To even the scale out
Mother Nature needs balance…the nerve! Let me explain. For trees to live a long enough to reproduce and tolerate extreme cold (think about trees in a mountain side), they grow slowly. Plants, like annuals, that grow quickly and flower a lot, have a short life span. Trees in the tropics, grow quickly, but are not cold tolerant. If you start messing around with the genetics of plants, you can get thornless roses, but at the cost of the fragrance. Take “Katie” Ruellia, it’s a great ground cover that blooms a lot. Well, all those flowers produce lots of seeds…and they can spread like mad. To have one (or several) great characteristics, you can be sure that there will be an equally bad one. It’s all about balance.
We are listening
Growers are always listening to the public’s demands for plants with certain qualities. You ask for trees that are not messy, shrubs that bloom all the time or don’t need pruning. You ask for plants that don’t need water. The list goes on. Our favorite request is for plants or trees that don’t need water, pruning, are evergreen and bloom all the time. (When we find that, we are going to retire!)
All that is green, ain’t great
It’s tree planting time and you’re looking for an evergreen tree…that grows fast…and that doesn’t make a mess. Yes, those trees actually exist. There are companies, in town, that are selling a tree named Indian Laurel or (insert another name) Laurel (do not confuse these with Cherry Laurel). But, (and there’s always a but) there is a price to pay for those great characteristics. This time, it’s hardiness. Indian Laurel (Ficus microcarpa ‘Nitida’) is not hardy…end of story…it will freeze…to death. Been there, done that and it didn’t take 20 degrees to kill it. Since we have such a long growing season, it will quickly out grow a small yard. Imagine planting a Ficus nitida and it grows great for 10 years. This once nice little tree, is now huge…and then (dramatic music) it freezes. Not only did you just lose your shade, you need to have this huge, dead thing removed (the sound of a cash register is heard in the back round) and start over again (more cash register noises). You could take your chances, hoping that it never freezes again in Houston, let us know how that works for you. Then again, you could plant something hardy to begin with. Take into consideration how long you expect to live in that house and your life expectancy (morbid, yes…relevent, yes). Weigh the great characteristics of a tree, against it’s less desirable ones and remember that Mother Nature needs balance.