Native Plants

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Saturday - November 03, 2012

From: Abilene, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Transplants, Shrubs
Title: Transplanting Esperanza in Abilene TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have 3 beautiful Gold Star Esperanzas that are too large and need to be transplanted. How can I do this and what time of year. They are five years old and always return in the spring.

ANSWER:

From this Texas A&M site, you will see that Gold Star Esperanza is Tecoma stans (Yellow bells), a Texas native. Follow the plant link to our webpage on this plant to learn its Growing Conditions, water and light requirements and so forth. Since this is a deciduous plant, we would recommend waiting until November or December to transplant it to help prevent transplant shock. This USDA Plant Profile Map shows that this shrub is not native to Taylor County or, indeed, anywhere very close to it in Texas, but since you have been growing it successfully for five years we would not worry about that. It is a member of the Bignoniaceae (trumpet creeper) family so it will die down in the winter, and can be trimmed before you transplant it. Here is our Step by Step guide on Transplanting Perennials.

From the Image Gallery

Yellow bells
Tecoma stans