NICE! Plant of the Month
(Sophora secundiflora)
Description:
Slow growing, evergreeen, multi-trunked shrub or small tree. Usual height is 6-12 feet, up to 30 feet, with a width of 10 feet. Foliage is dense, with dark glossy green leaves having 7-15 leaflets. Flowers, appearing in early spring, are clusters of fragrant purple wisteria-like blooms that smell like grape Kool-Aid. Woody seed pods develop during summer, with 3-4 coral-red seeds in each pod. Seeds are poisonous to humans and livestock, but the hard seed coat usually prevents children from chewing them.
Texas Mountain Laurel typically grows on limestone hills and hillsides in Central and South Texas, into New Mexico and Mexico.
Deer Resistance:
Deer may rub on this plant as with many trees, but will not browse or eat foliage.
Planting Sites:
Plant in full sun to part shade/dappled sun in well-drained sites. Do not plant under sprinkler irrigation where it will be watered with lawn. Alkaline soil is preferred, and acceptable soil types include sand, loam, clay, caliche, and limestone.
Planting Instructions:
Dig hole at least 2 times wider, but the same depth as the nursery container. Carefully remove tree from container, taking care not to disturb the root ball. Plant at the same depth as the soil in the container. Do not add any soil to the top of the root ball. Adding a layer of 3-4 inches of mulch after planting is desirable.
Watering Instructions:
If planting in spring: Water in well after planting, using root stimulator according to directions. Water deeply every 7-10 days, checking an inch or two into soil at edge of root ball to determine soil moisture. Skip a watering after a rainfall of ½ to 1 inch.
First fall/winter:
Maintain this watering schedule until the first fall after planting. Reduce water during fall and winter. In a “normal” year, no watering may be necessary in fall and winter, but during a dry period, monthly watering may be desirable.
Second spring and thereafter:
Water monthly only in periods of drought. Once established, Texas Mountain Laurel will survive with little supplemental irrigation.
Other care:
Like all legumes, Texas Mountain Laurel fixes nitrogen into the soil, and therefore fertilizing is normally not needed. Although pruning is usually not necessary, lower branches can be removed as tree increases in height. Worms will feed on foliage in late spring/summer. Spray with biological worm control.
NICE! Tip:
Use instead of Ligustrum, Red tip Photinia, Oleander, or Crape Myrtle.
Look for the NICE! Plant of the Month signs and information sheets on your next visit to a participating Boerne nursery. And thank you for supporting native plants by using them in your landscapes.
