Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
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.

rate this answer

Tuesday - January 17, 2012
From: Spring Branch, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Planting, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Moving "lily of the valley" from MD to TX. Is that OK?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
My question pertains to lily of the valley. From your database, I learned that it is a native plant but only the following states were listed: GA , KY , NC , PA , SC , TN , VA , WV. I am moving from Maryland to Central Texas (southwest of your center in Austin) and I wanted to bring some of my lily of the valley from MD to TX, to plant in the half acre I just purchased. Would you approve? Some websites state it is toxic to deer, so I thought that would be a plus.ANSWER:
The first thing we need to do is figure out which plant you intend to move. When I went to our Native Plant Database and typed in "lily of the valley". This is the list of plants that I came up with.
American lily of the valley Convallaria majuscula (American lily of the valley) map
False lily of the valley Maianthemum dilatatum (False lily of the valley) map
Feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum (Feathery false lily of the valley) map
Feathery false lily of the valley Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum (Feathery false lily of the valley) map
Starry false lily of the valley Maianthemum stellatum (Starry false lily of the valley) map
Threeleaf false lily of the valley Maianthemum trifolium (Threeleaf false lily of the valley) map
Clicking on the scientific name of each of the plants will bring up its NPIN page which will allow you to see if any of the plants look like yours, and also learn its growth requirements. Clicking on the word “map” following each Scientific Name will bring up the USDA Plant Profile for the plant which includes a distribution map that indicates where the plant occurs naturally.
We can plot occurrence on this matrix
in TX in MD
Maianthemum racemosum (Feathery false lily of the valley) yes yes
Maianthemum stellatum (Starry false lily of the valley) close yes
Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum (Feathery false lily of the valley) close yes
Maianthemum dilatatum (False lily of the valley) no no
Maianthemum trifolium (Threeleaf false lily of the valley) no close
Convallaria majuscula (American lily of the valley) close close
From the matrix we can see that Maianthemum racemosum (Feathery false lily of the valley) occurs in both MD and TX, but only in far west Texas. Maianthemum stellatum (Starry false lily of the valley) and Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum (Feathery false lily of the valley) occur in MD and states adjoining Texas. SInce Maianthemum racemosum ssp. racemosum occurs in Louisiana, it might be a candidate for growing in Harris County. However, growing plants outside their native range is counter to the mission of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. And there are very good reasons for discouraging the importation of exotic species; weed, pest, and disease issues probably top the list. So in regard to your question about approval, the short answer is no.
More Non-Natives Questions
Problems with mature Blue Agave in Kenya
December 09, 2012 - I have a mature Agave plant and there is a thin black liquid that looks like oil starting to appear on the leaves. The plant plant seems to be dying (from the bottom up). (The plant is a blue Agave an...
view the full question and answer
Pruning of non-native New Dawn rose in Fairfield CT
May 13, 2009 - Hi! Can you help me with blind shoots on a climbing rose, New Dawn? The sun is planted in the south side of the house and gets plenty of light. I have only lightly fertilized it twice a year last yea...
view the full question and answer
Care for non-native Easter Lily (Lilium longiflorum)
June 07, 2005 - How do you care for an Easter Lily once the flowers have fallen off?
view the full question and answer
Micro clover for groundcover
March 10, 2012 - Hi there! I am interested in overseeding my lawn with a micro clover mix.. however, I cannot find any information on the web about how it might act here in Central Texas. Do you have any experience wi...
view the full question and answer
Problems with non-native windmill palm in Eden NY
May 29, 2009 - I have a potted windmill palm, about two weeks after being potted the leaves are turning yellow with brown spots on them. what have I done wrong?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |