Archive for May, 2007
Talk from Mercer
I attended a talk last night given by Mercer Garden’s director. It was a wonderful talk, attend it if you can. I’ve seen it offered in various places around Houston. “Turning up the heat in the garden” or “What’s hot: Preparing & Planning for Houston Heat”.
Some interesting highlights from the talk were about preparing soil and some specific plants that do well in the heat down here.
Soil prep: The clay around your home was put there by the contractor to level out the homesite and help keep your home from sinking. It might be a few inches thick or a few feet thick. There is real dirt underneath the clay. That is what you want to plant in. So rototill it up or add at least 4″ of real soil before planting.
Use pine bark mulch, not hardwood. The pine will rot and add to the soil, the hardwoods add tannic acid to the soil which poisons it for plants.
Add sharp sand ( not play sand ) to the soil to help with drainage. This is also known as masonary sand.
There were several plants recommended for Houston. I’ll just list them with short notes. Google can serve up pictures and more information if you are interested. I’ll do specific notes on the ones I add to my gardens as I add them.
Perennials & Woodies:
Calibrachoa aka Mission Bells – These want full sun, well drained soil and will bloom all summer long. They come in several colors.
Clerodendrum speciossisimum ( I really liked this one ) This is a shade loving plant, with bright deep red flowers.
Firmiana simplex aka Chinese parasol Tree
Hibiscus rosa-sinesis aka Tropical hibiscus. On hibiscus the plants with multi-colored blooms only bloom in cool weather.
Jacarana mimosifolia aka Blue Jacaranda – all legume/pea plants need excellent drainage to do well, they are very prone to rotting.
Malvaviscus mexicanus aka Mexican Turk’s Cap. This is a large evergreen that is good for hiding things like mechanical equipment. It has the oddest red flowers on it too. Prune it heavily for best flowering, which occurs in Dec. and Jan.
Lysimachia congestiflora aka Variegated Golden Globes
Phlox paniculata aka Old Fashioned garden Phlox. Be careful when buying phlox to buy only the southern varieties. Northern versions will get powdery mildew down here.
Plectranthus aka Mona Lavendar this is an ivy with purple flowers which flower all summer. It needs part shade.
Scabiosa columbaria ‘Butterfly Blue’ aka Pincushion flower, must be well drained, drought tolerant.
Scaevol ‘New Wonder’ aka Fan flower
Bamboo – Arrow, Buddha Belly, Mexican Weeping and Weavers These are all clumping bamboos so your neighbors won’t want to lynch you in a few years. They take about 3 years to reach full height. Shoots grow one year, then leaf out following year.
Gingers – Curcuma ( elata, Laddawan, Purple Prince, Rainbow and Scarlet Fever ) I really liked the rainbow one. In the cool weather the leaves turn yellow and you should cut them to the ground.
- Kaempferia ( Alva, RAven, rotunda ) These gingers will bloom all summer for you.
- Hedychium ( corrals, ‘Double Eagle’, Tara )
Vines:
Manettia inflata – a good plant for humming birds and a very delicate vine
Passiflora ( Lavendar lady, Incense )
June 2nd will be the ginger and tropical plant sale at Mercer, where all of these will be offered.
Grapes
Grapes grow very well here. The only problem we have had is keeping the birds from eating them all. I find the yard fills with mocking birds as soon as the grapes appear. The mocking birds chase the squirrels away, eat the grapes, then leave only to return next year.
Grapes must be heavily pruned to fruit. Prune as soon as new leaves appear. Prune heavily, cutting back to the strongest branches on each plant. Train grapes along posts and strings. This allows air and light to get to all of the vine. These grapes were planted a year ago.
Grapes like most fruit plants want full sun. These are doing fine and receive sun all afternoon, but no morning sun.
Fertilizer is not recommended or needed for grapes. I put some worm castings down in the spring. I’m told fertilizers ruin the taste of the grapes so stay away from them.
Grapes want lots of water while getting established and should be fine after that. Grape roots will go as deep as 30′.
Houston temperatures are fine for grapes, both the heat and the cold. They will drop their leaves in winter and are one of the last plants to put out new leaves each spring.
More information:
Royal Horticultural Society, Summer Grape Care
Mercer classes
Last week I took my first class at Mercer Gardens I’ve been meaning to do that and am sorry I postponed it so long. Programs happen in the spring and the fall. I think the bromeliad class yesterday was the last for this year.
Some bromeliads do well as house plants in this area, some do well out in our gardens. Mercer’s bromeliad plant sale is Friday (1-5), Sat.(9-5) Sun.(11-4) of this week. There will also be a bromeliad show at Mercer Sat. (2-5) and Sun. (11-4 ).
More information:
2007 Mercer Garden Pictures
2003 Mercer Garden Pictures
Blushing Bromeliad
Pineapple
