Herself’s Houston Garden

If you ‘ve given up growing hostas down here or are looking for a hosta replacement, consider these gingers. Kaempheria pulchria grow in shade, remain small and provide wonderful foliage and small purple flowers.

All gingers are safe to eat from flowers to leaves to roots, that doesn’t mean they will all taste good though.

Like hostas they are the very last plant to show up in your garden each spring. Be patient if yours do not reappear. Some will wait till mid June before poking a leaf up, the ground must reach 70′F first. These will go dormant over the winter.

They form rounded clumps as they grown between 6″-12″ in height and 9″-12″ across depending on the variety.

Peacock gingers bloom from June until November here. Each small purple flower blooms for one day to be replaced by a fresh flower the following day.

Plant them in the deep shade and water regularly all summer. They want to be moist. Go easy on the watering in the winter or them might rot.

The designs on the leaves are what draws people to peacock gingers more than the flowers. The leaves are much rounder than any of the other ginger families.

Propagate by dividing the rhizomes.

These gingers also do well in hanging baskets. They do well around the base of trees where it is too shady for other plants. Just remember to keep them moist.

This tree came with the house and it took me a while to get an id on it. The peeling bark on the stems adds great texture to the garden. The tree is very full and topped out at about 18′ with an 18′ spread. It can reach 50′ tall with a 40′ spread but I’ve not seen it that large locally.

This tree loves to grow in wet places. When it rains this area it is in is wet for days. In dry summers it is not so wet but the river birch seems to handle the dry spells well.

In the fall the leaves turn yellow and fall off, it will re-leaf out late spring.

River birches are grown in clumps and lower branches are removed just for a cleaner look, and so you can see that cool bark.

It doesn’t mind clay soils, making it a great choice for the Houston area. Leaves may be more yellow in alkaline areas, it prefers slightly acidic soils.

River birches want full sun.

I’ve a terrible problem with falling dead twigs off this tree. I had originally thought is was just the way these trees are. That is not the case. The problem is the ‘tree girdler beetle’. This beetle cuts the twigs, lays eggs on the twigs and they drop to the ground sending baby out into the world. There isn’t much of any treatment except to remove the twigs as they fall to keep future generations away from your tree.

Though not naturally short lived it may be so in urban or dry areas, living only 20 or 30 years. In wet areas it will live a long, full life.

I first happened across plants with thorns on the leaves in a botanical garden in Hawaii. I never thought I’d be able to grow one here. But as luck would have it, I found this plant at a Jerry’s Jungle plant sale July 4th.

This can reach about 8′ in height but will likely top out at about 4′ here. Stems will become more woody with age. Right now the stems are soft and also covered in thorns. Leaves can reach 2′ in length and are somewhat fuzzy. Typically fuzzy leaved plants are things to avoid in Houston. The fuzz means they are meant for drier, less humid climates.

They love the sun, go ahead and plant them in full sun.

They are cold sensitive and will need protection over the colder winter nights. They should come back in warmer weather if they do get cold damage in the winter. Heat can also be a problem for them. They prefer a more moderate climate than we have here in Houston.

Water frequently, especially in our warmer months.

The hairs and thorns are purple, the colors in the images are true.

This plant is a member of the nightshade family, just like tomatoes, potatoes etc. The fruit of this plant is orange and small. Fruit takes about 2 months to ripen. I haven’t had any yet.

Native to northern south America.

Problems:
Nematodes, grow them in pots if nematodes are a problem in your garden.
White flies also like this plant.

Propagate by seeds.

More information:
Naranjilla

I thought I had already covered this plant or I would’ve gotten pictures before everything else grew up around it. This is one of my favorite plants. I had it out front in the swale garden but when ever it got windy I’d lose several spikes. So now it is protected by the fence and other plants.

While young you’ll want to stake this plant, and plant it somewhere it will get some wind protection.

Papyrus is a water plant. Plant it in a bog, shallow pond or area that stays wet.

It’s not mentioned in any of my garden books and that’s a shame. It is totally cool looking, grows where nothing else will, in wet clay and has been pain free. Other than cutting back broken stalks after windy days I’ve done nothing to it. And no stalks have broken since I moved it near the fence.

The stalks are about 10′ in height. Each year the new ones are taller than the previous years stalks. The heads are about 12″ across on the taller stalks. The umbles ( flower heads ) on the end of the stalks turn brown in the winter, but most re-green up when the weather breaks.

Keep it wet and it will thrive and spread. I find it tolerates occasional dry spells.

Around 4000 bce it was used to make a paper like substance and one of Egypt’s main exports.

It’s hard to find at the nurseries, if you are looking for a plant try the online pond plant stores.