That is really neat Linda, yes I am finding plants blooming out of season too.
It has been a rather crazy year, but we will enjoy all that comes our way.
Gardening with Texas Native Plants & Wildflowers, part 12.
Yes, Linda....I love Rainbow's new butterfly garden. :) I took my camera some weeks ago when I was there...and took some lovely butterfly photos.. :) They're slowly getting it nicely filled...it was covered in flying flowers when I was there...! :)
Melanie
Jospehine and Mitch, there is a grove of wild Eve's Necklace on the North Shore trail of Lake Grapevine. If you need seeds I can get you lots. I have been trying to get them started for a while now. I notice if you keep the seed pods moist for a couple weeks you can just squeeze the seeds out. They are growing as understory trees and are not very big at all. Mostly sandy soil. They dont seem to mind the current drought.
Taylor advised me to scuff the side of the seed coat and then soak in hot water. But I do not know what to plant them in. What I read about the Tx. Mt Laurel said they need very deep containers since they mostly concentrate on root development first. Another source I have reports the EN grows fast from seed to 6' in 3 years. Much different then the Tx Mt. Laurel. Also read that spring seed will germinate faster since it hasnt fully hardened.
Forgot to post why I came here.
What are good native ground covers for a Western exposure? I need low maintenance sun lovers for sandy loam. I found some Pink Skullcap at Rohde's but was not sure how big it gets.
Toby , are you looking for groundcover to walk on? or to fill the empty spaces on a bed.
If you have extra seeds of Eve's necklace I will take some.Here is a picture of one of my seedlings.
I use the same mix as I use for the cuttings.
I've got a pink skullcap bush thats about, hmmm...2 years old...and about 25" across...a nice little mound...and very drought tolerant.. :)
Lavender or white lantana is a good ground cover...tho I don't know if they are native to Texas. I've seen the lavender growing wild around our neighborhood and on the highways. *I found out something interesting about lantana on HGTV this weekend. Solid color lantanas are only ground covers...whereas combo colors are tall standing. Is that true? Interesting.. :)
Melanie
Melanie, I think that as general rule what you said about the Lantanas is correct.
toby - I would love a few of those seeds too if you dont mind I have the ones here but having from two diffrent trees might not hurt if one tree had a bad seed year or the such.
Hi Everyone,.....found this interesting plant growing in the back of my BIL's property....it was already "spent" - dried & withered with what looked like a seed head remnant partially attached....but no seeds. Since he would be re-locating some of the dirt/topsoil from the very spot this plant was....I thought I'd "save" it and dug it up. There was a tuber....similar to a 4 o'clock tuber and I potted it - started watering it. Surprise! It sprouted new growth and recently this flowering emerged. I'm hoping someone may recognize it. I've done some searching to try & ID but with no success. Probably considered a "weed" is my guess but I think it's an interesting plant. Will have to wait to see how big it grows....the old growth was only about 2 ft but in the recent drought conditions....maybe with a little TLC, it will rebound. I've taken pics of the leaf as well and will follow this post with one. Thanks for any input and direction! Oh,..BTW...we received about an inch of rain this evening when that front passed through...thank God!
Lee
Here's a close up of the leaf.
Lee, it is a Green Milkweed, Asclepias viridis, a very desirable wildflower.
I can't beleive you were able to dig it up, they are very hard to transplant.
Congratulations! cherish it.
Here is the link http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62479
Josephine.
Wow, Lee....thats an amazing looking little plant ya got there. I've never seen one of those around these parts...and they couldn't ID it over on the identification forum? Hmm....Is this the only one that you've seen out there?
Any chance for cuttings at this point? lol.....
Lots of rain here too...thank goodness! 2 1/2" to be exact. Absolutely wonderful.. :):)
Melanie
And one more shot of the plant! Thanks!
