Herself’s Houston Garden

Sure, the hawkmoth does a good job of pollinating the plant, Nicotiana attenuata, which grows in the Western United States and flowers at night. But the hawkmoth has this annoying habit of leaving behind its eggs, which develop into caterpillars that like nothing better than to eat the plant.

So N. attenuata strikes back in a novel way, according to scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany. As they describe in Current Biology, it shifts the time of its flowering to mornings and attracts a different pollinator, a hummingbird. (NYT Science, Plant switches pollinators when caterpillars strike)

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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.

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.

Lantana is well loved for its colored flowers and ease of care. Considered an invasive weed in some areas it will grow happily in your garden down here. Moths and butterflies will make good use of this plant. I have it out back in my bee-butterfly-hummingbird garden.

Several varieties exist of Lantana. A general rule of thumb is that shorter varieties flower more than taller varieties. I’m told it can grow to 6′ tall, I’ve yet to see it more than a couple feet tall and that is rare. Leaves have an unpleasant smell when crushed.

Small flowers form in clusters and it blooms through out the warm weather. Flowers come in yellow, oranges, reds and multi-color varieties.

It will grow in just about any soil, and in full sun to part shade. It prefers moist soil but well drained soil. Once established it is drought tolerant.

Leaves, flowers and berries can be toxic.  The berries are the most toxic but lose some toxicity as they ripen.

They are not easy to grow from seed, stem cuttings are best. Lantana can be cut back to the ground if it gets out of control. It is often used as a border plant because you can cut it back and keep it neat.

Older varieties have multicolored flowers, the same colors you see in a plate of ham and eggs. It is often referred to as the ‘ham and eggs plant’. In Asia it is known as ‘chicken dropping’ plant because of the smell of the leaves. I’ve not noticed a smell from the plant myself.

Be sure you like it before you plant it, it may be tough to eradicate.

Prune freely, this can be pruned to the ground if you wish. Protect the crown of the plant with mulch in the winter.

These are usually care free plants but occasionally you may have a white fly problem.