Dodder must go.

A scourge is upon my land.  A plague.  A ­­­pestilence.

Perhaps I’m overstating.  Let me backtrack.

Several years ago one of my gardening gurus, while perusing my garden, commented, “Oh, you have dodder.”

I had noticed this plant (Cuscuta sp.), twining over two native black daleas (Dalea frutescens), but was unsure of its identification. After ascertaining that it was also a native, I just let it be. Periodically, I would pull off the vines and clean up the daleas.

This year, I decided to be more proactive, and began pulling off the yellow, stringy vines earlier in the process. But the strangest thing happened. The more I pulled, the more the plant grew. Days after I spent 20 minutes pulling, the daleas were covered over again.

I looked around, and noticed small clumps of dodder in my yard, draped over prairie fleabane (Erigeron modestus).

It was time for research. After said research, it’s become crystal clear that I’ve made a terrible mistake letting dodder become established.

Dodder is a parasite.  It grows from seed, shooting up a small tendril. When the tendril encounters something to wrap around, it does so. From the website for the University of California’s Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program:

“Seedlings are dependent on carbohydrates stored in the seed (cotyledons) until they attach to a suitable host. When it contacts a host, the stem coils around the host plant and produces little structures called haustoria that penetrate the host’s vascular tissue. The dodder plant begins to extract nutrients and water from the host, and its connection to the soil withers and dries.”

Sounds kind of like a horror movie, doesn’t it?

According to Mr. Smarty Plants at the Wildflower Research Center, about 24 species of dodder live in Texas. They produce seed prolifically, and the seeds can lay dormant in the soil for 20 years.  Also, if you remove a tendril that has a haustoria, it remains viable for several days. It has lots of fun names: love vine, strangleweed, devil's-guts, goldthread, pull-down, devil's-ringlet, hellbine, hairweed, devil's-hair, and hailweed. Some of these names are very apt.

Dodder can only live on certain host plants, and apparently dalea and prairie fleabane are two of those. I don’t have many daleas. I have a whole lot of prairie fleabane.

Yesterday, I yanked up every fleabane (also some Dahlburg daisies) with dodder and tossed them in the trash. According to UC, I missed a step. I should have sealed them in plastic bags, so they won’t root elsewhere. (You know it's bad when you are supposed to seal it in plastic before discarding!)

Unfortunately, the daleas must go, also. Removing the host plants is the only way to get rid of this stuff, when it is so well established. Then I will need to replant the area with something dodder can’t use. If the dodder seedlings can’t attach to a suitable host in 5 to 10 days, they will die.

Then all I have to do is spend the next 20 years or so diligently removing new plants and their hosts.

Good grief.

Favorite spot in the garden:

The zexmenia (Wedelia texana) have taken up with the narrow-leaf dayflower (Commelina erecta var. angustifolia - I think) outside my kitchen window, and it's a very serendipitous pairing. These are volunteer natives. Aren't they lovely?

Scenes from the Wildflower Center's Garden Tour

 

This garden's standing cypress was stunning.

While we were on the Great Nursery Tour of 2013 (last week), I commented to my friend that we should definitely go on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s next Garden Tour. It was sure to have many interesting gardens, and would feature lots of native plants. 

Later that day, I popped open Facebook, and a notification jumped out at me:  the Wildflower  Center’s tour was the coming weekend (May 11). Mind you, my entire family was coming to celebrate my dad’s 75^th birthday on this day.

I love this combination!

Did that deter me? Oh no.

Bright and early Saturday morning, we (Lona, my dad and I) jumped in the car and headed to Austin on a schedule. We were determined to see two, maybe three of the gardens and be home by lunchtime.

Detail of the fern wall (on the left under the porch
overhang in the large photo above). A/C condensate
provides water for this feature, according to the handout.

After a lengthy discussion, not only about which gardens to visit and in what order, but also about how much trouble we have making decisions, we made a plan and then executed it. We managed to visit three gardens, and had a lovely morning communing with plants and other gardeners.

And yes, we made it home by lunch and before the other guests arrived. I even had time to spiff up the bathroom!

Hope you enjoy a few pictures of what we saw. I really would like to visit more of the gardens on next year’s tour.

 

This area is beyond the pool in the photo above.

More detail from the same garden.
Because the lot was steeply sloped,
the garden required extensive terracing (left).
I really liked this bird watering station (above).

My dad, enjoying the deck. Behind him is a view of the Austin skyline.
We also liked the succulent garden centerpieces.

This succulent garden literally stopped me in my tracks. It greeted visitors at the last house we visited, which also was sited on a steeply sloped lot, with a wildflower meadow, orchard, vegetable garden, pond, buffalo grass lawn, etc.

Cool plant #2: Escarpment black cherry

 

Shortly after we built our house, we noticed an interesting tree tucked into a live oak motte down by the shack – er, Men’s Institute of Higher Learning. We didn’t recognize it, and neither did our family plant expert, my mother-in-law Mary Anne Pickens. Ah well.