Aha! I knew Josephine would figure it out. :):) Lovely plant...how lucky you are...:) And GD as well....for finding these wonderful natives... :)
Melanie
Oh thank you, Josephine ...I started to research the milkweed category....thinking that the leaves looked kinda like a milkweed......should have trusted my intuition! :~) I wanted to share & discuss with my Texas friends too.
What's even more surprising,...I accidently "knicked" the tuber and sliced a small portion off.....but hoped it would survive...and I was lucky! Thanks for the link!
Melanie - I've never tried a cutting of a milkweed - can it be done? Maybe I'll have seeds in the near future! I didn't place this in the ID forum....my thinking was that with so many knowledgable gardeners (more familiar with Texas plants) here in the Texas forum,....that my best chance for ID would be here....not to slight those who frequent the ID forum!
I'm so glad to have "found" DG...for many reasons!
Lee
To be quite honest, Lee....I'm not really sure...but it would be worth a try. Some of my cuttings have failed... :( like my woolly beebrush for Josephine.....but all of the others are putting out little leaf buds...hopefully rooting enough by the time that the RU comes around in October...which is right around the corner..! And you're absolutely right about our TX native growers here in the forum. For some reason, I just feel more "at home" here anyway, lol...sort of like names=neighbors kind of thing...so I tend to hang around the TX forum alot more.
I feel exactly the same way...I've come to find a place here to relax, unwind and just laugh after a stressful day of work and traffic... :) (And while my honey watches football! :p)
Here are some of my wee flower faces looking happy after our rain today.. :)
Good job digging that milkweed up and getting it to survive! The wild ones are usually too deep to even try to dig up.
My Datura had between 67-69 blooms on it tonight! I've been waiting! My husband said there was no way it had that many but we both counted it. (Obviously it wasn't easy, thus our numbers) It smells wonderful!
This one is the one that is edged in purple but you can't really tell in this pic. I was lucky to get it because my battery died! I got a couple of shots from an old one.
Looks like they're smilin', Melanie!
Thanks konkreteblond - what a beautiful shot of the Datura! Amazing that it can have so many large blooms!
beautiful...konkrete...! Thanks for sharin'.. :)
Paige! that is amazing! It sure looks like we are having a good year for Daturas.
Aren't all these things fun? So many reasons to rejoyce. We are a bunch of lucky people, aren't we?
yes, Josephine...these things are wee miracles, aren't they? :) Certainly a reason to celebrate the simple things in our lives...like a new bloom or a growing leaf.. :)
Melanie --->----@
Beautiful milkweed! The leaves look a bit different than the pictures on that link, but isn't that the one that has some variation in the leaves? I wonder if there was any Monarchs and Queens lurking around. The only milkweed that I've heard about on cuttings working well is A. curassavica. I'm starting some of that myself, just like I did last year.
Linda, after Lee posted the picture of the flower and leaves it made me wonder of I had it right. So I looked some more thinking it might be Antelopr Horns, however the leaves odf antelope horns are more pointed and the flower color is different, although there are a lot of similarities. Here is Antelope Horns.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/76152/
Josephine.
I've been waiting for all those blooms to open. I did the little kid yippeee yell when I walked around the corner and saw they them! There are so many bees on it this morning! It's by my back door and I wasn't even going to try to go out with the swarm.
Linda, the A. curassavica sure does root easy! I'm rooting all the pieces I've had to cut for food. I just wish the leaves would stay fresh longer once it's cut.
Josephine - I think you were right on target with Green Milkweed!
The anther (at least what I think is the anther) of the Antelope is a solid white/cream color whereas the Green has a mix of white/cream with some almost purple veining or stripes that run along the side of what I think is the filament...on up to the anther. Also , I believe your observation of the leaf difference is correct.
They are similar indeed...at first glance,...I thought hmmmm....could be! But when you look closer and compare the two side by side...it's easy to tell.
How interesting these two are! BTW Josephine,...the Ladybird Center lists the common names of A. viridis as
Green Milkweed and Green Antelopehorn!
Linda - There has been just a couple Monarchs, so far, that have appeared around some of my other milkweeds.
