Herself’s Houston Garden

Back in Boston I had a quince that came with our home outside my office window. It was the first plant to flower every spring and my favorite.

Last fall I found a Cameo Quince and put it outside my office window down here in Houston. It was the first plant to bloom in the garden this year.

We are really at the lower edge of where it will grow ( zone 5a-8b ) and I’m not sure how well it will do in the summer but I couldn’t resist giving it a try.

This quince is planted in part shade but it will do well in full sun.

Chaenomeles cameo quince does not have the thorns many other quinces do.

In a cold winter quince will drop its leaves, this one retained its leaves all winter.

Watering needs are average.

Needs little pruning to keep its shape. Quince will reach about 5′ tall by 6′ wide.

Quince was a staple in Victorian gardens. The fruit must be cooked before eating. It was commonly baked in pies that are similar to apple pies.

This year I collected my first crop of lemons from my Meyer Lemon tree. The tree’s been here three years. The first two years it bloomed early and I lost the flowers to a late winter chill. I find it’s not uncommon for newly planted plants to be a bit confused about flowering times for a few years.

Lemon and all fruit trees need hours of full sunlight. If the tree isn’t getting full sunlight the fruit may not reach maturity before the cold weather sets in. That said I’ve seen lemon trees covered in healthy fruit late December.

Pruning fruit trees is very important for good fruit production. Light needs to reach all the fruit growing on the tree. When I prune the lemon tree I first remove any dead branches. Then I remove any branches that cross other branches. These will rub in the wind and create wounds that may get infested. Third I remove branches growing down, or growing straight up. Branches growing down get shaded and tend to be weak, ones growing straight up at 90′ angles to the branch they will take all the energy from the branch they are growing from. Lastly I thin out any branches preventing light from reaching into the tree.

In time the tree can reach 18′ tall. You’ll want to prune it to keep it low enough to easily reach the fruit.

Meyer’s Lemon trees are named after Frank Meyer who brought the tree here from China in 1908. The trees quickly became popular until the Meyer Lemon Trees came under attack from a virus in the 1940s. Banned in an effort to save the rest of the citrus trees a new version was bred that was virus free and brought back in the 1970s.

Meyer lemons have thicker skins and are sweeter than most lemons.

Once settled in the tree will often bloom twice a year and provide year round lemons.

Meyer Lemon Trees also make good balcony plants and will grow well in pots.

( also known as Valley Lemon in Texas )

Reasons your tree might not fruit:
- Too little sun
- Late frost kills blooms
- Lack of pollination, flowers but no fruit

Warning: No one told me lemon trees have very large, very sharp thorns. Wear thick leather gloves or tread carefully when pruning.

Easily grows from cuttings.

Problems:
- scale – treat with insecticidal oils

Meyer lemons are not considered true lemons being a cross between lemon, orange and mandarins.

This shrub will easily reach 6′ tall in Houston and 4′ across. It is a very dense shrub right down to the ground. There’ll be no bare legs hanging out underneath.

Thryalis prefers full sun, it will grow in part shade but it’ll get leggy on you.

Blooms prolifically mid spring to early winter.

Drought tolerant once established. Excellent for barriers and low maintenance areas.

Birds, bees and butterflies are attracted to this plant.

Hardy to zone 8 but will die back in the winter in zone 8.

Propagate by cuttings.

Sometimes referenced as thryallis

Nothing interesting to report yet, this plant is only glancingly referenced in my books and I just picked it up this week.

Any plant with neglect ‘em in the name sounds like it’s right up my alley. What the name really refers to is that the flower is hidden from view.

The drought has not been kind to the gingers, they have all grown, all flowered, but the leaves are scorched and the flowers dismal on many of them.

When not in a drought the flower has a brilliant scarlet edge to each cup and is truly stunning. The edges should turn more red with time as the flower matures. The actual flowers are a pale, translucent white and there is one per cup.

As with other gingers, give this plant mostly shade to dappled light and moderate water.

Feel free to cut leaf stalks in the winter back to ground level or leave them if you want the foliage.

Propagate by division.

Native to Indonesia.