NATIVES ON THE GROW Newsletter of the Kerrville Chapter of the

Native Plant Society of Texas Dedicated to the understanding, preservation, and enjoyment of the native flora of the Texas Hill Country

September 2011

Website: www.npsot.org/kerrville

A NEW MEETING SCHEDULE BEGINS! For the year September 2011 through June 2012, our meetings will be held the SECOND Tuesday of each month. Socializing and refreshments will begin at 4:30 p.m., with the meeting following promptly at 5 p.m. Meetings are free and open to the public. Bring your friends!

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Next Meeting: Tuesday, September 13, 2011 5:00 p.m. at Riverside Nature Center

Local Meteorologist Cary Burgess will discuss: 

The causes of current climate patterns A historical look at past brutal weather years



A look to the future related to:



- Population issues - Demand on water resources - Shifts in vegetation and wildlife

Please come at 4:30 for refreshments and socializing. Our meeting will begin promptly at 5:00 p.m.

NATIVES ON THE GROW

SEPTEMBER 2011

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Let‟s join our sister chapter in Fredericksburg for their

NEVER

Wildscapes Workshop 2011

There has

Mark your calendars!

Native Plant Society

been a better time to join the

The Fredericksburg Chapter of NPSOT is hosting its 2011 Wildscapes Workshop on Saturday, Sept. 10 at the Fredericksburg United Methodist Church, 1800 N. Llano St., Fredericksburg. Entitled Native Grasses - Not Just for Mowing, the workshop is scheduled from 7:30am to 3pm and will include educational programs, a book sale, and raffle. The homes tour will take place in the morning this year in order to provide a smoother-running event. While most people know the Texas Hill Country for its magnificent wildflowers, could the real treasure be in its native grasses? Texas native grasses are beautiful and drought tolerant, useful and diverse, offering the home and professional gardener many practical options in size, shape and texture that are suited to any location and microclimate. Learn from the experts of the many different varieties of native grasses that are gaining popularity across the country and their use in home landscapes, lawns, wetlands, wildlife and prairie habitat restorations as well as their use in erosion control and as biomass crops.

Guest Speakers: Bill Neiman, Owner of Native American Seed, Junction, TX ―What on Earth will we do with the Texas Hill Country?‖ Led by Bill, we will discover how our native grasses help sustain the uniqueness of this ecological treasure – the Texas Hill Country. Flo Oxley, Director of Plant Conservation, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, TX ―Got Grasses?‖ Join Flo for an intriguing look at some of our most overlooked wildlife resources, native grasses!

of Texas. With the current drought, everyone needs to learn all they can about choosing and caring for plants in their landscapes. If you’ve been thinking of joining us, there are several ways to join NPSOT. 

Online membership signup/ renewal.



Print an Application Form and mail it in with your check.



Complete and mail in the application form in the state NPSOT brochure.

Recently Renewed Memberships (past 3 months)

Thank You!

☺

Airhart

Tommie

Butcher

Larry & Marilyn

Steve Shelton, MLA, Principal, Ecotopes, Austin, TX ―Wise Up! To Grasses as Ornamentals‖

Crane

Anita L.

Workshop Includes: Guest Speakers * Garden Tour * Catered Box Lunch * Native Plant Sale * * Book Sale * Door Prizes * Raffle * Silent Auction * Exhibits *

Magee

Scott & Sandra

Meriwether

Mrs. MaryAllen

Newbolt

Patsy & Larry

Portwood

Harry & Laura

Roemer

Ilene & Walter

Stanley

Jim & Priscilla

Wagner

Nina

An associated plant sale will offer many of the plants featured in the workshop presentations. The sale will be open before the workshops and during lunch; plants purchased early will be held for pickup at the end of the seminars.

Registration Form

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SEPTEMBER 2011

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KPUB to distribute recommended native trees in annual tree giveaway Many of our members voiced their concerns last April regarding KPUB’s choice of trees given away in the national Tree Power Program. For that reason, your Board of Directors sent a letter, signed by our then-president Edna Platte, to KPUB, thanking them for their generous donations to the community, but asking them in the future to consider ordering trees that are NATIVE to this area, and specifically to avoid trees that are known to become invasive. We enclosed a copy of our recently revised blue brochure, “Recommended Native Plants for Landscaping in the Texas Hill Country,” which not only lists a number of invasive plants to avoid (on the new last page), but also lists desirable and high-priority plants of the Hill Country. We were delighted to receive a most positive response from Machelle Hazelett, Director of Administrative Services for KPUB, stating: “Based on your recommendations, we have altered our existing purchase orders. For the next two years, we will be distributing Bur Oak, Cedar Elm, and Mexican White Oak trees. All three of these species are listed in the March 2011 revision of the „Recommended Native Plants for Landscaping in the Texas Hill Country‟ publication, which you were kind enough to provide.”

