Herself’s Houston Garden

This plant was abandoned in the free pile at the extension office a few weeks back. I thought, gosh, there are almost no roots will it make it? But then you’ve heard the adage about gardeners bearing gifts? So here it is and time will tell if it will take, or take over.

Century plant gets extremely large. Leaves can reach 6′ in length, the flower stalk will be 20-40′ tall when it decides to bloom. The century plant can reach 7′ in height with an 8′-12′ spread. Most are fast growing plants, some grow so fast you can feel the heat escaping if you put your hands near the leaves on a cool day.

Most agaves are too large for city gardens.   So plant with lots of room and caution.  Removing agave plants is not fun.  RoundUp and such do not usually effect them. You’ll be doing the removal by hand if needed.

This is a desert plant, so give it full sun and little water. It is named century plant because early botanists thought it only bloomed once every 100 years. It’s not quite this bad. Most will bloom after 10 years in a given location. After blooming the mother plant dies and babies will appear from the ground near the mother plant.

Watch the sap when trimming it, it will cause skin irritations.

These make great barrier plants.  The points are extremely sharp.  Many growers clip the point on the tip off a little.  Think of it as declawing the plant.

Some agaves stay compact as a single plant, while others send out runners with babies. Agaves die after flowering.  Flowers are generally white or yellow and on very tall stalks.  It takes about 50 years to go from seed to flower for most agaves.

Smaller agaves, especially slower growing agaves make good container plants.

While this is not the preferred agave for making tequila  it has been used in a pinch when enough of the agave salmiana and mapisaga can’t be found.  Fibers created from the leaves were commonly used in cord and cloth by the Mayas and Aztecs and are still used in production today.

See also:
Rare plant towers over owner’s house

Someone mentioned Earth Kind roses in a comment a few months back. I had meant to talk about the Earth Kind program sooner but so many topics, so few posts. Many of you are familiar with the Earth Kind roses but there is more to Earth Kind than just roses. Its main purpose it to promote environmental awareness. It is the belief of Earth Kind that “A healthy environment starts in your own backyard.”

Earth Kind uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum gardening and landscape enjoyment while preserving and protecting our environment.

The objective of Earth Kind is to combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create a horticultural system based on real world effectiveness and environmental responsibility.

The EarthKind program is a program brought to us by TAMU and Texas AgriLife Extension. On their website you’ll find information about urban gardening that is kind to the environment.

Everyone I know who has Earth Kind roses raves about them. They grow and thrive will very little care. If you love roses but are having trouble growing them in Texas be sure to look for Earth Kind roses at your local nursery.

There is also a Plant selector. You enter your zip code and you can get a list of all recommended plants in your area, or just certain ones.

Earth Kind also has several publications on environmentally friendly gardening in Texas.

There is also an Earth Kind Master Gardener Online Training Course for those of you who don’t have the time for the traditional Master Gardener course.

Did you know the average Texas household uses 6,000 gallons of water in January and 16,000 gallons in August? Those extra 10,000 gallons of water per month per household are for watering lawns and gardens. A little bit of conservation ( mulch, use waterwise plants, plant water loving plants in wet areas of your gardens, and dry loving plants in dry areas ) would go a very long way to conserving our water. Don’t just turn on the sprinkler. Stick your finger in the ground and see if the garden actually needs water.

Do you know you need to add organic matter every year to your garden? If you add it as mulch, that will help conserve water. Organic material does not last long in hot, humid climates. House plants that have been mulched use 25% less water. Outside the conservation is even greater.

If you use native plants they will need less water, less chemicals and less care from you. Earth Kind plants are all developed to do as well as our native species.

This climate leaves little organics or nutrients in the soil. But don’t just dump out fertilizer. Have a soil test done, or do your own and use only what you need. Nitrogen washed into the gulf kills.

To learn more about environmentally friendly urban gardening visit the many resources Earth Kind has made available and look for the Earth Kind label when you purchase plants.

See also:
The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone
Soil Testing

It was love at first sight when I first saw this plant at a botanical garden in San Antonio. I was able to acquire one at the Extension Office plant sale this spring.

Flowers may be purple or white, grow on 6″ stems, and have very long stamens resembling cat’s whiskers. It is a flowering shrub that can reach 4′ in height with a 3′ spread. Flowering occurs late summer through early fall in most places, can bloom year round here in Houston.

Cat’s whiskers prefers full sun, but will tolerate partial shade. Keep the soil moist and do not let this plant dry out. It wilts when the soil gets dry. The flowers attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

It is a fast grower and blooms easily.

Cat’s whiskers can be easily propagated from cuttings.

If you are looking for an unusual plant that is easy to grow consider this one. The picture really doesn’t show just how wonderful the blooms are.

Java Tea is made from this plant and said to help pass kidney stones.

Keep an eye out for scale on this plant. And protect this plant from freezes.

Be free with the pruning shears it will thicken up after heavy prunings.

This is an amazingly beautiful tree. New leaves come out red, transition to green, and it is full of lilac like blooms in the spring, but with out the heavy scent.

If you are lucky enough to have one, enjoy it while you can. I don’t recommend buying one to plant here. One fungus or another will eat it before too much time goes by.

Unfortunately for us, our was attacked by fungi before I knew to watch out for these things. The splitting of the bark at the bottom means its days are numbered. It was also planted way too close to the house so it can’t get a breeze through to help keep the fungi away.

If you catch the fungus early, you might be able to save your plants. ( see: Entomosporium Leaf Spot on Red Tip. ) This occurs when we have a wet cool spring or fall with temperatures between 60′F and 80′F and 12+ hours of rain. ‘Immunox’ is the recommended fungicide. Put a couple of drops of dish soap in when you mix the fungicide and it will spread better over the leaves.

If you still want to buy and plant one, and I understand, it’s a really pretty tree. Plant it in full sun, in a well drained location that will catch a breeze. Water frequently. Easy on fertilizes as photinia is salt sensitive.

These are sometimes kept super pruned into shrubs but are at their best when allowed to grow into tree form. They will reach 20′ in height.