Plant of the Month
The plants listed on this page were selected by the members of the Allen Garden Club at their monthly meetings. Look for these plants at your local nurseries to grow in your own home gardens.
September 2023: Butterfly Weed Asclepias Tuberosa
Butterfly weed is a native plant from the eastern through southwestern United States. It is prized for its large, flat-topped clusters of bright-orange flowers. The leaves are mostly alternate, 1 1/2-2 1/4 inches long, pointed, and smooth on the edge. The yellow-orange to bright orange flower clusters, 2-5 inches across, are at the top of the flowering stem. The abundance of stiff, lance-shaped foliage provides a dark-green backdrop for the showy flower heads.
This showy plant is frequently grown from seed in home gardens. Its brilliant flowers attract butterflies. Because its tough root was chewed by the Indians as a cure for pleurisy and other pulmonary ailments, Butterfly Weed was given its other common name, Pleurisy Root. Although it is sometimes called Orange Milkweed, this species has no milky sap.
August 2023: Lantana Lantana urticoides (l. horrida)
Texas lantana is an excellent way to add bright color to your yard all summer and into fall. It begins new growth around April and can bloom continuously from May through November. It blooms more profusely as heat intensifies. Northern cardinals and other bird species eat the ripe fruit. Butterflies and other beneficial insects love the lantana.
Once established, this plant requires little water and loves the Texas heat. Typically, watering once a week is enough, but this plant shows you when it needs water. If the leaves droop, give it some water. It should then perk up for another 5 to 7 days, even in 100-degree heat. In the winter, after the plant has hardened off, trim it back almost to the ground. Each year will bring all new growth.
June 2023: Daylily Hemerocallis Daylilies are the gem of the garden starting in May and their heaviest bloom time is during June and finish their bloom cycle into July. There are over 55,000 registered varieties of daylilies. They come in a large variety of colors, forms, and sizes. The most common flower size is 5-6 inches across. Some varieties of daylilies are reblooming and will bloom in the spring and in the fall with a few blooms through the heat of the summer. They prefer to be planted in full sun in soil that has been amended with plenty of organic matter. Plant them only to the base of the crown where the green starts to turn white. Here is a link to an informative article about daylilies published by the Texas Gardener: https://www.texasgardener.com/the-diverse-and-dazzling-daylily/
May 2023: Salvia 'Henry Duelberg' Salvia Farinacea
Henry Duelberg is a low maintenance, native perennial that has showy blue flowers starting at the end of April and will bloom throughout the growing season. When the blooms slow down, just cut it back with shears to encourage more blooms. It needs to be planted where it will receive at least 6 hours of full sun each day. It grows to 3 feet tall and wide. It is taller, bluer, and more floriferous than other modern cultivars. This plant was discovered by horticulturalist, Greg Grant growing in a cemetery next to the headstone of Henry Duelberg, hence the name. There is a white variety that was growing nearby, so Greg named that variety Augusta Duelberg. For more information on the history of the Henry Duelberg Salvia, visit this link and read the article by Greg Grant. https://www.plantanswers.com/salvia_arcadia.htm
April 2023: Bluebonnet Lupinus texensis
What says spring in Texas more than the Texas bluebonnet? This species of bluebonnet is found in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and the Mexican states of Coahuila, Nuevo, León, and Tamaulipas. People drive from all over Texas to Ennis for the Bluebonnet festival and will enjoy the drive along 40 miles of roads to view the beautiful waves of blue along the roadways. The Texas bluebonnet has larger, more sharply pointed leaves and more numerous flower heads than similar lupines. The flower stems are topped by clusters of up to 50 fragrant, blue, pea-like flowers. The tip of the cluster is conspicuously white. This species is often planted by highway departments and garden clubs and is one of the six Lupinus species which are collectively designated the State Flower of Texas.
March 2023: Redbud Tree Cercis canadensis
The redbud tree grows well in calcareous well, drained soil in its native environment. It is a lovely small, ornamental tree suited well to small landscapes. It grows 15-20 feet tall and wide. There are many varieties of redbuds that vary in color from pink, purple, magenta, and white. It can be planted in part to full sun and does well as an understory tree planted under deciduous larger trees. Most redbud trees have upright branching giving the canopy a round shape, but there are also weeping varieties available.
February 2023: Lenten Rose Hellebores orientalis
The Lenten rose is a perennial flowering plant and species of hellebore in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, native to Greece and Turkey. The leaves of the Lenten rose are thick, leathery, and deep green. Trim the previous year's ragged leaves off to the ground at the beginning of February to make room for the new leaves to grow. It offers nice texture for shady areas. It has graceful, nodding flowers. Plant Lenten rose in rich, well-drained soil. It is drought tolerant once established.
Previous Plants of the Month
2022 Plant of the Month:
December: Kalanchoe Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
November: Fall Aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium
October: Autumn Sage Salvia greggii
September: Plant of Barbados Caesalpinia pulcherrima
August: Turk's Cap Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
June: Plumeria Plumeria
May: Iris Iris
April: Texas Gold Columbine Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Hinckleyana’
March: Daffodil Narcissus
February: Lenten Rose Hellebores orientalis
2021 Plants of the Month:
November: Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum
October: Autumn Sage Salvia greggii
September: Turk's Cap Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
August: Shasta Daisy Leucanthemum × superbum
May & June: Lance-leaf Tickseed Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata
April: Texas Gold Columbine Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Hinckleyana’
March: Daffodil Narcissus
February: Ornamental Kale/Cabbage