Thank you, KPUB! For those of you who do not have the newest version of this ―Blue Brochure,‖ we will have them available at the September meeting. To check yours, look on the back of the blue cover, at the bottom of the center section, for the words “Rev. March 2011”

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Native Plants That Have Survived the Drought by Barbara Lowenthal

Photos by Marilyn Knight

Riverside Nature Center is an excellent place to see native plants under various conditions. The main part of the meadow has not been watered this summer of drought. The butterfly garden and the specimen garden have been watered once a week. Various areas, especially around trees, have been under drip irrigation for various amounts of time during the summer.

Argemone albiflora

Plants utilize various techniques to cope with the dry conditions. Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides) and other species of grass go dormant, and just don’t green up. Many forbs curl their leaves inward to conserve moisture. Others have stunted growth. Some shrubs and trees shed their leaves and go into dormancy. In the RNC meadow, during the August species survey, we found several hardy plant species that have survived without any supplemental watering. These include white prickly poppy (Argemone albiflora), lantana (Lantana uricoides), Mexican hat (Ratibida columifera), snake herb (Dyschoriste linearis), silver-leaf night shade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), green-eyes (Berlandieria betonicifolia), globe mallow (Sphaeralcea sp.), tube-tongue (Justicia pilosella) and mealy blue sage (Salvia farinaceae). Although these plants have survived, and are waiting for moisture to return to their full glory.

Lantana uricoides

Some of the fall blooming plants that are starting to appear include gray golden aster (Heterotheca canescens), broomweed (Amphiachyris amoena) and prairie goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis). Most of the plants in the butterfly garden and other pocket gardens remained full and beautiful with basically a hand-watering per week and occasional drip irrigation. I would recommend a walk around the meadow at the RNC now, so that you can appreciate the change that will take place once the rains return. In the meantime, please continue to do your rain dance. 

Berlandieria betonicifolia Sphaeralcea ambigua

Justicia pilosella

Salvia farinaceae

Ratibida columifera

Dyschoriste linearis

Solanum elaeagnifolium

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How to Conserve Water AND Save Your Plants This article was published in the Kerrville Daily Times on June 9, 2011 Well, the drought continues with no real end in sight. We cannot and should not waste water, but we don’t want our plants to die either. So what are homeowners to do? Fortunately there are a number of things we can do that might help. As the drought continues, different plants will suffer to different degrees. In general, the least xeric and most recently planted plants will suffer the most, followed by established plants native to higher rainfall areas, followed by well-established native plants, and finally xeric (droughttolerant) plants from more arid areas such as West Texas.

Assuming you are using a hose-end nozzle to do the watering, you need to know how much water it puts out. You can get an empty gallon milk jug or five gallon bucket and time how long it takes to fill it, so you know how much time it takes to water each plant. Water only once a week. Watering lightly daily or every 2 or 3 days is a waste of water (except for newly planted perennials). Also, don’t water the foliage, it doesn’t help and may harm the plant. Water under the dripline (the circle under the tree just under the outermost leaves), not around the trunk. The feeder roots are mostly concentrated in that area.

So, for instance, shade-loving plants such as American beautyberry and wild red columbine, or plants native to wet areas such as buttonbush, will be the first to become stressed, as will any newly planted tree or shrub. The best watering system by far Most established native trees and is drip irrigation … you can not shrubs may have put out less growth only know exactly how much and smaller leaves than usual, but will water each plant is getting, and likely survive with little if any adjust it if necessary, but the attention. Cacti and succulents and water drips directly on the soil plants such as cenizo and zexmenia will likely survive without any help with the absolute minimum from us. amount wasted. Since we live in an area that has, and will continue to have, limited water availability, we need to do everything we can to conserve water. That means using the water we do use in the most efficient manner possible. One of the first things we can do is to know how much water a plant needs and where, when and how often to water it. There are some rules of thumb to go by here. Small trees, especially newly planted ones, should have 6 to 8 gallons of water per trunk diameter inch per week. So a tree with a 2 inch diameter trunk should have 12 to 16 gallons of water each week. These are optimum amounts for good growth. When water is limited, you can probably get by with somewhat less water and still keep it healthy. Larger, more established native trees can go longer between watering, maybe only once every 2 or 3 weeks in dry summers, and no extra water other times. For smaller shrubs or perennials, decide how much water you think they need based on how large they are, and water them for the appropriate time. Then check a few days later. If they are wilting, you need to water them longer.

Don’t be fooled by some of the drizzles or light rains we get. Anything less than a quarter inch is pretty much useless as far as most trees, shrubs and perennials are concerned.

