Native Plants
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Monday - October 11, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Will the non-native tamarind tree survive in Austin?
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We live in the Texas Hill Country and we were given a Tamarind Tree as a gift (which the givers thought was a Pride of Barbados). Is it advisable to plant this in the ground, since it is sensitive to freezing? Will it survive in our climate?ANSWER:
Tamarindus indica, Tamarind Tree, is native to Africa and therefore out of our field of expertise, which is plants native to North America. This Purdue University Horticulture site has a lot of information about this tree, including that it gets very large, in which case it is probably not suitable for a residential lot. This article from Floridata says that it is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zones 10-11. Since Austin is generally considered Zone 8b, its survival, especially in some of our "surprise" winters, is chancy.
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