Trees for Fall Planting

                This is a great time of year for putting in trees and shrubs.  Our fall and winter seasons allow the new plants to establish themselves and concentrate on root growth before the stress of our hot, dry summer season.   To get you in the spirit of planting, I thought I’d give you some ideas for trees that do well here on the edge of the Edward’s Plateau.  Our soil is thin, very alkaline, and full of rocks.  That means that some plants will just not do well here.  Soil moisture can be a challenge – especially in the hot summer months.   If you are going to invest in a medium or large shade tree, you want it to survive.  Here are some suggestions.  Please note that I am adding the Latin names.  There is confusion and mislabeling – especially among the oaks.  So, be sure your nursery uses the Latin names so you know what you are getting. 

                There are several oak trees that are less susceptible to Oak Wilt than our red oaks and live oaks.  You probably already have red and live oaks on your property and may want to add some diversity to your landscape.  The Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) produces large, deeply lobed leaves and huge acorns.  The Chinquapin Oak (Quercus muhlenbergii) tends to grow tall and slender with glossy, dark green leaves.  A faster growing, though smaller, native oak that is becoming quite popular is the Mexican White Oak or Monterrey Oak (Quercus polymorpha).   The Lacey Oak (Quercus laceyi) has peachy colored new growth in spring and returns to a peachy color in fall.  It, too, is a smaller tree.  All four are native to Texas, tolerate our alkaline, rocky soil, and, once established, tolerate our periodic droughts. 

                Another tough native Texas tree is the Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia).  It will grow as large as live oaks and provide a nice shade tree.  It has a little golden fall color before losing its leaves. 

                There are a couple of overlooked natives that can grow to medium-sized trees.  Eve’s Necklace (Sophora affinis) grows well in shade, has lovely pink flowers in the spring followed by the beaded pod that gives the tree its common name.  Anaqua or Sandpaper tree (Ehretia anacua) is an interesting tree with leaves that feel like sandpaper (not good eating for deer).  It gets white flowers and red/orange berries.  Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) is not well liked by ranchers, but is a nice, fast growing shade tree that is very drought tolerant.  It is a great choice for an area that has lots of sun, poor soil, and no irrigation. 

Native Texas Plants by Sally and Andy Wasowski is a great book for pictures and more information about these and many other native trees and plants.

Check out these websites for more ideas and planting information:  http://www.texastreeplanting.tamu.edu/,  www.wildflower.org,  http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/. 

Local Nurseries that carry native trees and plants include:  Hill Country Gardener in New Braunfels (hillcountrygardens.com), Madrone Nursery in San Marcos (madronenursery.com), and The Natural Gardener in Austin (naturalgardeneraustin.com).  Also, check out the Sattler Ace Hardware.  They have been working with the Native Plant Society of Texas to increase the number of native plants that they carry.

The local Native Plant Society of Texas for Comal County and for Boerne both have plant sales periodically.  Watch for these sales in the spring and fall.  Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center has plant sales in April and October up in Austin.

Summer of the Katydid

 

                One of the things about living in South Central Texas that I have come to enjoy is that there is always something extreme happening.  It’s either flooding, or we are in a drought.  Some years are spectacular for flowers (the Huisache bloom was remarkable this year).  Remember the year of the snout nose butterflies?  That must have been the summer of 2006.  There were swarms of them everywhere.  I remember walking down the street in New Braunfels with so many of them flying around me that I could reach out and touch them.   And they would swoop across the highway in front of cars. 

                This summer is the summer of the Katydids.  We had a year like this a couple of summers ago.  I had done a little research then, so I recognized them when they returned in numbers this year.  So many people have asked about them that I did a little more research this year.  Here are some facts.

·         They are members of the same insect family as grasshoppers and crickets.  They are not related to the other great summer singers – the Cicadas.  They usually have very long back legs and long antennae.

·         The species we commonly see range in size from about 1 ½ “ to 2 1/2 “ in length. 

