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Silas_Sancona

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@Chester B @Hillizard  ...and everyone else

Gotta love that title, lol:D

A sure sigh that spring has arrived here ..and ( more so ) in Texas.. occurs when the scent of Grape Soda starts filing the air.  Smelling it, eyes start wandering, looking for the source. When found, attention quickly turns to the spectacular cascades of purplish blue Wisteria-like flowers smothering tropical-looking, dark green pinnate, glossy foliage.. While some might assume Texas Mountain Laurel, or Dermatophyllum secundiflorum ( Previously known as Sophora secundiflora ) would originate some place warm and wet, this tough Texas native originates from some of the hottest and relatively dry portions of the state, and adjacent Mexico. Many parts of this region of Texas get quite cold in winter as well.

While not a fast grower, Tx. Mtn. Laurel steadily attains a maximum height ranging between 10 - roughly 20ft in it's environment. In cultivation, while many specimens seen stay within this range, well grown specimens can add 5-10ft of height. Trees remain evergreen throughout the year and only slowly shed old leaves. Flowers are generally produced in late winter-mid spring, depending on where grown. Seed pods, which resemble somewhat fuzzy Peanuts, can take about 6 months to mature and often persist on the trees for longer. Seeds themselves are extremely hard and bright red/red orange. While hard enough to break teeth, the seeds are considered highly toxic and were once used for their hallucinogenic properties.

In the landscape, these trees can sustain themselves on once a month soakings during the warmer months, ( will also speed up growth a bit ) and little to no water thru the winter.. Soil should drain well, and not stay soggy for long. Trees can be casually shaped to keep size in check / height reduced. While a fairly common "landscape tree" here in Arizona, Texas Mountain Laurel can be grown/ trialed pretty much anywhere from zone 7 thru 11. Have even heard of people trying these in zone 6.  Because it stays fairly small and doesn't grow too fast, these make excellent "Patio Tree" candidates for small-ish spaces.  Should be much more commonly encountered across California than it seems to be. Worth a try in Florida, if it isn't already.. but might not like growing in sand.  Is sometimes attacked by the caterpillars of a certain Moth but damage is normally minimal or can be controlled using BT. Even if defoliated, plants bounce back pretty vigorously afterwards.

While the standard flower color produced ranges from Purple to Blue Violet, individual trees with pale lavender, and White flowers have been documented in habitat and in cultivation.  There is also a variety of Texas Mtn. Laurel with Silver colored foliage. Flowers on it tend to be darker and more tightly clustered. Overall appearance tends to be a little more open than the standard form/ variety.

For such a tough tree, these sure offer up a nice way to welcome spring.. no matter what else sits planted beside, admiring them..

Some pictures from today.

Trees starting to flower across the street.. Standard form.
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Nice, dark-flowered version of the standard form.
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Short/ fat specimen up in Glendale, AZ.
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Found this pale-flowered specimen by surprise over there today also. Assuming it were the same as the rest of the specimens there, didn't collect seed from it. Did so today. Hopefully what plants i grow from it produce the same pale flowers. As mentioned, there are also rare, completely white flowered specimens found in Texas. Would be great to access seed from those.
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Silver leaved form, sometimes called "Silver Peso" in the Nursery/Hort trade. DBG specimen.
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Interesting, NOID form over at Desert Botanical.. Sigh lists it as Sophora arizonica, a local "Mtn. Laurel"  Sophora species but all literature i have researched, other specimens i have viewed, of that species look quite different than this.. Overall form is smaller /flower clusters smaller/tighter.. Regardless, pretty nice flowers that are fragrant as well. Wish i could get seeds off of it. Large wispy tree behind it is Boat Thorn Acacia, ( Acacia cochliacantha ) a pioneering tree species in the Thornscrub / Tropical deciduous Forest regions, native from Nogales to Sinaloa. Has been expanding it's range north in recent years.
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Some of the seed i collected from across the street.. Have a large bag full, ready to germinate..
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Enjoy :greenthumb:..
Nathan

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Great post! Thanks for taking the time to write it. I'll have to look around and see if I can spot any here. Do they continue to bloom throughout the season or is it a one shot kinda thing?

The seed in your pic look "delidded", are they, or is that how they look fresh out of the pod?

