Posted by richtrav on 3/11/2011, 7:52 pm, in reply to "Re: "Obtusa" obtusa is slightly more tender in South Texas"
38.120.10.199
These are just some notes I can remember off the top of my head. I'm sure I have left some things out or some observations may not be completely current. Many of these plants are only in containers and have yet to be planted in the ground. I try to note this when I can remember
Acacia aneura, mulga (Arizona form) - trees in the ground were in decline before the freeze and are dead now. Plants growing in containers were in decline last summer but snapped out of it and survived the winter fine. They may be getting too much water
A. aneura (fine leaf form) - plants in containers undamaged, one attractive plant in the ground had the new phyllodes killed but resprouted about 6 inches below the tips. Superior to the common mulga but I'm not expecting miracles with its hardiness
A. aneura macrocarpa - several plants in containers were undamaged. It has attractive narrow glaucous foliage.
Acacia coriacea sericophylla - some plants in containers had erratic phyllode scorching, no stem damage, they tend to look slightly yellow but I believe this is normal
A. coriacea pendens - one plant in a container, slight scorching on a few phyllodes, no stem damage. This is a very nice tree, a fine example can be seen at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix and it could well end up being a superior ornamental to most forms of A. stenophylla (though much slower)
Acacia cowleana - a beautiful very tropical looking acacia, it appeared fine in the days following the freeze but was completely dead within two weeks
Acacia hemsleyi - a sprawling weepy plant in a container was kept in the greenhouse and not exposed to freezing temperatures. It appears it will be short lived here since it already looks past its prime
Acacia monticola - another attractive acacia that quickly grew out and declined within 18 months. There were two growing outside in 3 gallon containers and were already on the way out when the freeze finished them off
Acacia salicina - plants in the ground and containers had scorching and dead tips but not really threatened. Containers which are not grown on weedcloth will develop root sprouts. This tree was tried before in the 1980s but only lived a few years. I cannot recall their origin. I have an accession from Queensland that appears it will live longer here but has not been tested for cold or root rot
Acacia stenophylla - most plants are from a very resilient volunteer in Tucson and were virtually uninjured. A few others in containers are from the Arizona nursery trade and also did well. A tree I planted from a S Qld source in 1997 grew well for years but is now getting crowded out and appears to be declining because of this. One plant along with a pair of mulgas suddenly died from a root rot attack last year in an overwatered area but this generally does not seem to be a problem with this tree
Acacia jennerae was also tried years ago here but started to decline almost the moment it was brought back from Arizona. Seedlings of the very attractive Acacia cana also started declining soon after germination so I presume they have an issue with the irrigation water; the fine leaf mulga and A. coriacea planted at the same time survived and have since grown on
Archontophoenix alexandrae - heavy foliage scorching on the few trees I know of, I have not recently been by any to see if they are still alive but since they are large they will probably survive
A. cunninghamiana - several trees growing under canopy near Brownsville had surprisingly little damage, some tip burn but really quite hardy for a crownshaft palm
Arenga australasica - one large plant I had set out in 1997 was damaged this year for the first time ever. It is growing under canopy and had total foliar scorching. It is already pushing out green fronds, the trunks are apparently fine
Brachychiton acercifolius - one tree in the ground grown on the dry side had tip burn but is coming out. Plants were pretty much leafless at the time of the freeze
Brachychiton populneus - one large very nice tree in McAllen was uninjured. They are difficult to grow to any size here because of their susceptibility to root rot
Callistemon citrinus - numerous plants in the area were all uninjured, they sometimes do get chlorotic though. These plants did well even in San Antonio this winter, they grow in flushes rather than continuously like most Australian plants. This seems to help them survive sudden freezes since they do not flush until spring
Callistemon phoeniceus - an attractive glaucous plant in a large container has done well here but their flowers abort before opening, which sort of defeats their purpose as an ornamental
Callistemon vinimalis - the second most common Australian plant here, mostly uninjured, some smaller plants in containers had slight foliar burn
Callistemon viminalis 'Texas' - a commonly used form here with a more upright habit, similar in habit to 'Red Clusters' and did fine