·         There are many different kinds of Katydids. You will notice differences in size, color and even shape.   Some eat flowers, others eat leaves, and a few are carnivorous and eat frog’s eggs and other insects.

·         They have a raspy “song” which is most pronounced at night.  The sound comes from rubbing their forewings together.  While the sound is like a cyclic hum to my ears in normal summers, it can be quite irritating when we have as many as we do this year.

·         They are native to Central Texas and usually do not cause significant damage.  Our native plants have evolved alongside them and usually recover from any damage.

·         Like the grasshopper, they produce a brown/red fluid that they use as a defense. 

·         The Red Katydid prefers oak canopies.   In large numbers it can cause significant defoliation.  Large Oaks will recover.  Oaks under three years old may profit from protection. 

·         Katydids provide nutrition for our native birds.  If you have not got feeders and water out for the birds, now is the time to think about adding that to your yard.  Their song is much more attractive to me, and they help control some of the crazy swings in insect populations. 

Winter Rain = Wildflowers

 

Our drought is not over we’re told.  However, the wonderful winter rains have helped germinate a couple years worth of wildflower seeds that have been just waiting for this weather.  Let’s identify a few of the bountiful blooms that you are surely seeing in your yards here in Mystic Shores

Hill Country will be shimmering blue with a flush of blue bonnets this spring.  If you don’t have them in your yard, you can buy plants in the spring and establish a small bed of them.  The deer seem to eat them in my front yard unless I protect them with a wire fence.  In the back yard where it is fenced, I started 6 plants 5 years ago and now have hundreds.  I don’t water or fertilize them at all.  I pull the plants when the seed pods are brown (they are annuals and won’t come back).  By that time they will have thrown their seeds all over.  Late summer I will start to see the little plants starting up.  This has worked so much better than scattering seed in the fall.  If I want plants in new places, I just throw some of the seeds around as I am pulling up the spent plants.

Another early spring wildflower that you will surely see is the prairie coneflower.  It is a perennial, so it will continue to come up wherever you see it this spring.  It will also continue to multiply by seeds that germinate in the fall.  It is lovely mixed with our wild grasses or massed in a wildflower garden.  The deer don’t bother this hardy fellow, and they are extremely drought tolerant, so you can grow them anywhere in your yard that you want.  Your problem will be that they will spread and multiply rapidly.  They have a deep taproot, so they are hard to pull by hand.  This plant supplies not only nectar but small seeds that our small finches enjoy. 

If you are very lucky, you may have some Texas Paintbrush on your property.  I have only found one plant in my yard and it only blooms in years that we have rain.  This plant is semi parasitic.  Its roots will invade the roots of nearby native grasses and take nutrition from them.  If you want to introduce these lovely natives, you can buy seed or it is possible to buy plants that are already attached to a grass.  If you find some, be sure to let the seed pods form and dry before mowing since these are annuals and won’t come back from the roots. 

We have a couple of kinds of wild Verbena that will be blooming.  One form has ferny, prostrate growth and forms dense mats if it gets any water.  It will bloom for months if the rains continue.  Its sister tends to send its clusters up away from the mat of green leaves.  The Verbenas are full of nectar for the early butterflies.   You will find that the deer don’t much bother the native verbenas but will lunch on the cultivars that you buy at the nursery.   

After these natives have finished their show, look for the odd looking Antelope Horn plants.  The first time I saw the bloom of this plant, I was blown away.  It looked like a green – white wax globe with multiple little parts.  The plant grows prostrate and has long thin leaves on the trailing stems.  It is a milkweed and has a white, sticky sap if you break the plant.  After blooming it sets long brown pods that are filled with thousands of seeds on feathery little parachutes.   This plant is a great plant for caterpillars.  So, if you love the Monarchs and Queen Butterflies, leave these strange plants in place when you find them.   The flowers’ nectar is popular with our native bees and many butterflies.

 

Sources:  Wildflowers of Texas by Geyata Ajilvsgi (a Hill Country resident), and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website ( http://www.wildflower.org )