March 23 , 2022
Bee-Loved Flowers + Container Lemon Distress
What a yr for Texas mount laurels ! It seems like they ’ve never looked this good , but maybe it ’s because we missed the rarified show last yr after February 2021 ’s thick freeze . There ’s such a residential district buzz about them every spring that I ’m convert that those eye popping velvety purple clusters make it the first tree for novel Texas gardeners , especially in small space yards . Scented like grape vine bubblegum ( or Kool - Aid ) , they carry on the spring flower food parade to appreciative crowds of bees , butterflies , and good white Anglo-Saxon Protestant . The rest of the year , these evergreen plant , sun - loving small-scale Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree make excellent screens and accents . In a favourable complemental color human dynamo , bunch of cunning lesser Carduelis carduelis yak on itsthistle seminal fluid feeder . They dash aside when the paparazzo indicate up , but this bright - breasted male hung tight long enough for one stab . aboriginal golden groundsel ’s poised to greet crew of bees and other flyspeck pollinators , including skippers , and most likely the wasp . Last fall I seeded Drummond ’s phlox — a native spring annual — envisioning a across-the-board border of bee - oppressed red peak . readily , industrious squirrels dig up most of them . No critter ’s rifle to dig up unyielding native evening primula and that ’s ok with me!It ’s not exactly what I project , but the bees will take it . As we know , gardeners would be copious , rich , rich if we got a penny every time we vow , “ There ’s always next year ! ” ( Adjust for ostentatiousness . )
Iris albicans popped the first of its many “ nanna ’s iris ” blossom this workweek . In my garden , it ’s already a reliable champ sinceStronger Than Dirt ’s Julie Clarkpassed a few along three yr ago . Also call the cemetery iris , it was first used in North Africa as a decoration on gravesites , according to Cynthia W. Mueller in her intriguingTexas A&M AgriLife taradiddle . She write , “ It ’s a species cross that is ineffectual to make seeded player on its own , but spreads by being passed from hand to hand . You will often see it blooming where once a house abide , and it ’s able to survive unaided in pasture along the roadside , often half - buried in tall grasses and other wild flowers . ”
Although early bulbs have faded , their strappy foliage adds textural dimension for a few more calendar month . Pillowy Narcissus ‘ Erlicheer ’ assures that it will be back again next year . Narcissus ‘ Marieke ’ roar , “ Hey , remember to get more bulbs next September ! ” Noted . Unsettled atmospheric condition this time of twelvemonth confuses cold - attendant plant when we hale them alfresco , then back in , then back out , then back in . Viewer Tommie McFalls and married man Ray are distressed about their maize tree that dropped a mess of leaves on its former move . They raised “ Leo the lemon tree ” from a seed that sprouted when a client dumped the rest of her iced tea — including the lemon tree cut — into a plant life commode . They know it ’s unlikely to ever produce lemons , but it ’s a pretty plant . And , a fun surprise touches us more deeply than design expectations .
So , I lead toDaphne Richards , Travis County Extension plantsman . She tell us , “ Many , if not most , container citrus fruit are depend passably painful at the moment , due to the stress of being prompt back and forth indoors during the winter season . Dropping leaf is really normal in this situation . It ’s not due to the frigidity , but to the want of light during the time that this very gamey light works spends indoors . Leaves are resource intensive , and if they are n’t doing anything for the flora ( there ’s not enough sun indoors , not even in the brightest of windows , so the leaves ca n’t properly photosynthesize ) , the plant will drop them and hunker down for good sentence . ”Daphne recommends pruning — include the main trunks — back at least 25 % or to a spot where it ’s obvious that newfangled growth is already emerging . Prune just above a leaf node where the fresh growth will come out , and prune out any super small branches altogether , because the growing come from them will never be any larger than the originating arm .
Thanks for bar by ! Next week , we natter a nonchalantly conventional shade garden , so see you then .
Linda
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