Several years ago we noticed it blooming in the spring, and as a result were able to make an identification:  Escarpment black cherry (Prunus serotina var.  eximia). So far as we know, it is the only one on our property. Our specimen is 30 feet tall and lovely.

Voila! I present the second in my occasional series on species endemic to my area!

According to the Wildflower Center website, the escarpment black cherry is a “distinct and isolated geographic variety of black cherry (Prunus serotina) found only in the calcareous soils of central Texas.” It is naturally occurring from Burnet and Williamson counties south to Comal and Medina counties, and west to Kimble and Kinney counties. We are in the middle of that area.

The escarpment black cherry is the white multi-trunked tree behind the live oak leaning across in the front.

 As you can see from the picture, it sports light green leaves with light-colored branches and an open structure. It has lovely blooms in April and May, fruit, and leaves that turn yellow in the fall. We get really excited about fall color here, where our most common trees are evergreen.

Its cherries are edible, but other parts of the tree are poisonous (possibly fatal) to humans and herbivorous animals. Birds and mammals like the fruit, and a number of moths and butterflies enjoy its nectar and use it as a larval host.

The Wildflower Center notes that furniture makers like its wood for its “lustrous, dark red tint.” We have two very dear friends who make furniture. We steer them away from this tree when they visit. They can’t have it.

Here's a closer shot, with the gray water drains
coming out of the shack behind the tree.

I’ve just figured out something else about this tree. The Wildflower Center says it needs moist, but well-drained soil. At first thought, this tree’s home would not seem to be moist. Ah, think again. The tree grows near the end of the gray water pipe from the shack. When we bought the property, renters lived in the shack, which had water but no septic, only a gray water drain from a kitchen sink. Also, they used an outdoor shower (no hot water!) located nearby and slightly uphill from the tree.

It’s a wonder the beauty didn’t perish after we booted the renters and the shack sat empty. I guess the tree was established enough that it could survive without those water sources. I did water it in the terribly dry summer of 2011. It is one of my prize botanical specimens, and I want it to live!

Click here to read about another plant native to my geographic area, the twist-leaf yucca.

Favorite spot in the garden:

While hanging laundry today I looked up and saw this phalanx of twist-leaf yucca bloom stalks. My young garden helper and I gathered rocks earlier this year to put around the base of the yuccas for a rock garden effect, which makes the group stand out. I don't remember so many blooming together before. Aren't they cool?

Now some folks would wait until they bloom before taking photos. However, savvy central Texas gardeners know that deer particularly enjoy yucca bloom stalks. I imagine they taste like asparagus. There is no guarantee these will make it to full bloom. If they do, I'll take another picture!

April showers bring . . . April flowers

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Garden Bloggers Bloom Day has come and gone, but since so much is blooming at my house right now, I’m posting for it anyway! I took these pictures on April 16, on a beautiful, sunny spring morning. It’s a good thing, as today it is drizzling and much cooler after the passage of a late cold front.

Although we are in the middle of a drought, we have received just enough rain to fuel my garden and wildflowers. The grass is green, and not just over the septic tank. The oak trees have leafed out for the most part (though a green haze of oak pollen continues to build up on cars and inside surfaces). In summary, it is a beautiful spring in Central Texas!

This scene is just purty:  Nierembergia (Nierembergia gracilis "Starry Eyes") blooming in the pond bed. Do you see the tiny yellow flower in front? That is common groundcover called straggler daisy (Calyptocarpus vialis). In places, it is my lawn – and it does not need mowing.

It's spring in Texas so there must be bluebonnets (Lupinis texensis). Our best bluebonnet patch is out by the burn pile. It was looking puny until a good rain three weeks ago. Now, as you can see, the bluebonnets are happier. Blooming alongside them is our main resident wildflower, the prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida).

 On the left is some sort of wildly beautiful iris. My iris bed has donated and one-off purchased irises, so I’ve got no idea what this one is. That does not stop me from appreciating it. On the right:  columbines (Aquilegia chrysantha var. hinckleyana, I think)!

I’ve posted a picture of this area recently, but since then these Texas stars (Lindheimera texana) have taken over their corner of the bed. You get to see them again. These grow in uncultivated areas of my yard, also, but do not get quite so large.

Last year I noticed this plant blooming in the wild area in front of my house. On closer inspection, I realized it was a damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana). It was the only one on my property, to my knowledge, and I did not plant it. This year a second one has appeared in the same area. Yay!

The anacacho orchid tree (Bauhinia lunarioides) is lovely, as it is every year, with its spring blooms.

This little area is one of my favorites right now. In front, cedar sages (Salvia roemeriana) shoot up stalks of deep red, with yellow accents from the four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa, I believe) against a backdrop of white autumn sage (Salvia greggii cultivar).

Out in the rock bed (which looks rather grassy at the moment), a volunteer fragrant mimosa (Mimosa borealis) has put on its pink and white puffballs. This plant occurs naturally on my land. Yellow Dahlberg daisies (Thymophylla tenuiloba) are blooming all over my yard, as is prairie verbena. The daisies are not natives, but after I planted some one year, they have self-seeded all over the front yard. This is okay by me, as I like the wildflower meadow look.

