NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF TEXAS

Kerrville Chapter
JANUARY  NEWSLETTER - 2004

NATIVES ON THE GROW
Dedicated to the understanding, preservation and enjoyment of the native flora of the Hill Country

january Program: 

Native Texas Evergreens for the Hill Country

Mike McBride, State President of the Native Plant Society of Texas, will give a presentation entitled “Native Texas Evergreens for the Hill Country” at our meeting on Tuesday, January 6^th beginning at 2 p.m.  Evergreen plants are attractive in the garden throughout the year, especially in the winter, when other plants are resting.  The range of plants covered by the presentation will include trees, shrubs, vines and ground covers.  Most of the plants will be familiar to native plants enthusiasts, but there are some that are lesser known that you may not have seen used in landscaping before.

Mike is a native of East Texas, from both the coastal plains and the mixed hardwood/pine forests.  He spent more than 30 years as an electrical engineer and computer programmer for IBM in Austin, and retired to Fredericksburg in 2000.  Mike’s hobby is photographing native plants, primarily of Central Texas, but also of East Texas and the Big Bend region.

His first involvement with the Native Plant Society of Texas at the state level was several years ago when he served a two year term as Vice President of Administration.  In 2000, he became the webmaster for the state website and the Fredericksburg Chapter.  This past year, he served as both President-Elect of the state organization and President of the Fredericksburg Chapter.  In 2004,  Mike will be President of the state organization.  

The Kerrville Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas holds monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of the month (September through June) at RiversideNatureCenter150 Francisco Lemos St. in Kerrville.  These meetings are free and open to the public.  If you have any questions about the Native Plant Society of Texas, or this program, please call June Hartley at 896-5191.  

WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS!

June Begeman

Josephine Hodge

Tom Price

Betty West

Calendar

Tuesday, January 6 at   2 p.m.  “Native Texas Evergreens for the Hill Country” by Mike McBride, state President of NPSOT at NPSOT – Kerrville Chapter meeting at Riverside Nature Center, 150 Francisco Lemos St., Kerrville..(see article above)

Wednesday, January 7 at 9 a.m.  “Learn by Doing”; gardening at our native plant display garden behind the Kerrville Public Library  at 505 Water St.

Tuesday, January 27 at   7 p.m.  “Rare and Endangered Plants of the Hill Country” by Jackie Poole, Rare Plant Biologist with the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department at NPSOT - Fredericksburg Chapter. at the GillespieCounty Agricultural Building, 1906 N. Llano St. Fredericksburg

Tuesday February 3 at   “Waging War with Native Plants” by Paul Cox of the San Antonio Botanical Garden at NPSOT – Kerrville Chapter meeting at Riverside Nature Center, 150 Francisco Lemos St., Kerrville.

In the Eye of the Beholder:

Winter in the Native Plant Garden

Photo by Priscilla Stanley

Late December vegetation: clockwise from lower left:  Evergreen Hinckley columbine, Gregg’s mist flower & adaptive Fall asters

Editors Note:  We are pleased to have quite a few folks new to the Hill Country attending our meetings and reading our newsletter.  Some gardening practices are different here than in other parts of the country, or even other parts of  Texas  We hope the following article will be helpful to our new residents.  

Why is all that brown stuff still there? 

Some folks might look at the photo above and think “Why doesn’t someone clean up that mess”.  A native plant person might be more comfortable with the seasonal changes in the landscape and enjoy the varied colors and forms adding interest and a sense of time and place to the garden.  Perhaps the strongest approval of such an untamed landscape comes from the wildlife who revel in the ongoing food source and shelter from the cold winds.  Wrens, cardinals, spotted towhees, assorted finches, mockingbirds, chickadees, titmice and scrub jays frequent these areas.  Raccoons, opossums, skunks, and even ringtails come searching for the insects, berries, etc. that can be found in this dense vegetation.  

Photo by Priscilla Stanley

Composite flowers, such as this Brown-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), provide abundant seeds favored by birds.

What happens if all that brown stuff is removed so the garden looks nice and neat?

