Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Tuesday - December 02, 2014
From: Dripping Springs, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Xeriscapes, Planting, Drought Tolerant, Cacti and Succulents
Title: Will Sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri thrive in caliche soil?
Answered by: Guy Thompson
QUESTION:
I live on a high hill in the Hamilton Pool area outside of Austin. I am looking to plant a Dasylirion wheeleri that I grew from seed collected in New Mexico aria East Of Soccoro. I am wondering if these plants will take some caliche soil . I have dug the hole and it is butter yellow with no top soil to speak of. Or if Ishould give up and go and find some limestone marl to plant it in. Thank you.ANSWER:
I have Dasylirion wheeleri (Common sotol) plants that have thrived in caliche soil for years. Mine are growing on a well drained slope. This is important since sotol roots can rot if kept wet for days. It would be good for you to put your plant in a well drained location and place some porous soil in the planting hole to get the plant off to a good start. Once established, it will take care of itself in your caliche.
More Cacti and Succulents Questions
Use of Century Plant bloom as indoor decoration
December 09, 2008 - Mr. Smarty Pants,
After living in Arizona and now San Antonio, I am in search of a Century Plant Bloom. I cannot have an evergreen because my cats climb them. I would shellac the stalk and blooms a...
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Correction of tree name from Bay Point CA
October 16, 2013 - The tree should of been Mulberry don't know how it was changed!!
Tuesday - October 15, 2013
From: Bay Point, CA
Region: California
Topic: Non-Natives, Cacti and Succulents, Trees
Title: Non-...
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Problems with Strawberry Hedgehog cactus from Temple TX
June 03, 2012 - I had purchased a Strawberry hedgehog Cactus (echinocereus stramineus) a few years ago from the Wildflower Center's annual plant sale and planted it then. It has now started to brown from bottom to t...
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Native plants of Taos and Los Alamos NM from Houston
April 07, 2012 - Hi, Mr. Smarty Plants, can you recommend a guidebook for the native plants of the Taos/Los Alamos region? (I'm most interested in forbs.) I'll be headed there in May--is there anything I should es...
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Non-native hylocereus undatus for Austin
February 24, 2012 - Can we plant Hylocereus (Dragon Fruit) here in Austin, TX? We are going to have a large xeriscape bed and want to know what all we can put in it. We are new to Texas so we have no clue what grows here...
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