Looking out my French doors yesterday, I noticed the sun shining through the fresh green leaves of the crape myrtle and ran for the camera. Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), purple oxalis (Oxalis triangularis?) and wandering Jew (Tradescantia pallida) live underneath. The red bloomer is tropical sage (Salvia coccinea). This and the following picture are really more foliage shots, so I will be posting on Digging's Foliage Follow-up, also.

Last but definitely not least, I present this grouping out by the parking area. The only plant blooming here is the Jerusalem sage (Phlomis fruticosa - not a native), but isn’t it pretty with the century plants (Agave americana), nolina (Nolina lindheimeriana), woolly butterfly bush (Buddleja marrubiifolia) and cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens)? 

If you like cool maps . . .

I saw this cool map recently, shared on the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s Facebook page from the Biota of North America’s Facebook page.

Verbiage from that Facebook page explains the map as follows:

Relative distribution of species found primarily in the Great Plains/Prairie region. Blue areas have the highest number of species per 10000 km2, whereas the brown areas have very few. Contour interval of 10 species; Facebook does not allow the display of the full resolution of these maps.

A further description posted on the page by Chris Durden goes as follows:

The map is based on distribution of woody plant species that occur in this region but not in the other identified "hot spots". Most occur together in central Texas. Even more occur across the Rio Grande in Coahuila. The Balconian "hot spot" is located at the southern end because that is where the biota survived the last and previous glaciations. Leaf through the other maps in this series and you will see similar treatments for our other regional woody floras. An illustrative species is *Berberis (Mahonia) swaseyi* of Travis, Hays, Comal, Kerr, Bandera and Real Counties in Texas. A species with very similar morphology was described from 38 million-year-old Florissant (National Monument, Colorado) volcanic ash lake beds where it was part of the "Madro-tertiary Flora". There are many more species of animals (mostly invertebrate) with this distribution because they are adapted to life on and among these woody plants. The Barton Springs Salamander and the listed endangered cave arthropods are part of this set of relict communities.

I had to read this about six times, but as I understand it, this map illustrates the distribution of woody plant species that occur in this region (Great Plains/Prairie region), with the highest concentration occurring in Central Texas. (The other maps the passage refers to are on Biota of North America's Facebook page.)

You wouldn’t know it from my property, which is overrun with Ashe juniper and live oaks. But these seem to be really smart people, so I believe them!

I like maps; I hope you do, too.

Favorite spot in the garden today:

My favorite spot today is out in a wild area. My daughter and I were mining for rocks last week when we both noticed and admired this grouping of twist-leaf yucca (Yucca rupicola), prairie fleabane (Erigeron modestus) and prairie verbena (Glandularia bipinnatifida).

Cool plant #1: Twist-leaf yucca

Today I bring to you the first in an occasional series on interesting plants endemic to my area, the Edwards Plateau located in Central to West Texas. What characterizes the Edwards Plateau? I’m so glad you asked! From the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department:

“The Edwards Plateau is an uplifted and elevated region originally formed from marine deposits of sandstone, limestone, shales, and dolomites 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period when this region was covered by an ocean. The western portion remains a relatively flat elevated plateau whereas the eastern portion known as the Hill Country is deeply eroded.”

We live in the Hill Country sector. What an odd idea, that we live in what was once an ocean. Proof is all around us, however, with sea creature fossils decorating many of the rocks we find – and we find lots of rocks here.

Our featured plant today is the twist-leaf yucca (Yucca rupicola). This is a cool little yucca with - you guessed it - twisty leaves! Its leaves are one to two feet long, with a colored margin, which can be light brown, yellow, orange, red or white (depending on the source consulted). Tiny sharp teeth march along those leaf margins and thin white curly hairs cover the leaf. The bloom stalk shoots up in the spring (April to June), and can be up to five feet tall, with large, heavily scented white or greenish white petals.

If you look closely, you can see the tiny teeth at leaf's edge. 
Also, notice yellow leaf margin on the upright leaf,
and red margin on leaf at bottom right.

And boy, is it tough. The twist-leaf yucca grows in full sun or part shade and on shallow rocky soil, is heat and drought tolerant, and is deer resistant (except for the blooms). Some years the deer leave the yuccas alone, but when food is scarce they will top them all. This is a sad sight to a gardener, but part of the natural cycle, after all.

These yuccas grow fairly commonly on our property. One has popped up in a flowerbed.  This could be an unwelcome addition, but the plant only gets up to two feet in size and is manageable in its volunteer location.

If you live in the Hill Country, I hope you have some of these neat plants growing on your property. If you don’t, maybe you can find one at a native plant nursery.

Favorite spot in the garden:

Well, I haven’t added this feature lately, but today I have such a spot. This area is outside the living room French doors, and catches the sun so prettily (though it is cloudy today). Newly planted snowdrops (Leucojum aestivum from my mother-in-law's grandmother's house) surround the area, with rich purple oxalis (Oxalis triangularis) and wandering Jew (Tradescantia pallida, I think) in the middle, backed by a lush spread of yarrow (Achillea millefolium).  I love this color combination!