How can you tell a mountain laurel in Texas?
Texas Mountain Laurels are slow growers with dark green, glossy, compound leaves and drooping clusters of purply-blue flowers. Flowers range from dark violet to bluish-lavender to, rarely, white and waft a powerful, sweet, grape fragrance over considerable distances.
How tall does a Texas mountain laurel get?
10-15 ft.
Mescal bean or Texas mountain laurel is an evergreen, usually multi-trunked shrub or small tree ranging from just a few feet tall to more than 30 ft. in height, though its usual height at maturity is 10-15 ft.
What are the pods on a Texas mountain laurel?
“The brilliant, lacquer red seeds were valued by indigenous people for ornament and ceremonial use; they contain the highly poisonous alkaloid cytisine (or sophorine), a substance related to nicotine and widely cited as a narcotic and hallucinogen.”
Is Texas mountain laurel toxic?
The seeds of this plant, which are often used in making necklaces, are mildly poisonous if eaten. The poisonous elements of this plant resemble nicotine in its actions and toxicity. If seeds are ingested, it can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, excitement, delirium, and coma.
Do Texas mountain laurels attract bees?
Texas mountain laurel is one of the first plants to bloom in the spring. Bees and butterflies are attracted to the flowers for pollen and nectar, and appreciate the blooms so early in the season when not much else is blooming in local landscapes for spring quite yet.
What does a Texas mountain laurel smell like?
The Texas Mountain Laurel is a drought-tolerant evergreen shrub with dark, shiny leaves and large drooping clusters of purple flowers that smell oddly like grape bubblegum. The flowers give way to large seed pods filled with bright red seeds.
Do mountain laurels lose their leaves?
Mountain laurel is a North American native evergreen shrub. It produces lovely spring flowers that look a bit like brightly colored candy. It is hardy in United States Department of Agriculture zones 4 to 9. A mountain laurel losing leaves may be suffering from too much sun if they are in hot, scorching light.
Are Texas mountain laurels messy?
In our research, we never found anyone who said “this is one messy plant!”, but we’re not sure just how messy it would be in relation to your swimming pool filter. Although evergreen, it is going to shed some leaves year-round to be replaced by new ones.
Is it OK to touch mountain laurel?
The mountain laurel is poisonous in all aspects. The poison is at its strongest in the young shoots and leaves. Whenever you handle mountain laurel you should be very careful about washing your hands.
Can you over water laurels?
The leaves of your laurel plants will quickly turn yellow and start to fall off if they are not watered enough (or if they are over-watered). Even a hot weekend in the summer can cause them to dry out so it is best to keep an eye on them every few days.
Why are my laurels dying?
This could be because they were planted poorly or because they haven’t been watered correctly (too much or too little water). Even if you treat all the plants the same, if conditions are difficult, some plants will die before the others. It is important to identify and rectify the problem before more plants die.
Does mountain laurel keep its leaves in winter?
Extreme cold is another reason for mountain laurel leaf drop. In areas that get sustained freezes, plant mountain laurels in a slightly sheltered location. Lack of water will also cause dropped leaves. Provide deep watering once per week in dry conditions.
Why are the leaves falling off my Texas mountain laurel?
Texas mountain laurel is evergreen, drought resistant and virtually pest free. These small trees do so well in hot climates that the devil himself could grow them on his patio, but dropping leaves are a sign that the tree is in distress.
Is the Texas mountain laurel toxic to humans?
You will still see Texas mountain laurel referred to as S. secundiflora or C. secundiflora in some places. Lovely as they are, the flowers of Texas mountain laurel are toxic to humans and animals, as are the plant’s seed pods and leaves.
What kind of tree is Texas mountain laurel?
Texas mountain laurel, also called mescal bean tree, is a small tree or multi-trunked shrub that grows best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10. Texas mountain laurel is evergreen, drought resistant and virtually pest free.
What are the Worms on my Texas mountain laurel?
Sophora Caterpillars. If the leaves dropping from the Texas mountain laurel look as if something’s been eating them, the problem may be Sophora worms, a caterpillar stage of the Genista broom moth (Uresiphita reversalis).
