Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Lone Star Horticulture Forum, a conference hosted by the Texas Nursery and Landscape Association.  January is a great month for plant people to get together to talk about trends in the industry, water conservation initiatives, and new pests and diseases to watch.

The education at the conference was excellent, but one of my favorite parts was seeing new plants and bringing home plant catalogs!  I have some empty spots in my landscape, and I have my eye on a couple new plants to add in this spring.

The first is Fragrant Mimosa.  I contribute my love of mimosa trees to my mom who always loved to have one in the yard.  The pink puffball flowers are so fun to see!  Fragrant Mimosa (mimosa borealis) is native to the Edwards Plateau, and it tolerates the poor caliche soil found in the western part of Williamson County.

I think of Fragrant Mimosa as a petite mimosa since it only grows to six to eight feet tall, and it has smaller flowers than the mimosas I grew up seeing.  This plant loves full sun and blooms spring to summer.  It does have thorns, so plant it in a place where it won’t attack you when you walk by with the lawn mower.  Yes, I speak from experience!

Another plant high on my list is Thyrallis Golden Showers (Galphimia glauca).  This is an evergreen shrub that grows four to six feet tall with yellow flowers that bloom spring to frost.  Thryallis tolerates most soils and prefers well-drained soils.  It is very drought tolerant, only needing light watering once you get it established.

The yellow flowers attract pollinators, so this is a great plant to add to the landscape.  I love a plant that blooms during the growing season and still provides green color in the winter.

Fragrant Mimosa and Thryallis are included in the Native and Adapted Landscape Plant Guide.  This guide is one of my favorite go-to books when I am looking for plant recommendations because I trust that everything listed will do well in Central Texas.  You can find the guide online or purchase a copy at most local nurseries.  Be sure to check the size specifications, light and water requirements, and notes for each plant before you go shopping.  You want to make sure you get the right plant for the right spot in your landscape to have the best success.

For more information about lawn and garden topics, contact Kate Hajda, Williamson County Horticulture Extension Agent, at 512-943-3300.