Prairie Rose Chapter

News from the Prairie Rose Native Plant Garden

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Recent April 2021 Work Day

 

DEMONSTRATION GARDEN WORK DAY
MAY 15, 8:30 a.m.
COURTHOUSE SQUARE, GLEN ROSES

Come join us for a fun work day in the garden.  In addition to the weeding always needed, we plan to add some new plants!  We’ve been working hard to clean up and clear out space for the many interesting native plants that should be in our garden.  Come help us plant, weed, and if possible, mulch.

 

 

 

Spring Plant Sale

A big thank-you to everyone who helped support our spring native plant sale.  We were able to place over 400 plants in people’s flowerbeds and yards this spring.  We also gave away a large number of seed packets and hope these provide even more native plants.  One lesson brought home during this past February’s freeze is that native plants are hardy and are used to not just Texas drought years, but these arctic blasts as well.  While other plants died, most natives have bounced back and are doing fabulous.

Blue Mistflower

We hold two plant sales a year:  one in the spring and one in the fall.  Watch for our notice of our fall plant sale – fall is the absolute best time in Texas to plant trees, shrubs and perennials.

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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: prairierose

About the Region

2026 Fall Symposium Logo

This low-elevations region of Texas extends inland from the barrier islands, about 60 or so miles, and stretches from Brownsville to Louisiana. In total, it covers about 9.5 million acres, with a high point of 150 feet in elevation. More than 1000 species of plants can be found in this region. On the southern end, species more common in Mexico (such as Sabal mexicana) and Central America occur.

The barrier islands provide us with dune systems, and clay flats to the inland side, which have species found in these areas alone. Many plants here, such as Ipomoea pes-caprae (beach morning glory), can be found throughout tropical regions of the globe. I’ve encountered the same species on the beaches of Guam.

Once inland, vast marshes and wet prairies occur. Occasionally, oak (Quercus fusiformis) groves can be found. Common grasses include species of Bothriochloa, Paspalum, and Sporobolus; eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides); and switchgrass (Panicum species). Many rivers and creeks cut through the Gulf Prairies, and along these riparian areas various species of trees, Sabal minor, and other plants adapted to clay soils can be found. Due to overgrazing, farming, and fire suppression, woody species such as mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) and huisache (Acacia farnesiana), and invasive species such as chinaberry (Melia azedarach), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum) have increased and displaced our native flora.

Source: Wildflowers of Texas by Michael Eason