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24 minutes ago, NOT A TA said:

Great post! Thanks for taking the time to write it. I'll have to look around and see if I can spot any here. Do they continue to bloom throughout the season or is it a one shot kinda thing?

The seed in your pic look "delidded", are they, or is that how they look fresh out of the pod?

Thanks,

Mainly a spring flower-er but have seen specimens throw around a few sporadic flowers off season, say in late summer also, but the overall "show" isn't as big. Dark green foliage / overall form is the main attraction when not flowering.

Seeds are straight out of the pods which are fairly thick. Have to be scratched with a file ( or some other bit you might attach to a Dremel ) to break through the seed coat / get them to germinate.

BTW, if you can't find any plants for sale anywhere there, let me know. Have / can collect plenty of seed if interested.

Edited by Silas_Sancona
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Smell of grape soda and seeing bluebonnets (Lupinus texensis) are sure signs of spring!  Seeds germinate pretty easily, particularly when scarified as Nathan indicated.  You'll often see seedlings growing around the base of the tree but strangely the seedlings do not transplant well (like Sabal seedlings).  Austin, Texas has some pretty large ones planted along the downtown city streets in huge containers and do quite well.

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Jon Sunder

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Some others in my garden from Texas

Unknown sabal from texas

The only whashigtonia survive in my garden from texas

 

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DSC_0776.JPG

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I love my plants!

First i try easy whasigtonias

But always die to me but not others palms

I try from many places 

Finly there only one place 

So This texas win but the Californias die

I have some Greek goes well 

But not in the same place

Place for only one

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I love my plants!

First i try easy whasigtonias

But always die to me but not others palms

I try from many places 

Finly there only one place 

So This texas win but the Californias die

I have some Greek goes well 

But not in the same place

Place for only one

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Smelled some grape soda today in fact!

 

IMG_20200226_123652.jpg

And noticed a nice little patch of bluebonnets along side of the highway near my house as well.

IMG_20200224_173313.jpg

Edited by Fusca
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Jon Sunder

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8 minutes ago, Fusca said:

Smelled some grape soda today in fact!

 

IMG_20200226_123652.jpg

And noticed a nice little patch of bluebonnets along side of the highway near my house as well.

IMG_20200224_173313.jpg

You notice any White flowered specimens around town?  Have heard there's a big one located near Mission San Jose not far west of the River Walk..  Some others are supposedly growing near the Arboretum ( Mall? i think.. ) up on the N.W. side of Austin.

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12 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You notice any White flowered specimens around town?  Have heard there's a big one located near Mission San Jose not far west of the River Walk..  Some others are supposedly growing near the Arboretum ( Mall? i think.. ) up on the N.W. side of Austin.

Nathan,

Seems to me that I have seen a white one somewhere but couldn't tell you where.  I guess now's the time to spot one!  Funny you mention the Arboretum in Austin.  When I first moved to Austin in 2006 I took a bus there thinking that I was going to see some plants!  Wrong!  

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Jon Sunder

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I love the blooms and toughness of these.  I’ve been noticing blooms for the last two weeks from Houston to San Antonio to Austin.  This is one of the few trees that deer won’t eat in the hill country.  I’ve germinated many seedlings from ‘silver peso’ so far- no silver and all green.  

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2 hours ago, Fusca said:

Nathan,

Seems to me that I have seen a white one somewhere but couldn't tell you where.  I guess now's the time to spot one!  Funny you mention the Arboretum in Austin.  When I first moved to Austin in 2006 I took a bus there thinking that I was going to see some plants!  Wrong!  

:lol: I thought the same exact thing when i'd seen a blog post that referred to these specimens there. " Didn't know Austin had a Botanical Garden" ( looks at area on google maps.. ) "..ok, maybe not", lol.  Pictures from that location are a few years old so not sure the tree(s) are still there. Looked like there were some Sabal mixed in the same general planting area as well..  Still keeping the location on a " to visit /check out " spot when in the area though.

2 hours ago, Matt N- Dallas said:

I love the blooms and toughness of these.  I’ve been noticing blooms for the last two weeks from Houston to San Antonio to Austin.  This is one of the few trees that deer won’t eat in the hill country.  I’ve germinated many seedlings from ‘silver peso’ so far- no silver and all green.  