If you have too much mulch, brush it away from the area you are watering so you can get the water to the mineral soil where the roots live, not just on the top mulch. You can rake the mulch back after watering. If you don’t have mulch covering any bare ground, get some….it is the best thing you can do for your plants. The best watering system by far is drip irrigation. By positioning water-emitting half-inch or quarter-inch inline tubing (I would recommend you avoid any sprinkler/ sprayer type emitters) around flower beds, shrubs and trees, you can not only know exactly how much water each plant is getting, and adjust it if necessary, but the water drips directly on the soil with the absolute minimum amount wasted. Drip irrigation systems are fairly inexpensive and easy to put together. One source of information and equipment is www.dripworks.com, but there are many other sources. I’m sorry, but I have no good suggestions for lawns. The only native turf grass, buffalograss, goes dormant in times like this and looks dead, but will come back with rain. Bermudagrass probably will as well. My best advice is to have as little lawn as possible. 

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SEPTEMBER 2011

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White Prickly Poppy Article submitted by Znobia Wootan, Native American Seed, Junction, Texas I don’t know if anyone else has noticed, but there is a wildflower valiantly blooming in this crazy Texas heat. On close inspection the bloom looks similar to a poppy, and the stem and leaves have Pollinators crawl across the three inch blooms that contain an the same bluish green tinge that other poppies have — but this Texas Native is absolutely covered with prickles. It is our very abundance of pollen and just a own White Prickly Poppy. It is covered with so many prickles taste of nectar that even the deer and cows leave it alone. White Prickly Poppy, Argemone albiflora spp. texana, can be found from Northern Arkansas & Southern Missouri to Texas. In the southern & western parts of Texas, a Rose Prickly Poppy can be found with blooms in shades of pink and lavender. Further south and down into Mexico, the Mexican Prickly Poppy can be seen with its distinctive yellow blooms. All varieties exude a yellow sap that has been used by Native Americans for many ailments. Records of its use date as far back as the Aztecs, when their priests would use the plant in their sacrifice rituals. The Comanches so revered the plant for its many uses that they made offerings to it during harvesting. The sap was used to remove warts, treat cold sores and other skin ailments. A concoction from the flower can be made to treat lung congestion from colds or flu. The seeds can be used as a laxative or as an emetic to induce vomiting or to make a mild sedative. A tea brewed from the entire plant can be used to treat bladder infections, prostate pain, or the throbbing pain of a migraine. A wash made from the tea can be used to treat sunburn or scraped skin. To produce both a euphoric and mild sedating effect the plant was smoked in important ceremonies. It should be noted, however, that as with many beneficial plants, if not used properly they can be very toxic. The seeds are the only nutritional part of the plant. They are an excellent source of food for Quail & Dove because not only do they have a

Nutritious seeds of White Prickly Poppy are an excellent source of food for quail & dove

high oil content, making it highly beneficial, but this plant produces a large number of seeds each year, which makes it a reliable & dependable food source. The production of large quantities of seeds also makes it easier to establish in your native landscape, and large colonies can form in (continued on next page)

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PLEASE REMEMBER TO

BUY LOCAL!

SAVE

Buying local is good for our community because our money stays closer to home, supporting our

WATER

local economy

EVERY WAY YOU CAN.

and sustaining jobs for our friends and neighbors.

The Guadalupe River thanks you.

White Prickly Poppy

(continued from previous page)

sandy or well drained sites. White Prickly Poppy seeds contain as much oil as soy beans and an interesting fact that I uncovered doing this research was that during WWII the oil from White Prickly Poppy seeds was used as a fine lubricant. The article didn’t say for what or if it was sold to the public so I might be doing a little bit more digging to find out. In the meantime, while enduring this searing heat, I will enjoy watching the pollinators visit my stand of White Prickly Poppy as they crawl across the three inch blooms that contain an abundance of pollen and just a taste of nectar.



Your Officers 2011-2012 President Bill Stone [email protected] Co-Vice Presidents-Programs Marilyn Butcher [email protected] Mike Mecke [email protected] Vice President-Outreach Diane McMahon [email protected] Secretary Martha Miesch [email protected] Treasurer Trish Stone [email protected] Director of Communications and Newsletter Editor Cindy Anderson [email protected] Director of Membership Nina Wagner [email protected] Committee Chairpeople: N.I.C.E.: Melinda Wasson & Gwynn Jackson Earth Day Plant Sale: CAN YOU HELP? Social: Patsy Newbolt Webmaster: Raúl Peña

