Gardening with Texas Native Plants & Wildflowers, part 15.

This thread is continuation of parts 14- 13-12-11-10- 9- 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

To reach the other threads click on this link http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/684677/

Hello Everyone,

The people on this thread are interested in discussion, seed and plant sharing, and learning in general about native plants and wildflowers.

We are dedicated to plant conservation and love to demonstrate what can be done with the native plants that have been ignored by the nurseries in favor of the exotics. Many of the plants in our yards are native and we are always looking for more. We are sure there are others out there doing the same thing and loving it as much as we do. Please let us talk about what you are doing and what you have accomplished.

We hope to hear from all you dedicated gardeners. Let us have some fun.

Sincerely, Josephine.

I thought to start with this adorable little Lace Cactus, Echinocereus reichenbachii.
Ted gave me this one last year and it is only about 5 inches tall with a flower as big as itself.
What a lovely surprise it was!!! Here is a picture of the little guy.
Cactus can be so beautiful!! Have you grown some?
and what has your experience been?

Melanie & I split a pot that Linda so graciously gave me...one each. Both were beautiful specimens....the thorn pattern so intricate...I'm so pleased to know now what the flower looks like....and thanks to Josephine,....we have that! Beautiful! Reminds me of your gift,..once again,...Linda! My Lindheimer's MG you gave me ...now has a seed pod or two developing....I'm looking forward to collecting & starting seeds.

I like them because they're so pretty and small enough I can fit them in here and there in my yard. Here's a double bloom on one, which they can do on occasion when they get big enough. Most of the blooms I couldn't get a decent pic of this year because of rain, but I got lucky with this one.

Beautiful Linda!!!! And so care free too, I haven't done a thing to mine, it has been in that little pot all the time, and I left it outside all winter, it was never hurt by the freezes, which is amazing in such a little pot, with basically no insulation.

I put mine in the ground, Lee....under my growing Eve's Necklace in full sun...and he seems quite happy there. Gary (GD_Rankin) also gave me a wild cactus at the RU as well....and I planted it close to that one. I saw those with new buds all over Gov't Canyon when I went hiking a few weeks ago. Those same buds should certainly be open by now...and I do hope that I can get out there soon. Those cactus were everywhere out there! I have a "Horse Crippler" that I've had for about 30 years now. It has been my longtime treasure...and is priceless to me. :) Beautiful photos, guys....thanks for sharing. Lee, you should see the wysteria that you gave me...phew, its taking off like gangbusters!

Melanie

Great! I hope you & Josephine both get a good presentation of blossoms this year....I keep my largest one trimmed/shaped as an "umbrella" shaped shrub....it will grow like a wisteria,...if permitted.

I'm so pleased that my Orchid tree has finally started to produce growth and almost doubled in size...within the last 2 weeks....my little BOParadise is finally gettin' goin' too!

The two Cardinal Feathers Gary gave me are doin' great as well....
love the Texas natives!

lol, I couldn't believe it...but I actually found some Cardinal's Feathers growing in a weedy, rocky area near our parking lot at the Goodwill store where I help manage. All sorts of things are growing there due to the abundant rain....quite interesting to get to work each day to see what else is sprouting... :)

So glad that your wee orchid tree is doing well. It makes me feel fine...since that seed came from my mother's tree...which she loves so much....and my mother, the most important person in my life who had to battle lung cancer last year, gave me some seed while on chemo. So glad it went to a nice person who will enjoy it.. :)

Melanie

My Cardinal's Feather is making buds too. I left one outside and took the other pot inside, the one inside is a little ahead, but they are both doing fine. I will have to show GD those flowers when they open.
Can't wait to see the complete flower.
My evergreen hydrangea is doing great too, I am going to keep it potted and see how it does.
So many things are growing, it is very exciting, but I lost all of my Mexican Milkweed that I had outside to the freezes. I am having to start all over again, good thing they are fast growers.
Josephine.

This message was edited May 11, 2007 5:18 PM

Makes it extra special Melanie......

Jo,...I was so surprised to see the tiny little red "feathers" pop out of what I thought were the blooms....what a unique flower!

My Eyelash Leaved Sage is about to bloom....can't wait for it to appear. Also looking forward to my Gray Shrub Sage blooming. You are right, Josephine...it is such an exciting time! My Milkweed froze to the ground but popped back up with all of this wonderful rain. I also have some Scarlet Milkweed (so the pkg states) seedlings coming up in trays. They'll be ready to plant here soon enough...can't wait!

Melanie

Anybody heard from Gary (GDRankin)...lately? I haven't seen him in DG lately

No I haven't heard from him, he is probably busy with his painting, maybe we should dmail him.
Josephine.

I typed to him, hmmm....about a month ago...or so...he's over on Artisans on occasion and is working with oil painting....

Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day... :)

Melanie

Thank you Melanie, we went to church and afterwards we went to Pappy Elkins park here in Arlington.
It is actually a pretty wild place with a small lake, and there were many lovely little wildflowers there you don't see all the time.
It was funny because before we finished going through, a thunderstorm came up and it rained really hard.
We had to run to the car laughing all the way, I had a great time.
Here is one of the flowers, Meadow Pink, Sabatia campestris.

I love Meadow Pink! On our way to Brenham this weekend, we stopped briefly to take pictures of some pretty wildflowers in Bastrop (one of my favorite places). Here's a monarda...

