Native Plants

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Saturday - April 28, 2012

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Herbs/Forbs, Trees
Title: Speed of growth on plants from Plant Sale from Austin
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Hello, I recently attended the native plant sale and bought several plants for a sunny curbside bed in central Austin. Due to financial constraints I stuck with the 3 inch varieties so I could buy 3 of each type. They are planted in groups and look beautiful even as babies. I can't wait to see the day that the plants mature and fill in to give privacy and curb appeal. I am wondering how long each plant will take to reach maturity, again, they are the 3 inch sizes now. Here are the plants I bought. They are in a sunny location with good drainage: Red Yucca, Mealy Blue Sage, Square Bud Primrose, Mexican Feather Grass, Wrights Penstemon, Bulbine, 1 gallon sized orchid tree. I spaced each according to their full size and am really curious how many years it will take. Thank you!

ANSWER:

We are going to give you links to our webpage on each of these plants. In general, we can't predict how quickly a plant will reach its full size, but perennials usually take at least 2 years to begin to flower, and then will thicken and grow taller from there. You can sometimes find out from the website if the plant is fast or slow-growing, and also make sure you have the proper conditions for each plant; is it getting enough sun, the right amount of water, etc?

The bulbine that you listed is not in our Native Plant Database, nor did we find it on the Spring Sale Plant List. This website on Bulbine frutescens from the Master Gardeners of Pima County, AZ states that it is a native of Africa. Since the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, propagation and protection of plants native not only to North America but also to the area in which they grow natively, we wonder if you got the name mixed up? Anyway, we can't tell you anything about a plant by that name. Here are the links to the other plants you listed:

Hesperaloe parviflora (Red yucca)

Salvia farinacea (Mealy blue sage)

Calylophus berlandieri (Berlandier's sundrops)

Nassella tenuissima (Mexican feathergrass)

Penstemon wrightii (Wright's beardtongue)

Bauhinia lunarioides (Anacacho orchid tree)