Rock Rose, Pavonia lasiopetala. This is a lovely small shrub endemic to Texas. It is deciduous and makes a lot of seed so it is very easy to propagate. The flowers look like little hibiscus and are a lovely fuchia pink.
Three Beautiful Shrubs for Texas.
This one is Texas Lantana, Lantana Camara. This shrub will bloom all summer and loves the heat. The butterflies are crazy about it, and the hummingbirds too.
It dies to the ground in zone 8 but I beleive it remains green all year in the south.
This is a cultivar of the native Lantana Horrida, but it is also considered native by many people.
I have many of these shrubs and they enliven my yard all summer.
A close up of the flowers.
Another lovely shrub is Yellow Bells, Tecoma stans. It is also deciduous in zone 8
and sometimes dies to the ground, but comes back strong, and it is very striking.
This shrub needs to be out there more, it surely is a beautiful Texas native.
A close up of the beautiful Yellow Bells.
Frostwood--I love your postings and look forward to them everytime I get on the computer.
As far as rock rose goes--I'm hoping this year is the charmer for me from seeds.....this is the one native I really have trouble with but I'm hoping the last 2 colds snaps provided all the "sharp" stratification that the little "gems" (I'm calling them nice names thru clenched teeth--lol) needed.
I swear I can almost grow anything including rocks from seeds but this plant in the last two years has really challenged me! Now if this latest batch of winter-sowed seeds germinates; the party's at my house on me!
Debbie
Thank you Debbie, I hope the Rock Rose does well for you this time, it hasn't been spectacular for me either, although I have gotten fresh seeds to germinate in the summer, so may be that would work better.
I am going to make a big effort this year too, it is so bright and adorable.
Josephine.
Do any of these shrubs stay green in the winter?
Hello Raggins, no they don't, but if you are interested in evergreens I will do a small list of them next.
Do you garden with native plants?
Josephine.
Josephine - My Rock Rose does not look great but it is green still all this winter. This is my first winter to have them here but they are both very green. They are on the South side of the house but have eastern wind 24/7 so I dont think that are very pertected... so maybe they can stay green? I have not seen seeds yet on mine but once I get a baby plant out there I will get one to you for sure. I wish I would have known you did not have one and would like one and I would have really would have loved to get one to you.
Mitch thank you very much, you are so thoughtful, I do have some but they are on the slope and they are very puny.
I do need to put some in the new flower beds where they can get better care.
I am surprised that yours remained green, mine never have, you must be in a more sheltered location.
It is not supposed to be evergreen in this area.
Josephine.
My Pavonia tends to stay green year 'round, too, though that always surprises the people at the nursery. I love that plant! I read something interesting about it in Texas Gardening a couple of years ago. They said it is actually a short-lived perennial that is "shrub-like", in that the stems get woody. They said it usually only lasts for about three years, but always has plenty of babies to take over by the time the mother plant dies. I've had mine for 5 years now, it's still going strong. And I continue to have plenty of babies that I share with others.
And the yelow bells! I love that one, too. I relocated mine last Spring, but think it doesn't get quite enough sun to really show off to it's full potential, so I'm looking for a new location. Greg Grant was working for A&M when he saw this all over the place in El Paso and other strikingly hot areas of TX, in the hottest part of Summer. He's responsible for making it readily available in nurseries. The locals called it "Esperanza", which I'm told means "hope". Maybe because they look so beautiful and bloom so willingly in the extreme heat, it gives us hope that we can survive the Summer, lol.
You are probably right Mary, it is wonderful when a plant blooms under harsh conditions.
Josephine - I might have them in just the right places, I hope they do well. I was able to get some seeds for the non native type now too. After seeing them bloom in the heat of summer I cannot wait to see everything blooming this summer now that I will have both of them growing I cannot wait to see them. I understood that the native will grow every year but that the non native only lasts a few years - have I been miss informed?
Mitch, are you referring to the Rock Rose, or the Yellow Bells?
Rock Rose - dont have the Yellow Bells, maybe some day I dont have a lot of yellow flowers around here so it would be a nice spark one of these days.
I planted two Rock Rose last year and loved them.They bloomed up until our first really cold weather.I gave seed to all my friends and saved some for myself, then read somewhere they don't come true.I tried rooting some of the mother plants and that didn't work.My plants went dormant but with the warm days we have had, they are putting out leaves.Hope this cold snap doesn't cause them harm.I really thinkthis plant makes a nice addition to the garden.
bumped up to illustrate the "seasonal mix-up disorder" all my autumn sages display--they always put on a much better performance in cooler weather for me.
Guess I put this on the wrong thread....could have sworn I saw a thread about these guys!