Callistemon viminalis (dwarf form) - this small form seen at the old Link Nursery in Weslaco was uninjured, both the original plant and small plants in gallon containers
Callistemon viminalis (weeping tree form wide leaves) - a few seen around here, perhaps from Monrovia, no serious injury, not as attractive as some viminalis forms
Callistemon sp (Injune) - plants in containers and a single one in the ground in Harlingen were unharmed. Performance has been mostly good in the Brownsville area over the past decade, some trees thriving while others decline. I have yet to catch one in bloom
Callistemon sp (Louisiana Hardy) - rather spindly plants in 15 gallon containers were uninjured. Honestly it is one of the ugliest bottlebrushes
Callistemon 'Captain Cook' - plants in containers had small damage, ones growing in irrigated sites were beginning to flower and had all new growth and flowers killed, another tree "grown hard" was uninjured. A nice plant
Callistemon 'Harkness' - one small plant in a container, not growing and uninjured
Callistemon 'Little John' - mostly uninjured, some scorching on some plants, these did very well in San Antonio last year but suffered up there this year, especially on the north side of town
Casuarina cunninghamiana - no damage, not nearly as common as C. glauca due to its requirement for better soils and water. Small plants at the nursery came from Hartley NSW and are more bothered by chlorosis and/or minerals in the irrigation water than cold
Casuarina equisitifolia - very rare here, ID not 100% positive, no injury noticed. The soil is apparently not sandy enough for them here and they are easily outperformed by C. glauca
Casuarina glauca - mostly uninjured except around Brownsville where there are signs of tip injury. This common windbreak is by far the most common Australian tree at the southern tip of the state; in Cameron County it (conservatively) outnumbers all the eucalypts by at least 50 to 1. They froze to the ground by the thousands in the 1980s and were a pain to remove but had regrown within 3 years
Casuarina stricta - several small plants in containers from the Australian Outback Nursery, not injured. I really know little about this species other than it is supposed to be similar to C. glauca
Cupaniopsis anacardioides - a rarely seen handsome tropical tree, it appears totally uninjured by the winter and deserves wider use
Dianella tasmanica variegata - this is probably not true tasmanica (maybe sandwichensis?) since it does very well in humid and/or tropical climates. Not injured
Dianella 'Cassa Blue' - only known from one car dealership in McAllen, plants appear unphased by drought or cold but apparently must be grown hard like cacti to survive here. I have managed to killed it and most of the other Australian grasslike plants
Eremophila decipiens - plants grown hard in containers were little injured
Eremophila divaricata - one small plant in a container survived, it is very similar to 'Summertime Blue'
Eremophila laanii - container plants, foliage totally burned but they are regrowing from the stems
E. maculata (common form) - plants in containers and the ground had quite a bit of foliar burn but came back fast. Some grown in wet areas had some dieback. This is slightly disappointing since I thought they would have no trouble with these kind of temperatures
E. maculata (yellow) - plants in containers did well if grown on the dry side but suffered more when abundantly irrigated. There is also a yellow flowering maculata that makes more of a ground cover; its performance is pretty much identical
E. maculata brevifolia - plants in containers were injured and one was killed, but 3 plants in the ground had little injury
E. maculata 'Carmine Star' - a languishing plant that seems more bothered by general growing conditions here than cold
Eremophila hygrophana - one plant in a container recently brought in from Arizona and grown on the dry side was virtually uninjured and is now in bloom. It has yet to survive a summer here but plants survived the 2010 winter and summer in San Antonio. It is easily mistaken for a Leucophyllum
Eremophila racemosa - one plant in a container survived, it did surprisingly well over the summer
Eremophila 'Big Poly' - one plant in a 5 gallon container was put under the overhang of the house in the freeze and was uninjured
Eremophila 'Summertime Blue' - one plant grown in wet conditions in the ground had surprising foliage burn but no stem injury. Plants grown in containers were undamaged
Eremophila sp (yellow ground cover serrated leaves) - this is a vigorous ground cover currently being promoted by Australian Outback and seems the least affected by cold, at least in containers. I have yet to plant one in the ground
Overall Eremophilas is one of my favorite group of Australian plants but their cold tolerance has so far been nothing to write home about. In spite of this I believe they have much potential for South Texas
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