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RED SIZZLERS:
Three plants for your summer pleasure
July 01, 2022
by Kathy Chilek/Victoria County Master Gardener
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER KATHY CHILEK
Flame Acanthus
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER SUZANNE LABRECQUE
Red Turk's Cap
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER KATHY CHILEK
Pink Turk's Cap
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY VICTORIA COUNTY MASTER GARDENER KATHY CHILEK
Coral Bean Blooms
If scavenging deer, ravenous insects, scorching sun or freaky frosts have ever threatened the existence of your favorite blooming plants, despair not. Native plants are super heroes waiting to thwart them all.
Here are three that sport sizzling red flowers and thrive despite their natural enemies.
Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii) is one of the first native plants we put in our garden over 20 years ago. It has lived through extreme temperature swings, Hurricane Harvey’s flooding and the killing frost of 2019. It has had no observable damage from either insects or disease.
Growing a modest 3 feet by 4 feet, Flame Acanthus is a multi-stemmed, woody shrub. It is deciduous and should be cut back by two-thirds late winter to promote bushy growth and increase flowering. It loves well drained soil and full sun but will tolerate shade. Its fallen seeds produce some slender offspring, but it is not invasive. Dried, brown seed pods can be gathered before they open to save and plant the following spring.
Flame Acanthus does not interest deer, but hummingbirds, butterflies and bees seek nectar from its red flowers. It is host plant to crimson patch and Texas crescent butterflies. It is a well-mannered, long lived and pollinator friendly addition to any landscape.
Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) is also a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub that should be cut back in late winter. Its varieties, however, range in size from three feet tall to over five feet.
Turk’s cap’s main attribute is its ability to bloom profusely in complete shade. Its blooms are not flat, but have the petals wrapped around their centers forming a tube. Pollen tipped stamens protrude from the end of the tube looking like decorations on turbans hence the name “Turk’s cap.” The common green leafed variety produces fiery red blooms, but others available include one with pink flowers and “fiesta” with variegated leaves.
Turk’s cap can be propagated by picking its small red, fully ripe fruits in fall. These must be dried until the flesh can be removed from seeds. Turk’s cap seeds are cold sensitive. Soil must be thoroughly warmed and danger of frost is past before planting them.
Although small and mealy, the fruit is edible. Its apple scent gave it its Spanish name, manzanita, “little apple.” Hummingbirds and butterflies enjoy its flower nectar and it is host plant for white skipper butterflies. It is deer resistant.
The most unusual of our three red bloomers is the coral bean (Erythrina herbacea). It can grow into a tree 10 feet tall or be trimmed into a shrub. In early spring, large flowers appear on bare branches. Composed of many individual rolls of scarlet petals, they are spectacular in an otherwise dead landscape.
Heart shaped leaves emerge next with soft thorns on the stems. In late summer, show stopping seed pods form. As each 6i to 8 inch pod matures to black, the pods burst open revealing cream colored linings. The bright red beans appear glued to the very outside edge of each pod.
Major warning, the red beans are very poisonous. Do not place this plant or its seeds in any location accessed by children, livestock or pets. Seeds gathered from pods have an extremely hard outer coat which must be nicked or filed and soaked in water for several days before planting.
Put this plant where you want it to stay. It will grow wider with more stems over time. Deer do not bother it.
I hope you look into more natives like these three plants as tough, beautiful and virtually carefree additions to your garden. They are worth it.
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County. Mail your questions in care of the Advocate, P.O. Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77901; or vcmga@vicad.com, or comment on this column at VictoriaAdvocate.com.
Nokes, Jill. “How to Grow Native Plants of Texas and the
Southwest” revised and updated edition. (2001) University of Texas Press-Austin.
Haely, “Hummingbird Bush (Flame Acanthus): A Texas Native”.
Native Backyards. (2021). https://nativebackyards.com/hummingbird-bush/
Tull, Delena and Miller, George Oxford. “Lone Star Field Guide: Wildflowers, Trees and Shrubs of Texas” revised edition. (1991). Gulf Publishing Company.
ph: 361-935-1556
nancyk