Native Plants

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Monday - September 14, 2015

From: Fort Worth, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Transplants, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Will a Texas Mountain Laurel thrive in a 4'x4'x4' brick planter. pl
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

Would a Texas Mountain Laurel thrive in a 4'x4'x4'x4' brick planter with a drain at the bottom? It will get full sun all day. If not, would a Green Cloud Sage or a Waxleaf Myrtle work? Thanks!

ANSWER:

Lets start by looking at these plants in our Native Plant Database

Mountain Laurel Sophora secundiflora (Texas mountain laurel)

Green Cloud Sage Leucophyllum frutescens (Cenizo)

Waxleaf myrtle Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle)

To summarize: all three require full sun, and well drained soil. Mountain Laurel and Green Cloud Sage prefer alkaline soil where as Wax Myrtle prefers slightly acidic soil. Since you are planting them in a planter, you can control this. The planter that you describe sounds fairly large, so I’m assuming you are purchasing a fairly large plant to put in it. Consulting our suppliers directory can get you in touch with suppliers of native plants in your area. Of the three plants, only theTexas Mountain laurel is native in Tarrant County, but since you are planning to grow them in a planter, you can probably make it work.

The Mountain Laurel has a reputation for being hard to transplant, but there seems to be little problem with the other two. I’m providing you with some links that will help you through the process.

Texas Mountain Laurel
    aggiehorticulture

    wintergardenursery

    home guides

Green Cloud Sage

Wax myrtle

Just a word about geometry; most geometric objects are described by three dimensions, ie length, height, and width . In the case of your planter, that would be 4’x4’x4’.

From the Image Gallery

Texas mountain laurel
Sophora secundiflora

Cenizo
Leucophyllum frutescens

Wax myrtle
Morella cerifera