After a long break, we are happy to continue our individual Texas native plants profiles and today we will put the spotlight on Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora).
From the entry:
“If there is one Texas native, small growing, flowering tree you can’t go wrong with, it’s of course a Texas Mountain Laurel. This hard as nails, extremely drought tolerant Texas native (can survive on a partly 14 inches of annual rain) will grace any landscape with its presence. Best of all, its an evergreen! Perfect to conceal that unsightly neighbor of yours or disguise that noisy road near the window. You can train it to a tree form or leave it in a more natural shrubby form. Excellent as a specimen tree and also planted along. The showy purple blooms smell terrific; some describe it as grape soda smell, some think it smells like bubble gum or even kool-aid. The only two cons we can think of are its very slow growing pace and its poisonous seed pods. “
What do you think about Texas Mountain Laurel? Do you grow it yourself? What kind of experience and insights you have to share? We love featuring our readers’ plant pictures and Xeriscapes!