NATIVES ON THE GROW

SEPTEMBER 2011

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New wildflower ―app‖ for iPhone / iPad — free download for NPSOT members Travel writer George Miller of Albuquerque recently wrote our president, Bill Stone, about the new app he has developed for the iPhone and iPad. Mr. Miller writes: ―Bill, I have just developed an app for iPhone/iPad that might be of interest to the NPS members. The app, an identification guide to wildflowers of central Texas, includes 120 species descriptions and about that many descriptions of similar species, with over 500 photos of flowers with close-ups, leaves, and habitat to aid in id. I have a limited number of free promo codes for download that I would like to share with Native Plant Society members (the app sells for $2.99 in the iTunes store). Any member who has an iPhone, iTouch, or iPad can email me and I will send the code. You can see a preview of the app at:

George Miller, Albuquerque, NM email: [email protected] website: http://www.travelsdujour.com Member Society of American Travel Writers

http://sutromedia.com/apps/Wildflowers_of_Central_Texas ‖

GOT JUNK? Let’s have a RAFFLE! Starting with our September meeting, let’s all look around our houses/garages/potting sheds for things we’re not using, and donate them to this Chapter to help offset the cost of room rental for our meetings at RNC.

PLEASE BRING THINGS LIKE:  Gardening books  Field guides  Hiking/walking supplies  Garden tools  Extra plants from your garden  Flower pots 

Use your imagination!

If you have questions about donations for the raffle, please call Trish Stone at 238-3132 or email her at [email protected]

We‟ll sell raffle tickets for $1 each, and YOU might go home with a new treasure!

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SEPTEMBER 2011

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Native Plant Society of Texas The Native Plant Society of Texas wants to preserve our state’s rich heritage for future generations. NPSOT is a non-profit organization run by volunteers. We work to promote native plant appreciation, research, and conservation through 32 chapters located around the state. Please support NPSOT by becoming a member or making a donation. Membership forms are available at chapter meetings and the NPSOT website www.npsot.org. For IRS income tax purposes, the full amount of your NPSOT membership dues is tax-deductible as a charitable contribution.

Membership categories and annual dues: Individual : $25 Couple/Family : $40 Student: $15 Senior Individual (65+) : $20 Senior Couple (one 65+) : $30 Group : $50 Patron : $100 Benefactor : $250 Supporting : $500 Corporate Sponsor : $1000 Lifetime (one-time payment for individual or couple): $1000

NOTE: NPSOT dues are sent to the state organization located in Fredericksburg (which is not the same as the Fredericksburg NPSOT Chapter.) The state organization returns 15% of the dues back to the local chapters. STATE OFFICE NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY OF TEXAS P.O. Box 3017 Fredericksburg,TX 78624 320 W. San Antonio St. 830-997-9272 (Office Manager is Pam Middleton.) www.npsot.org

Note to Members: Renewal letters are mailed to all members at the beginning of the month your membership expires. NAMETAGS are kept at RNC and brought out for each NPSOT meeting. They help us get to know each other! If you are a new member, we are already making one for you and we will have it at the next meeting at RNC. If yours is missing, please contact our Director of Membership, Nina Wagner, at [email protected] or phone her at 896-0391 before our next meeting.

MINUTES OF OUR MEETINGS are kept in a notebook for viewing at our welcome table at meetings held at Riverside Nature Center, and are also posted monthly to our Web site, on the ―Officers‖ page.

Our Goals:  To educate both our members and the general public, and to foster a greater awareness and understanding of our native flora;  To preserve rare and endangered species and their habitats;  To encourage landscaping with appropriate native plants, for their beauty, ease of maintenance, and water-conserving qualities;  To protect, conserve and restore native plants threatened by development;  To encourage the responsible propagation of native plants;  To promote an appreciation and understanding of current, historical and potential uses of native plants.

Native Plant Society of Texas The mission of The Native Plant Society of Texas is to promote research, conservation and utilization of native plants and plant habitats of Texas through education, outreach and example.

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The following businesses contribute annually to our Chapter. Please support them as well! Alltex Nursery/Landscapes

The Plant Haus 2 528 Jefferson St. Kerrville, TX 78028 Phone: 830-792-4444

or 1-800-887-3014

Landscape Design & Installation Danny & Wendy Massey 1302 Bandera Highway, Kerrville, TX 830-895-5242 www.alltexlandscapes.com

Texas Certified Master Nurseryman

Natives of Texas

Wildgoose Gallery and Store

Hill Country Native Plants 4256 Medina Hwy Kerrville, TX 78028

Manufacturers of Luggage & Leather Goods, Backpacks, Fanny Packs, Totes, Native Plant/ Wildlife Field Guides, Wildlife & Western Art Gallery, Custom Furniture, Accessories & Gifts

830-896-2169

3187 Junction Highway, Ingram, TX

Website: http://www.nativesoftexas.com/

830-367-5553 or 800-749-1805

Email: [email protected]

http://www.wildgoosemanufacturing.com/

Native American Seed www.seedsource.com

Karen King Smith Email:

[email protected]

Become a NPSOT Sponsor! Contact Trish Stone [email protected] 238-3132