News and Events

NICE! Plant of the Month (Oenothera speciosa) Family: Onagraceae Other Common Names: Showy Primrose, Buttercups (yellow center). Type: Perennial; upright to sprawling. Natural Habitat: Native to hot and dry locations in Central and Southern region of North America. Prairies and open woodlands, roadsides, slopes, and ditches throughout Texas. Growth: 12-24

NICE! Plant of the Month (Bignonia capreolata) Family: Bignoniaceae (Catalpa or Trumpet-Creeper Family) Type: Evergreen, woody vine; climbs by tendrils with flattened tips. Natural Habitat: Usually found high climbing in trees in moist woods of eastern Texas to Florida and north to Illinois and New Jersey. Uncommon in most of

NICE! Plant of the Month (Prunus mexicana) Family: Rosaceae (Rose family) Other Common Names: Wild Plum, Big-tree Plum Type: Large shrub or solitary tree Natural Habitat: Usually found in ravines and creek bottoms, occasionally in fields and on hillsides. Growth: Height 7-20 feet Preferred Site and Use: Beautiful ornamental tree

NICE! Plant of the Month (Garrya lindheimeri) Family: Garryaceae (Silk tassel family) Other Common Names: Lindheimer Silk tassel, Eggleaf Silk tassel Type: Evergreen shrub Natural Habitat: Rocky limestone hills and canyons in Edwards Plateau and Trans-Pecos, under-story habitat. Growth: dense, fast growing 5-11 feet in width and height Deer Resistance:

NICE! Plant of the Month (Malpighia glabra) Family: Malpighiaceae Other Common Names: Mexican Myrtle, Wild Crepe Myrtle Type: shrub or small tree Natural Habitat: native range from South Texas through the Caribbean, Central America, and Brazil Growth: 3-4 ft. Preferred Site and Use: sun to partial shade Deer Resistance: white

NICE! Plant of the Month (Echinacea spp.) (5 species in Texas) Family: Sunflower (Asteraceae) Type: Perennial Natural Habitat: Sandy and gravelly soils of prairies in the Hill Country with various species eastward to Virginia and north to Nebraska and Indiana. Growth: 1-4′ tall depending on species or cultivar; most garden

NICE! Plant of the Month (Chasmanthium latifolium) Family: Poaceae Other Common Names: Broadleaf woodoats, River-oats Type: Native Ornamental Grass Natural Habitat: Moist woodland soils, along streams, ditches, and lakes from Arizona to Florida, Michigan to New Jersey. Growth: 24- to 48-inch perennial that can form thick mats. Preferred Site and

NICE! Plant of the Month (Leucaena retusa) Family: Fabaceae Other Common Names: Goldenball Leadtree Type: Deciduous tree Natural Habitat: Dry canyons of southwestern Edwards Plateau, Trans-Pecos Mountains, northern Mexico, and southern New Mexico Growth: Loose shrub or small tree 12 to 15 ft. tall but can reach 25 ft. Preferred

NICE! Plant of the Month (Callirhoe involucrata) Family: Malvaceae (Mallow) Other Common Names: Poppy-mallow; Spreading winecup Type: Perennial Natural Habitat: throughout Texas except far West Texas Growth: 6 to 12 inches with some 18-inch trailing stems in a low-growing mound. Tuber with green rosette in winter. Preferred Site and Use:

NICE! Plant of the Month (Philadelphus ernestii or Philadelphus texensis) Family: Hydrangeaceae, Saxifragaceae Type: Shrub; 1-3 feet, much-branched, slender stems, peeling bark. Natural Habitat: Endemic to Texas Hill Country. Preferred Site and Use: Moist shady canyon or bluff walls. Deer Resistance: Readily browsed. Wildlife: None noted. Light Tolerance: Partial shade.

NICE! Plant of the Month (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus) Family: Caprifoliaceae (Honeysuckle family) Other Common Names: Indian Currant, Buckbrush, Turkeybush, and Snowberry Type: Shrub; 2 to 4 feet in the Hill Country. Natural Habitat: Woodlands, thickets, and along streams in eastern third of Texas and the eastern U.S. Growth: rapid growth, short-lived,

NICE! Plant of the Month (Ilex vomitoria) Description:Yaupon Holly may be grown as a multitrunked shrubby or single trunked small tree. It is native across the entire Southeastern US with its western range extending into central Texas. In the Hill Country it seldom reaches its potential height of 25 ft.