Which reminds me,...I have another
plant that I'm fairly sure is a member of the Genus Asclepias....haven't locked in on which one it is yet.....would y'all mind if I ran some pics by you and get your opinion? I've looked for it at Ladybird's Wildflower site....and the closest resemblance I've found is the
Aquatic Milkweed (A. perinnis) but I'm not sure. PF example:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/48889/index.html
The seedpod I collected looked a lot like the example in the PF but I collected mine in July/Aug last year...the PF example was taken? in January of 2003....also,...the stem(s) of my plant seem to be smaller in diameter relative to the leaf size....when compared to the example in PF. This could be because of environmental conditions, I guess. Anyway,...tell me what you think...and as always,....I sure appreciate the assistance! I hope to return the favors in some fashion or another! :~) Lee
This message was edited Sep 12, 2006 9:57 AM
Lee, I think you are correct, here is another look at Asclepias perennis;
http://www.wildflower2.org/NPIN/Plants/Detail.asp?Symbol=ASPE
Tha is a really nice one too.
Josephine.
Paige, you are one lucky girl, Enjoy!!!
Josephine, they are for beds that wont be walked on in a Western exposure. Next to a brick wall that radiates heat well into the evening. The mexican heather I planted there wilted but is making a comeback now that it has cooled down some.
http://www.wildflower2.org/NPIN/Plants/Detail.asp?Symbol=DAGR2
http://www.wildflower2.org/NPIN/Plants/Detail.asp?Symbol=MARE11
http://www.wildflower2.org/NPIN/Plants/Detail.asp?Symbol=PHNO2
http://www.wildflower2.org/NPIN/Plants/Detail.asp?Symbol=POPI3
Toby , you might check these out, my first choice woud be the Frogfruit.
Josephine.
Someone want Frogfruit? This is what happens when groundcover goes awry. lol It absolutely loves where I have it because I am constantly having to cut it back. It's carefree and is loved by the little bees and butterflies. (it's down around the edge of the bed, covering my stones)
Josephine, are you still making cuttings of this? I can start some or dig up some runners.
Looks darn nice to me!
Caught these mating monarchs this weekend--had to just sit down and laugh. They were "rolling" around in the grass like a couple of teenagers.
DJ
Yeah. Teenagers and their hormones! Oh, BTW, my Kidney Wood is going to bloom again! And leaves are starting to grow back. Something had eaten a lot of the leaves. But we're getting a little rain now and things are perking up! Thank you, life-giving rain! Also, our A/C conked out and we're so grateful it's cooler now. We have a decision to make~~a lot of money now or just fix it for now. I hate decisions like that!
lol DJ...I caught a pair of twitterpating fritterlaries under the rock rose bush...lol...The male was dancing a little jittery dance, trying to impress the female, I reckon.. :)
konkrete, your flowerbed is so pretty! It looks alot like mine...and I love your bird bath.. :)
Melanie
Very pretty butterflies Debbie and Melanie.
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Paige, Cynthia wants to do her back yard with Frogfruit groundcover, we could trey potting cuttings for her, and help her out. What do you think?
Josephine.
thanks, Josephine... :)
Is it okay for me to jion in for the first time to this thread? I have watched and read when I can but never joined in.
I think I did nt do my homework first. I planted some datura wrighti( to return to the datura posts), graciously given by a DGer, thank you so much, and when it came up and was ready for transplanting, I put three in one of my newly finished beds. I planted them really close together afer looking at the pics posted by frostweed. they are starting to grow big, but I didn't know they would grow that big!wow. I will try and post a picture it is awful dark out right now to take one. so I will try and edit this post with a picture later. when I do should I transplant one or 2 somewhere else? right now they are touching each other and are about 1 foot high each of them.
calvin
Okay so I couldn't wait. here is the best picture I could get at this hour. as you can see they are planted very close together.
I am not concerned with them growing to their fullest but if palnted close like this, will they chokout the other plants.?
calvin
here is another pic of the finished bed
and another
yet another
