Drinking the (grape) Kool-Aid.

Last summer, I went to see some family in Missouri with several examples of “Texas” plants in the back of the Jeep.  There was a Texas Star Hibiscus back there- and it’s just a wonder some curious trooper didn’t want to take a closer look at it- there was an Esperanza, and there was the one specific request: a Texas Mountain Laurel.  My aunt was here in Texas in April and decided she had to have one for her yard in central Missouri.

            Here in Texas, when we think of a Sophora, many of us think of grape Kool-Aid.  The Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora) has a purple, wisteria-like bloom that smells to me just like grape Kool-Aid, and really, there are a lot worse things to smell like. 

When we in Texas say Mountain Laurel, we usually know we mean the evergreen under-story tree with dark green leaves, incredible looking and smelling blooms in the spring, and nifty red seeds in lumpy seedpods in the late summer.  We have to be careful, though, when we say Mountain Laurel.  As my aunt in Missouri pointed out, the name in other states refers to a different shrub entirely (Kalmia latifolia). But, well, they’re not Texans…

            Here in Texas, the Mountain Laurel is seen more and more in landscapes as more people become aware of it and how absolutely glorious it will be in the spring.  They really jazz up and anchor a landscape.  Very often you can smell the flowers in bloom before you see them.  Here in the nursery, a whole row of blooming Mountain Laurels can literally stop traffic on the road coming in to the nursery.  We love it when they do that.  The Texas Mountain Laurel is one shrub that sells itself.

            The seeds of Texas Mountain Laurel look like bright red marbles littering the ground under the tree.  They will fade to orange while the hard seed coat softens enough for the seed to germinate, which could take a couple of years.  Apparently, different cultures have used the seeds for everything from a hallucinogen to jewelry.  They’re incredibly hard, and they’re substantially toxic, so I’m not sure why you would bother.  But I’m not into hallucinating or wearing jewelry, so I’m not a good judge.

            There is another Sophora you can see alongside Mopac or loop 620, and increasingly in landscapes.  Sophora affinis, Eve’s Necklace, has finer foliage and a softer look than the chunky Texas Mountain Laurel.  The small flowers of Eve's Necklace are pretty when seen close-up, but don’t stand out like those of the Mountain Laurel.  But the seedpods on the Eve’s Necklace are little jewels in their own right.  Little shiny black jewels.

 

Eve's Necklace flowers



Eve's Necklace seeds



            Another interesting, though not quite as useful Sophora, ‘Silver Peso’, is rarely seen in landscapes.  The leaves are silver and fuzzy, and it’s interesting by merit of being different from the Texas Mountain Laurel that everybody knows and loves.  On its own, though, the ‘Silver Peso’ doesn’t perform nearly as well in the Hill Country as the Texas Mountain Laurel or the Eve’s Necklace.  Maybe because of the pubescence on the leaves, it tends to attract mold and begin a slow general deterioration. 

            The Texas Mountain Laurel is one of the things we Texans look forward to in the spring.  It let’s us know spring is really here.  After all, the bluebonnets in Washington County, the Texas Mountain Laurels in the Hill Country, and the deep green grass have to be enough to get us through the long summer months ahead.  And they do so admirably.

Just Hold On!

Yeah, it’s cold outside and it may seem like there’s absolutely nothing to do until April.  Not necessarily, though.  The last freeze date for Austin is generally around March 15^th , but everybody and anybody can tell you story after story about having a beautiful weekend on March 7^th, and an inch of snow the next weekend.  So we could have up to two more months of cold.  Plan your gardens, just don’t pack up your hoodies just yet.  In any case, remember, this is Texas: We’re going to have some bitter cold weather in the winter, it’s going to be broiling hot in the summer, and in between we’ll have the kind of weather when no one can stay inside.  So until it’s time to dig out the shorts again- actually, until it’s time for you to dig out the shorts again (I’m always jealous of folks that don’t burn to a brittle cinder with the least little bit of sun exposure) there’s still plenty you can do in the landscape.  

Go hug a tree, Austin.

            A lot of trees are bare right now, and it takes a little imagination to envision them full, lush, and green.  But this is the time to plant them.  Both trees and shrubs can be planted now for a spectacular spring show.  Remember, this is Texas, so the ground doesn’t freeze.  Plus we’ll have the odd 72 degree day here and there, so the roots will not only be protected from freezes, they’ll even get to do some growing occasionally.  So prepare the soil, plant your trees (not too deep!) and commence with the most difficult part of the whole process: waiting. 

            There is a long list of evergreen shrubs, if you need something green throughout the winter.  Evergreen Sumac is, as you might guess, evergreen.  Agarita stays just as dark green and thorny as ever, even with icicles hanging from it.  Southern Wax Myrtle beats the heck out of Ligustrum for an evergreen, tough shrub, as does Yaupon ‘Pride of Houston’.  And then there are those shrubs that really shine during the winter.  

Coralberry

Coralberry really grabs your attention with magenta-red berries along its bare stems. 



Coralberry berries

 The absolute champion of berries in the winter, though, is Possumhaw. 



Possumhaw

 A 15 to 20 foot shrub or understory tree, Possumhaw can blend into the background for nine months of the year.  But once the leaves fall off, it is impossible to not notice the bright orange berries, especially when everything around it is just dull grey and brown. 



Possumhaw berries

 Roses, too, put on their own kind of show during the winter.  Roses like ‘Knockout’ and ‘Martha Gonzales’ acquire a bronze tint to the leaves once the temperatures get into the thirties.  Other roses, such as ‘Belinda’s Dream’ or ‘Carefree Beauty’ put on large orange hips as well. 

            And now for the zen part of the blog: even without leaves, the bare limbs of trees and shrubs have a beauty of their own.  Burr Oak branches stand out starkly against the deep blue sky on these clear, cold days. 

Go outside, take a walk around and look up.  Appreciate the twisted and contorted shapes that you just can’t see April through October.  You can make up a haiku about it.  Or, if you’re like the staff here at Native Texas Nursery, you can take pictures of it.  And if we dip down below freezing during the night, you can find all kinds of interesting shapes the next day. 

Be warned, though, once you start snapping pictures of burly branches or Possumhaw berries, it can be difficult to stop. 

It was cold and wet all weekend, and now it's... cold and a little less wet.  Well, January makes us really appreciate July, right?  All the perennials are nestled in the greenhouses, though, and are growing away happily, obliviously.  And this spring we'll have a new size: two gallons.  A two gallon Majestic Sage in bloom is a glorious thing to see.  Tree digging is still going on, and the White Oaks and Mexican Plums will look pretty awesome this spring.