There's a reason native plants thrive here

[Staff]

There's a reason native plants thrive here
Houston Chronicle
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Published 07:25 p.m., Friday, January 27, 2012

There's a reason native plants thrive here - Houston Chronicle
excerpt from above:

In Houston, Arbor Day is a fuzzy concept - more of an Arbor Fortnight, really, celebrated whenever it's convenient this time of year.

Besides being the best time to plant trees, it's also a great time to think about what you're planting. Trees and plants native to the Houston area have lots to recommend them. Those hardy breeds have spent gazillions of years adapting to our area's wild weather. And as a bonus, they also provide food for the area's butterflies, birds and animals.

If you're looking for a big tree, consider a...

[Gloria]

Texas has some great trees and shrubs and if I lived there what an adventure learning the plants would be. I agree with the author though that differenent areas of Texas require very different plants. From the desert southwest to the north eastern forested areas and the coastal prairies,there is a very real temperature,rainfall and soil difference. So of course the plants vary as well.
Wouldn't you love to grow a screwbean mesquite?

Texas Tree Selector

Mesquite, Screwbean
Common Name: Screwbean Mesquite
Prosopis pubescens
Tree Size: Small
Leaf Type: Deciduous
Comments:
Similar to Honey Mesquite, but suited more to moist sites in the Trans-Pecos.

Mesquite, Honey
Common Name: Honey Mesquite
Prosopis glandulosa
Tree Size: Medium
Leaf Type: Deciduous
Comments:
Extremely drought-tolerant native. Prune to develop strong branch and trunk structure.

[Rebek56]

[QUOTE=Gloria;106039]Wouldn't you love to grow a screwbean mesquite?

For the name alone. Years ago at another house (where there were no deer and I had lots of old roses, which are--or at least were--one of my guilty pleasures), I grew a rose for which the French name translates "Thigh of a Passionate Nymph." (The English called it "Maiden's Blush"--those repressed Brits.) These days I have to content myself with a New England aster cultivar named "Wild Romance."
(Yes, as an English teacher, I drawn to the histories and names of plants, not just their ecological importance.)