This message was edited Feb 26, 2006 8:04 PM
Oh Debbie, mine too! I have a couple in the back and they are really pretty this time of year. They are good in autumn but now they are spectacular.
We planted two orange jubilee esparanzas last May and they are coming back this year. My question is... the stalks are thinner and the bushes are falling over. Will the stalks get stronger as the bushes grow?
I get more compliments on this bush. People walking on the street stop and ask what it is and the hummingbirds love it!
Attached is a picture we took last year.
Hello Novicegardener, your shrub looks great to me, yes it should get stronger as it gets older, that is of course if it doesn't die to the ground like mine did last winter.
It is a beautiful shrub and you have good reason to be proud of it.
Josephine.
I really like the yellow bells, I think if I have room I will add tham to my sun garden (which I hope to have built and designed by next spring). If I canremember this plant by then.
Thanks for the photos everyone.
calvin
As my yellow bells get started in the spring, I cut them back once to encourage more bushiness. I don't know if its because it's bushier, or because it has a larger root to start from now, but it seems like it doesn't seem to bend over as much with the weight of the blooms. Also, if you leave the branches alone that are bending over, sometimes another branch will sprout up along those branches.
Hmmm. You know, I've heard people say they can't grow the native Rock Rose from seed, but mine have always had seedlings come up nearby. Guess they really like my soil. And that reminds me, I intended to move a couple of those plants, too much shade where they are...and I forgot all about it. But now it's hot, I wonder if I should wait until fall.
I can't grow rock rose from seed to save my soul--its one of the few things I can't grow from seeds (I know, everyone seems to can). I've had seeds from many different people too.So I broke down and bought one with Marylyn at Joshua's. I will now take cuttings...that should work. lol
Now esperanza grows like a weed for me from seed. I love the orange one's. There's a really cool orange and yellow one called sunset?? (or sunrise?) Yellow on outside, orange throat. I think there's some neat things to do there genetically too.
All three of these are great plants. Thanks for this thread Josphine!
Debbie
We had yellow bells in '04 but they died that winter.
The orange esperanza bushes are more like a weeping willow. The branches droop, especially when full of flowers.
They look really nice to me. But I never met a yellow bells I didn't love.
Starting rock rose from seed ... wait until the temperature is in the upper 80s or 90s (or use bottom heat) before you sow them. Place the seeds on the soil and lightly press them into the soil or cover seed with no more than 1/4 inch of soil. The seed should germinate within 2 to 3 weeks. It can also be propagated by softwood cuttings, taken in summer or fall. I cut mine back to keep it nice and bushy. I have successfully transplanted some in the spring and the early summer. Hint: Do not use potting soil with fertilizer in it to germinate the seeds.
I have found that the rock rose does best with some supplemental water. Mine wilt during the heat of the day in full sin. They seem to look best with full morning sun and bright filtered shade in the hottest part of the afternoon.
'Orange Jubilee" and 'Sunrise' esperanza have thinner stems and smaller leaves than the native esperanza and 'Gold Star' esperanza (a hybrid of the native yellow esperanza). "Gold Star' blooms earlier and more profusely than the native plant. The seed of 'Gold Star' can not be counted upon to produce new 'Gold Star' esperanza plants. They tend to revert back to the parent plants. I do not know about the seeds of the other 2. It is best to start them from cuttings which I have tried to do from fall cuttings for 2 years with little success. Spring or summer cuttings may work better. My esperanzas (which include all 3 mentioned here) die back to the ground if not protected from freezes. I stake the new stems and sometimes remove some of the lower branches. Esperanzas may be trained to grow almost like a standard in areas where they do not freeze back.
This message was edited May 20, 2006 8:20 AM
On the rock rose--I had always tried over the winter, thinking they needed stratification.
Goldstar can produce seed that looks just like the parent, I just cull to the ones that do. They don't freeze to the ground for me, but they definitely go dormant and nearly loose all their leaves
I have tecoma stans tangerine; it is quite beautiful, very fast grower and I had expected it would die back over the winter, but of course we had no winter this past year...oh yeah there was one 6 hour period, I remember. Any way, my tangerine is huge!!! and you are right novicegardner, it does seem to have a weeping habit, sure is pretty but suggest you plant it where it will have space! Don't follow my example.
Frost,
Could you post a picture of the entire rock rose shrub? I'm trying to figure out if I've seen this before. I've got yellow bells and lantana, but not sure on the rock rose. I just love that color pink.
Thanks!
Patty
I am sorry Patty, but would you beleive that I don't have a picture of the whole shrub?
That picture is from last year, and the shrub I had died last winter, I have a small plant but I don't think it would give you a good idea it is very small.
May be some one else will have a good picture of the shrub and will post it for us.
Josephine.
No problem; I looked it up in plant files and there were pictures of the entire shrub there. I love the color.
Patty