It bears bright green foliage all year round. Texas mountain laurel survives winters in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 through 11. They are, however, mildly hallucinogenic when consumed as a powder and likely to cause vomiting if they are eaten whole. Texas mountain laurel is sometimes called mescal bean, but the hard, round, red beans inside the plant’s pods do not actually contain any mescaline. They cannot, however, survive standing in water for more than a few hours. Mountain laurels stand up to heat, cold, rocky and alkaline soils, and drought. Bearing purple to blue flowers for several weeks around the time of the last frost. Texas mountain laurel is a favorite landscape plant for dry climates and rocky soils in Texas, Mexico, and even dry climates in South America. There are varieties of purple lily magnolias for climates ranging from USDA growing zone 5 to USDA growing zone 10. The tree grows between eight and 12 feet tall, preferring a well-watered sandy loam. They are covered with purple blooms every spring, with six or seven petals on every flower. Purple lily magnolias are native to China and Japan. They come in different strains that allow you to choose the kind of flower that you like. They are a deciduous variety that looks good even during the winter when it has no leaves. The saucer-shaped or “saucer magnolias” ( Magnolia x soulangeana) are the most popular magnolia for planting in the United States. Magnolias can have flowers that are star-shaped, bowl-shaped, or saucer-shaped. North American magnolias are extremely adaptable, growing in gardens in climates and soils where they are never found in nature. Two of them are evergreen, and six drop their leaves every fall. There are over eight species of magnolias that are native trees in the United States. It should bloom before the tree above it leafs out, so it will have maximum energy for producing its seed pods.Įastern redbuds do well in any well-drained soil, and are cold-tolerant in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 9, 5. The most important consideration in planting a redbud is to place it under a deciduous tree. You can find dwarf varieties that are a good match for intimate rock gardens, but there are also varieties of Eastern redbuds that will grow 30 feet tall, even as an understory plant. There are also Western redbuds, but the Eastern varieties put on more flowers and get fewer diseases than the redbuds native to northern California and the Pacific Northwest. Eastern redbuds are best used as an understory plant, but there are a variety of bloom colors that fit into every landscape design. The Forest Pansy variety also bears eye-catching orange-red leaves in the fall. Spring blooms are followed by purple pods of pea-like seeds that hang on the tree as it leafs out, providing color contrast to the tree and food for birds and squirrels. Desert willow ( Chilopsis linearis)Įastern redbud ( Cercis canadensis) bursts into purple (or sometimes white) blooms in early spring. Only the hybrids are resistant to powdery mildew, which can attack the plant in the spring and in the fall. Just be sure you buy a Lagerstroemia hybrid (indica x fauriei), not a Lagerstroemia indica crape myrtle. They grow in USDA Growing Zones 7 through 9 in sandy soils, loamy soils, or even tight clay soils. Most crape myrtles bear purple flowers, but there are also varieties that bear pink flowers, white flowers, or even red flowers ( see all the beautiful colors here). The bare branches of this beautiful tree take on the appearance of cinnamon sticks on mature trees. Depending on the weather, their leaves may turn yellow, then red, and then orange in the fall. This tough disease-resistant heat-loving woody plant may be a small tree, just a foot tall, perfect for a small garden maintained in desert conditions, or grow as much as 100 feet tall in rich soils with abundant moisture.Ĭrape myrtles don’t start blooming until late spring or early summer, but once they begin their floral display, they keep on blooming until the first frost. The crape myrtle (also known as Lagerstroemia, but not as crepe myrtle) is an import from India that thrives in hot, dry summer climates.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |