By Bill Ward
Published in The Boerne Star on December 5, 2003
When the Boerne Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas initiated its Operation NICE! (Natives Instead of the Common Exotics!), we made a pretty naive assumption.
We thought we’d simply make a list of some interesting natives to introduce each month, and then our participating nurseries would stock whatever plant we chose for a given month.
The local retail nurseries probably would have been happy to do this if it were possible for them to get all the plants from the wholesale nurseries.
Several plants we picked were not available at most wholesale nurseries, and they never would be available in the foreseeable future.
There are several native plants that I wish were widely propagated by wholesale nurseries. Yes, some of these plants may be available from time to time at special wholesale nurseries such as Chuck Janzow’s Green Cloud Nursery or Schumacher’s Hill Country Gardens in New Braunfels.
However, they are not raised in large enough quantities that they could be widely sold in retail nurseries.
If Santa Claus would grant my wishes, I’d make a list of Hill Country native plants I wish he would drop off in great quantities at nurseries all over this area.
Then these plants would be available to the home landscaper.
High on my Christmas wish list would be Mexican silktassel (Garrya ovata), which is native to the Edwards Plateau, Trans-Pecos West Texas, and parts of Mexico.
It is a fairly common native shrub in the Boerne area. Silktassel is evergreen, drought-resistant, and deer-resistant.
These characteristics make this native especially appealing as a landscape plant.
The common name comes from drooping male flowers, which resemble corn silk.
Inconspicuous female flowers develop into clusters of purple-black berries, which attract birds.
The dark-green leathery leaves remain green through the coldest winters. “Silktassel has great potential as a native-plant alternative to Burford Holly” for those who want evergreen shrubs in their landscape (Jill Nokes, “How to Grow Native Plants”).
Silktassel grows in sun or part shade. It can be pruned to promote dense foliage.
It tends to grow slowly the first couple of years as it establishes a good root system. After that, top growth increases fairly rapidly.
Whitetail deer completely ignore silktassel in our yard, even very small plants.
Another evergreen shrub or small tree I’d like to see widely stocked in Boerne-area nurseries is the Texas madrone (Arbutus xalapensis).
I think its reputation for being hard to cultivate is somewhat overrated.
Chuck Janzow half-jokingly tells customers he sells Texas madrones so cheaply because they’ll die once they are planted in a yard.
Some people do seem to have bad luck growing madrones, but with a little education about overwatering, many home landscapers could successfully raise this native.
With its evergreen ovate leaves and pinkish to red peeling bark on stout crooked branches, Texas madrone would be an attractive addition to most home landscapes. It is one of the most beautiful trees of the Hill Country.
Among other native woody plants I wish Santa would bring as abundant “stocking” gifts to local retail nurseries are American smoke tree (Cotinus obovatus), Carolina buckthorn (Rhamnus caroliniana), wafer ash (Ptelea trifoliata), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), Blanco crabapple (Pyrus ioensis var. texana), escarpment black cherry (Prunus serotina var. eximia), and thoroughwart (Eupatorium havanense).
If these plants were typical of our local landscapes, the birds and butterflies would be happy, and we would save a lot of water.