Trees that are positioned facing south or west have been the first to flower across the street. Others located on sides of buildings that face north, or are planted in corridors between buildings are just starting. Haven't checked on others near the Mall, or near that area of Chandler.. If not budding yet, shouldn't be long.. Majority of Sweet Acacia planted around town are getting close to flowering also. A bit late this year compared to recent years here. Another Acacia ( believe it's the smallii form of Sweet Acacia ) are in full bloom right now though.

Interesting.. Wonder if the silver- colored trait shows up later, say a year or so after germinating.. Have seen 5 gal "Silver Peso" in nurseries that appeared to be seed-grown. No obvious clues they might have been grafted when examined closely..

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21 hours ago, Matt in OC said:

FYI, Texas Mountain Laurels germinate and grow well in SoCal. They are a great plant.

Thanks for the  fyi Matt, Good to know. I didn't recall seeing any when passing through various parts of Orange County / general San Diego area several years ago but have seen it listed on some newer street tree lists. 

Can see these planted in front / between taller things like Pink Trumpet Trees / various larger, but not huge Erythrina sp in say some of the wider street islands / larger commercial landscape designs for quite a spring display out there.

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  • 7 months later...
On 2/26/2020 at 1:44 PM, Matt in OC said:

FYI, Texas Mountain Laurels germinate and grow well in SoCal. They are a great plant.

great, has anyone tried to grow Texas mountain laurel in other gulf states?

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This is a great tree. We have some spectacular specimens growing at the Texas A&M Campus. I probably have some photo's somewhere... They are quite common here. I've had some trouble getting them established in my yard but I think I may finally, after 4 years of trying, hit the jackpot with one (I have a rather invasive planting technique). 

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9 minutes ago, Swolte said:

This is a great tree. We have some spectacular specimens growing at the Texas A&M Campus. I probably have some photo's somewhere... They are quite common here. I've had some trouble getting them established in my yard but I think I may finally, after 4 years of trying, hit the jackpot with one (I have a rather invasive planting technique). 

You ever see any solid white -flowered specimens around College Station/ on Campus? I know there are a few around San Antonio/ Austin.

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15 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

You ever see any solid white -flowered specimens around College Station/ on Campus? I know there are a few around San Antonio/ Austin.

Good question, never seen one here!

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  • 4 months later...

A few pictures of this years' bloom as it ramps up. Better lighting this time too, lol:

Standard form:
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Lighter " Lavender " form. Good to see the flower color is consistent year to year. Hopefully a good sign it carries over well in future seedlings.
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Both forms side by side:
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I wonder how these would do in the Upper Gulf Coast/FL Panhandle? Too humid? When I worked in the Garden center in one of the big box stores in Destin, there were some in stock from the Monrovia brand- interestingly they sat there for months and customers didn't seem that interested. This site says it doesn't do well, but this site says it can grow in North FL, albeit slowly.

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8 minutes ago, Matthew92 said:

I wonder how these would do in the Upper Gulf Coast/FL Panhandle? Too humid? When I worked in the Garden center in one of the big box stores in Destin, there were some in stock from the Monrovia brand- interestingly they sat there for months and customers didn't seem that interested. This site says it doesn't do well, but this site says it can grow in North FL, albeit slowly.

That's an interesting question since i'd heard the same conflicting information..  Someone mentioned  last year they'd seen specimens growing in Houston so i'd imagine if they'd tolerate the rain/humidity  there, they should be good further east along the Gulf Coast, but that's just my thoughts.. Sent seed to a couple people further north in the South East last year, I'm sure they will post progress on their plants once spring is under way.

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2 hours ago, Matthew92 said:

I wonder how these would do in the Upper Gulf Coast/FL Panhandle? Too humid? When I worked in the Garden center in one of the big box stores in Destin, there were some in stock from the Monrovia brand- interestingly they sat there for months and customers didn't seem that interested. This site says it doesn't do well, but this site says it can grow in North FL, albeit slowly.

 

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

That's an interesting question since i'd heard the same conflicting information..  Someone mentioned  last year they'd seen specimens growing in Houston so i'd imagine if they'd tolerate the rain/humidity  there, they should be good further east along the Gulf Coast, but that's just my thoughts.. Sent seed to a couple people further north in the South East last year, I'm sure they will post progress on their plants once spring is under way.

