Et Tu, Salvia Roemeriana?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Tina

At the Green Garden in Zilker Botanical Gardens this past week, I was leading a group from Keep Austin Beautiful and as we were touring the gardens, I noticed a blooming Cedar Sage (Salvia roemeriana).

There are only one or two boom spikes on these Cedar Sage at Zilker, but in spring, this plant is full of brilliant red blooms.

As with the Columbine of my last post, this plant is a spring/early summer bloomer. Personally, I’ve only had Cedar Sage bloom from March into June–I’ve never seen it bloom this late in the growing season. According to the NPIN:Plant Database page on Cedar Sage, the plant blooms during the spring and summer.

This is what my Cedar Sage looks like, accompanied by acorns and prematurely fallen oak leaves. Not quite as exciting…

The Cedar Sage in the Zilker Gardens receives regular water and maybe that, coupled with the deluge of two weeks ago, spurred the bloom cycle. My Cedar Sage only get water when I remember. Still, for there to be any blooms on Cedar Sage in October is not something I’ve seen before.

Pam from Digging and Jenny from Rock Rose commented after my Columbine post that they’ve seen other spring bloomers currently in bloom around Austin.

After the hot and dry summer of 2009 (not as bad as summer 2011), I observed an Anacacho Orchid Tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) loaded with gorgeous blooms. The page from the NPIN: Plant Database about Anacacho Orchids states that this plant blooms in spring and “sometimes after heavy summer/fall rains.”

Perhaps the extremity of our current weather patterns, (warm/dry springs, very hot/very dry summers and limited rain in the fall), cause more occurrences of the formerly “rare” blooming cycles of early season bloomers during the fall months.

In any case, it’s a treat to enjoy these lovely blooms again this year.

Spring is Late. Or Early

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Tina

When I decided to post tidbits about Texas native plants in honor of Native Plant Week, I thought to myself, “Bummer that I won’t have any photos of the lovely spring bloomers.”

Off I went, deciding which plants to profile according to what I currently have in my gardens that is interesting. I’m puttering in my front garden and a yellow thing catches my eye. Oh my goodness!! An infant Hinckley Columbine (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana) bud. (It could also be the Aquilegia chrysantha–only your friendly neighborhood botanist can tell for sure.)

I can’t believe my eyes! Columbines are cool season plants, blooming in Central Texas from March through May, sometimes into June, depending on temperatures and rainfall. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of any of my Columbines in full spring regalia, but if you don’t know what this beautiful native flower looks like, click on the Hinkley Columbine page of the NPIN: Native Plant Database and you can see several. All the literature that I’ve read says that Columbines bloom “rarely” in the fall. I’ve never seen it happen in my gardens–until this week. You can see in my photos, the burned leaves and stems of the Columbine (need to prune those…) and indeed, several of my Columbines died this summer.

This is a different plant and I missed the bloom. Again, note the summer-singed leaves.

Fried Columbine isn’t an unusual outcome of the Texas summer. Often, the plant will go dormant and then re-surge with the fall rains and cooler temperatures.

The two plants with blooms remained fairly robust during this Summer From Hell. Even so, the blooms are not the lush, extravagant blooms of spring, but a bit small and puny by comparison. The blooms are about two-thirds the size of the springtime beauties and the normally dramatic spurs…seem a little timid. Still, I’m thrilled to see Columbine blooms in October.

So far, I’ve had a total of four blooms.

Has anyone else experienced this nice gift in their gardens?

Turk’s Cap Redux

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Tina

My nice, big brother, Chad, sent me a photo of a hummingbird at his Turk’s Cap in Corpus Christi.

See, I told you that hummers love Turk’s Cap!

I mentioned how tough Turk’s Cap is in my first post about this plant. When my children were little and they wanted to play ball sports in our driveway, I cringed. The ‘fill-in-the-blank’ balls wreaked havoc on my shrubs and flowers. (Note: basketball/soccer ball plus Columbine does not have a positive outcome–at least not for the Columbine!) When we placed a basketball hoop beside the driveway, I needed to plant something that wouldn’t break very time the kids played outside. Years before, I had planted Barbados Cherry, (Malpighia glabra), along the side of the driveway as a hedge and it had proved sturdy against the ravages of playtime. We placed the hoop stand about 4-5 feet to the right of the Barbados Cherry and on the other side was St. Augustine grass. I wanted to plant something in addition to the Barbados Cherry and chose Turk’s Cap because I knew that the Turk’s Cap would withstand the bounces of balls and so it did.

The balls (and children) that careened into the Turk’s Cap never damaged the plants, other than a few blooms that were knocked off of their stems. The children and Barbados Cherry weren’t damaged either. Additionally, Turk’s Cap and Barbados Cherry work nicely together, especially when both plants bloom simultaneously, the pink of the Barbados Cherry and the red of the Turk’s Cap and also when they bear their respective red fruits, which birds love.

There are a few negative qualities to Turk’s Cap:

If you plant Turk’s Cap, be certain that where you plant it, is where you want it. While it’s easy to transplant as a seedling, transplanting an established stand is VERY hard on the back, arms, legs and sweat glands. Also, be sure to give Turk’s Cap plenty of room to spread. It grows.

This year I’ve noticed that the Turk’s Cap leaves are getting munched more than I’ve noticed in the past.

Maybe this happens every year and I’ve not noticed before. I think I’m more aware of the hole-y leaves because so many other plants suffered sun burn this year. If this is a quality that you find objectionable, then it’s something you should consider before you plant Turk’s Cap. I don’t particularly mind a few dings in leaves and given the long bloom cycle and fabulous performance of this plant, I still think Turk’s Cap is a beautiful addition to any garden.

Because Turk’s Cap is deciduous, it’s wise to plant it with evergreen plants so that there is something interesting happening during Turk’s Cap’s off-season. Rock Rose (Pavonia lasiopetala), is lovely with Turk’s Cap,

and these plants share the same bloom time (late spring, summer, early fall).

Turk’s Cap and Cast Iron Plant are good companions,

and the non-berrying ‘Nana’ Nandina works well too.

I’m NOT a proponent of planting most forms of Nandina. Never, ever, ever plant the Nandina shrubs which produce berries. Those Nandina are invasive plants to most areas of Texas and are on all the “NO-NO” lists. Don’t plant them! However, the small Nandina shrub, usually known as a ‘Nana’, is an acceptable plant because it doesn’t produce berries and therefore won’t spread. It’s also a tough, xeric plant. This plant sports a nice burgundy to red color in the winter and that’s why I like it paired with Turk’s Cap. The photo above was taken recently, and the ‘Nana’ (on the right in the photo) is not particularly interesting. But when the Turk’s Cap is dormant during winter, the little ‘Nana’ will be appealing because of the vibrant color of its leaves.

The other plant is this photo (on the left) is the non-native, evergreen Burford Holly, (Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’). It showcases beautiful red berries in the winter, until the cedar waxwings arrive to dispense with the berries–usually in one afternoon.

I could talk about Turk’s Cap further, but I have a life. If you grow this plant, you know what I’m talking about. If you don’t, go buy one today (from your locally owned, independent nursery), and try it. You’ll love Turk’s Cap.