the birds, does it need to be a tree (they are going to be small to start) or are some larges bushes ok? I just saw a Wax Myrtle today and wondered if it was a native. Fosters I20 and Hamoton clained to have Texas Sage 6 for 15 but nada once I got over there so I will keep looking. Do you have a fav place to get trees at Josephine in the area? You just thought it was one easy question right? Mitch
I checked the Goldenrod Gall Fly articles and they are very interesting, you learn something everyday. I have lots of Goldenrod, but have never seen the galls on it, however I do get a lot of what they call spittle bugs. These bugs put a foamy substance on the goldenrod stems, which slows it down but doesn't kill it.
Do you get those too?
I saw a some whitish looking foam on a couple.
We have tons of Bayberry (Wax Myrtle). I sent out thousands of seeds last fall. Ours are evergreen here, and get 10 to 15 feet tall. Nice dense bushes.
Hello Mitch, you can get the Wax Myrtle when it is small and let it develop into a tree.
I have some Laurel Cherry that I can give you, so you don't have to get that one.
I normally get my native trees at Redentas Garden, but they are on the pricey side, however sometimes it is worth it. You shoudn't have trouble finding Yaupon Holly either, but be sure it is not the dwarf kind, also if you start with a small plant it is a lot more reasonable.
Thanks Josephine - Redentas Garden will check it out. I found a few at HD but have not gotten them yet. My F.I.L. bought me two silk trees? Are these something I want in Texas or is this one of those gifts you say thanks and then pass on? I wish Texas gave native trees away - back in the day my grandfather got 100 or so trees from OK for his farm to reforest part of it for free just had to ask... guess they dont do that here.
I just got back from the Glenn Heights Wetlands area - really a joke. I am kinda upset seeing the cost they spent and there is just a man made pond and mixed up plants sitting between tons of tall hay grass. Not a wetland and I got chiggers from the trip to boot! LOL I thought about asking about helping them out but there is way to much to do so I will just stay away for now.
Mitch
I suppose you are talking about a Mimosa, those are pretty trees when they are healthy, but they are short lived and fast growing.
It is up to you if you want to plant one, since it is a gift.
It also depends on the ammount of space you have and how much of it you want to dedicate to that tree.
I have never heard of the state giving trees away, but may be there is such a program.
May be Trois or Veronica know something about that.
Check with the County Agent. They gave away trees here a couple of years ago. We got our Fuyu Persimmon that way about 4 years ago. Great tree, but small.
In Southwest Oklahoma Mimosas live a long time, some more than 60 years. It depends on the area. In houston, we planted on that is still going strong after 25 years. It is about 25 feet tall and 35 feet wide. We brought offspring here and Twig Girdlers killed one and the other is not growing. It just depends on conditions and so forth.