And a Red Gaillardia...so pretty!

Beside those beautiful pines, the roadside flowers were absolutely amazing!

Very pretty Linda, the country side is so lovely now.

I've been seeing fields of Wine Cups here close to home which are soo pretty. They're one of my favorite wildflowers... :) I really need to stop on the shoulder of the highway and "carefully" take some photos... :)

Melanie

Melanie,...thought I'd show you my 1st blooms from the Ruellia elegans
cuttings you gave me....they're beautiful!

Wow!! those are neat!!!

A very different color for me! I've got various pinks & purples and also white ruellias....now a red! Thanks again Melanie!

Is that the ruellia that was at Rainbow Gardens? I bought one to see if I liked it. Of course, I did, even though it's not native! I'd like to get another one. So rooting cuttings must be possible on that...okay.

Wow..Lee....That's lovely....so glad they have taken well for you. Those blooms look pinkish to me...or am I still needing glasses..? lol I swear, the bush that I cut from has cherry red blooms...even a deep red. Would soil conditions make the colors a bit different?

Yes, Linda...I bought my original plant at Rainbow....well, 90% of my plants came from there, lol. It does take well from cuttings...which reminds me, I need to get some more going for other areas of my garden. :) I went again this past Sunday and bought another Black & Blue Salvia...a Texas Phlox...and a Hot Lips Salvia that I managed to find all by its lonesome self..Oh, and they had their Texas Bluebells on sale for 1.99 so I picked up one of those as well... :)

Melanie

Lots of these around my garden area...Purple Leather Flower (Clematis pitcherii....I believe)

Wow! Lee those are beautiful, I planted some seeds someone sent me, I think it was Linda, and they haven't germinated.
Did you start from seed? or did you buy a plant.
I have not been able to find the plants to buy around here.
Josephine.

Lee, my C. pitcheri blooms are really purple (see below)....the color on yours is different. Look at Clematis texensis...if it's a native, maybe that's it.
http://www.bio.utexas.edu/courses/bio406d/images/pics/ran/clematis_texensis.htm
Unfortunately, they didn't show the flowers opened up on that site, but it can give some idea. Josephine, so far I haven't gotten any seed germinated on the C. pitcheri seed either.

They sure are pretty, I guess I will have to keep on trying.

Hi Linda & Jo - This particular vine has been native and growing for a couple of years now....I have a dozen or more seedlings started from this plants seeds of last year....I planted them when they were ripe in '06...tagged the pots and left them to winter and had a large number sprout this spring (with some sprouting in Jan....in the greenhouse).

I'm not sure Linda,...but these are definitely not red .....they're not as vividly purple as yours...somewhat different ...shaped more like the texensis..but the color is a light purple....I would love a texensis - Scarlet Clematis. Are there variations relative to each area?

Jo - I don't know what the magic trick is,...I just tried to replicate the natural order of things and provide optimum growin' conditions
I did plant them fresh from the mama....and believe that makes a big difference.

I think you might be right Lee, so that plant just showed up for you in your yard?

Actually,...we have several growing around our property...have been there since we moved here 9 yrs ago...this particular plant showed up a couple of years ago...probably an offspring of one of the others

Josephine--germination on those seeds can be really slow. 6 months to a year is not unheard of with them (C pitcherii) down here.
Deb

Wow! no wonder they haven't come up yet, thank you for the information Debbie.

I have a good friend that raises them commercially Josephine--he says he just plants them in gallons, sets them off to the side, and waters them every time he waters his other plants.

I have noticed that they often like sharp stratification (you know the warmer, then cooler, then warmer, then cooler sequences) we have in our winters. But he's a tissue culture guy--not a seed person like us. lol

I'm pretty sure I have a lot of seed if you need it. I'll check if you need some.

Yes, thanks, Debbie. And I think I'll try Lee's method next times, too. Lee, whether it's C. pitcheri or not, it sure is a pretty thing...you're lucky to have it. I do have a C. texensis plant now also....trying to decide where to put it. I'm always afraid of killing a plant by putting it in the wrong location, but don't have too many good places available.

Thank you again Debbie. Very interesting.

Hmmm....well I've done some research and,...although my leatherflower
is a little different from yours, Linda...I'm fairly sure mine is a pitcheri...when I compare my pics next to some others I've reviewed.
You know how flowers sometimes change in appearance as they age on the stem-not only in color sometimes but also form....and I think that's what's making our two look different......I have a nice little pocket book - Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi - with a photo of a pitcheri that's identical in appearance to mine...as well as a couple of other pics I've seen that reinforce my belief. I may still be wrong!
I would be delighted if mine would be as vivid in color as the one you've photo'd .

The ol' texensis is simply RED...a beauty too!

wow...just stumbled back after some computer problems the last few days......beautiful flowers, guys.....I've never seen those before...

Josephine, my Standing Cypress is going to bloom soon..! The plant itself has gotten so long that I may have to go ahead and stake it. But I noticed yesterday...that it is getting small buds all along the tip... :) Can't wait for them to open.... I love this time of year... :)

Melanie

Hello guys, look at what I found at Pappy Elkins park, the only patch there and I had never seen them before anywhere around here, Prairie Bluets, Hedyotis nigricans
Aren't they adorable?