Removing much of this vegetation in the Fall would deprive the birds and mammals of both food and shelter.  Furthermore, the plants themselves can also suffer detrimental effects from premature garden cleanups.  In the northern United States with Christmas card-type winters, with lots of snow, frozen ground and thus dormant plants, it is common to cut back plants after frost kills back the green vegetation.  In the Hill Country, most native plants never really go dormant in winter.  This is partly because our ground typically doesn’t freeze, our freezing temperatures are usually less than 12 hours in duration, and many winter days are warm and sunny.  Our frequent changes from frost to 70 degrees can confuse non-native plants that expect either dormancy or a growing season.  Texas native plants evolved with our roller coaster temperatures, and each has adapted in its own way.  Some plants are evergreen, some are partially evergreen, some form green rosettes on the ground, and a few disappear to wait out the winter below ground.  The best intentions of a gardener, such as early vegetation cutting, can frustrate these well-evolved winter coping mechanisms.  A canopy of brown vegetation above a plant can help shelter any new growth at the base from frost and cold winds.  Cutting back many plants stimulates buds along the stem to put out fresh new growth that is not hardened to withstand freezing weather.  The plant puts out new growth, which then freezes back.  Repeated freezing of new growth weakens the plant.

Most Texas horticultural experts, “Texas Gardener” magazine, our sponsor “Golden Eagle Landscaping”, and local native plant gardeners recommend waiting until February in the Hill Country to cut back most native plants.  It’s true that we can have frosts in March (such as last year), but on the whole, the longer days, and warmer air and soil temperatures, make it much more desirable to do any cutting back in February rather than in earlier months.  Some perennials, such as Autumn Sage (Salvia gregii) tolerate cutting back by 75%, and return with renewed vigor.  Other perennials, such as Blackfoot Daisy, prefer minimal cutting back, and may even expire from severe pruning.  How does a new Hill Country gardener learn these things?  You can work with more experienced gardeners at our Library Native Plant Garden Nature Center  or other native plant gardens in the area.  Also, the late Betty Winningham of Natives of Texas Nursery and a longtime member of our Chapter gave us many helpful horticultural tips, including pruning guidance that has come to be known in our Chapter as “Betty’s Rule for Pruning”:  “If you are not familiar with the particular preferences of a given shrub or perennial, it is generally safe to cut it back by one-third, if you wish to do so.”  More specific guidance can be found in How To Grow Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest – Revised and Updated Edition by Jill Nokes (2001) which includes propagation as well as cultural information.  

January is a wonderful month to sit by the fireplace reading native plant books, seed catalogs and planning your gardening year.  We are fortunate that we can wander through our January landscape watching the daily changes in our plants.  The Wind-flowers (Anemone heterophylla) have been coming up since November preparing for their pink, white, blue and lavender flowers from February to April.  Most wildflowers have their green rosettes getting ready for Spring blooms.  Many perennials, such as Big Red Sage (Salvia penstemonoides), Texas betony (Stachys coccinea) and the Penstemons have already put out new green growth beneath last year’s plant.  How fortunate we are to live in the Hill Country where while some of our native plants may take seasonal rests, many remain active for us to enjoy throughout the year.

The #1 Question in Hill Country Gardening:  Is It “Deer-Proof”?

In Praise of AGARITA

First, let us clarify that Hill Country deer are both numerous and hungry, so no plant is truly “deer-proof”.  Agarita, however, is close to “deer-proof” since it is only lightly browsed by deer, if at all.  Agarita is a robust, handsome plant in all four seasons.  It’s stiff, spiny, evergreen leaves look somewhat like holly.  From February to April, agarita has small, fragrant, yellow flowers that are an important early food source for bees.  Later, small (1/4 inch in diameter) bright-red berries are formed which also attract wildlife.

		Photos by Raúl Peña
	Agarita in Spring		Agarita in Summer

Once established, agarita is highly xeric, and well-adapted to the dry, rocky flats and slopes found in Hill Country.  Typically agarita is a rounded shrub 3 to 4 ft tall, but it can reach 7 ft under favorable conditions.  A newly planted agarita will grow faster if it is caged to prevent browsers from eating the new growth until it has attained a reasonable size.  Agarita can be an attractive addition to your landscape, both for you and for wildlife.  Reference:  Marshall Enquist, Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country, p. 33.

DOOR PRIZES

Our January door prizes, purchased from the Riverside Nature Center gift shop, included a book on Cactii and Succulents, gardening gloves, and pressed wildflower notecards and a bookmark made by our member, Edith Bettinger.  We also had a lovely living Christmas centerpiece of cactii decorated with ceramic doves in a miniature tree donated by Anita Moore.  Thank you, Anita! 

As Spring arrives, we will return to having Native Plants as door prizes.  Every member or visitor who signs in at the Welcoming table receives a free ticket for the door prize drawings.  

REFRESHMENTS!

Thanks go to Edna Platt, Melinda Wasson and Anita Moore for the delightful refreshments at our December meeting.

Please send any suggestions or comments on this newsletter to the Editor:  Priscilla Stanley at jpbstan@ktc.com