Sun, 30 Nov 2008

posted at: 21:51 | path: | link for this entry

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Wed, 26 Nov 2008

Texas Betony
There is a little native plant called Texas Betony. It is usually planted as a groundcover, but I want to tell other Austin gardeners not to treat it like a groundcover. It is in the salvia family, and should be treated more like a salvia than and groundcover. It will not get very large, and it will not cover much ground. It can grow in shady spots so I recommend it for narrow spaces between pavement or buildings, mixed in with other plants like sedges and columbines. It can't handle extreme shade but planted under a tree or on the north side of a building is appropriate. After the plant bears its salmony-red blooms, the flower stalks need to be cut back to the base of the pant so new growth can come out from the bottom, similar to other salvias like Black and Blue sage and Mexican Bush Sage. I am trimming some that have just bloomed in November. They all have healthy growth emerging from the base. It's also important to keep leaves and other debris from piling up on top of these plants. They can get smothered and wil decline quilckly. This type of leaf build up is often the culprit when betony dies mysteriously.

posted at: 15:02 | path: /colleen2008 | link for this entry

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