Alkaline soil is the most important growing condition. I have plants under canopy that have no problems with the high humidity that entails.

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On 3/1/2021 at 2:57 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

That's an interesting question since i'd heard the same conflicting information..  Someone mentioned  last year they'd seen specimens growing in Houston so i'd imagine if they'd tolerate the rain/humidity  there, they should be good further east along the Gulf Coast, but that's just my thoughts.. Sent seed to a couple people further north in the South East last year, I'm sure they will post progress on their plants once spring is under way.

They would probably do fine, except they would need "dry feet"...(Actually sprinklers are their number one undoing here)  They also get debri caught in between their numerous trunks and it can cause rot on their trunks.   They would probably grow faster in Florida than Central Texas. 
 

Edited by PricklyPearSATC
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2 minutes ago, PricklyPearSATC said:

They would probably do fine, except they would need "dry feet"...(Actually sprinklers are their number one undoing here)  They also get debri caught in between their numerous trunks and it can cause rot on their trunks.   They would probably grow faster in Florida than Central Texas. 
 

Interesting, didn't realize debris trapped in between multi-trunked specimens could cause issues..  Most here are trained to single trunks.  " Dry feet " is definitely important, esp. when smaller, or so has been my own experiences. 

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I'm noticing extreme variation in freeze damage right now. Groups of multiple different plants with the same height and age will show far different cold hardiness. Some plants will have no damage, some will have mild burn to the leaf tips, some will have moderate burn, and some are completely defoliated.

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  • 1 year later...
On 2/26/2020 at 7:29 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

You notice any White flowered specimens around town?  Have heard there's a big one located near Mission San Jose not far west of the River Walk..  Some others are supposedly growing near the Arboretum ( Mall? i think.. ) up on the N.W. side of Austin.

Hi Nathan, one can find the purple-flowered ones on just about every street in San Antonio, but I didn't even known that a white-flowered form existed until you mentioned it in your post a couple of years ago.  I recently ran across one in a park near the airport.  Sorry, was hard to photograph this one in a formless sprawl along a fenceline thicket.

1379975623_20220322_0943381.thumb.jpg.d537cd23f94cb78799972bb3cab710d4.jpg

 

You can see that up close there is the faintest pale lilac tinge in the keel and wings, but the banner is nearly pure white.  Zooming out to any degree, the flowers just register visually as white.

1061641946_20220322_0942521.thumb.jpg.942508ccd626f4aa942ee432f4a89580.jpg

 

Contrasting with the typical purple flowers of its neighbor...

1914710920_20220322_0944061.thumb.jpg.abf6fb82cb278f94d6c132d95a09151c.jpg

 

Same wonderful grape Kool-Aid scent!

 

 

Edited by mulungu
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14 minutes ago, mulungu said:

Hi Nathan, one can find the purple-flowered ones on just about every street in San Antonio, but I didn't even known that a white-flowered form existed until you mentioned it in your post a couple of years ago.  I recently ran across one in a park near the airport.  Sorry, was hard to photograph this one in a formless sprawl along a fenceline thicket.

1379975623_20220322_0943381.thumb.jpg.d537cd23f94cb78799972bb3cab710d4.jpg

 

You can see that up close there is the faintest pale lilac tinge in the keel and wings, but the banner is nearly pure white.  Zooming out to any degree, the flowers just register visually as white.

1061641946_20220322_0942521.thumb.jpg.942508ccd626f4aa942ee432f4a89580.jpg

 

Contrasting with the typical purple flowers of its neighbor...

1914710920_20220322_0944061.thumb.jpg.abf6fb82cb278f94d6c132d95a09151c.jpg

 

Same wonderful grape Kool-Aid scent!

 

 

:greenthumb: Very cool.. Looks like the one i found across the street ( and have a ton of seeds of, lol ) If not even lighter in color than my neighborhood specimen.. Started a trial batch off that seed to see ( hopefully ) if the flower color ( of any seedlings ) stays true.

Need to take a walk over there to check on them this year ( Building directly across the street hides the light flowered one from my view out the living room window, lol )

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