Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Saturday - January 08, 2005
From: Canyon Lake, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Soils, Shrubs
Title: Possibility of growing oak-leaf hydrangea in Comal County, TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
In the last issue of the magazine, there was an item about the oak leaf hydrangea which stated the plant's habitat is east of the Mississippi River. Can it be grown in Comal County? Any special needs?ANSWER:
The oak-leaf hydrangea will perhaps grow in Comal County, but I doubt that it will thrive.
To Find out its growing conditions, you can read about the oak-leaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) in the Native Plants Database on the Wildflower Center web page. At the top of the information page about the oak-leaf hydrangea is a menu bar listing several choices: Taxonomy, Benefits, Bloom, Growing Conditions, etc. If you choose Growing Conditions, you can see various conditions for its growth including the moisture and soil pH preferred by the plant. Oak-leaf hydrangea likes a moist soil and a pH of about 6.7-7.2. The pH of most of the soils in Comal County are in the 7.4-8.4 range. There are locations in Comal County where soils have lower pH values, however. You can learn the soil pH for your particular location by determining its soil type from the maps in the Comal and Hays County Soil Survey produced by the USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office. The public library in New Braunfels is likely to have a copy or you can order one free of charge from the NRCS office in Temple, Texas (254-742-9800). The soil pH and the soil moisture requirement could be the limiting factor for growing it successfully in Comal County.
You can also read about the oak-leaf hydrangea in the USDA Plants Database.
From the Image Gallery
More Soils Questions
Expanded Shale Availability in Austin Area
March 18, 2016 - Where can you find expanded shale in bulk or bag in the Austin area?
view the full question and answer
Plants for steep slope in Pittsburgh PA
April 25, 2013 - I have a similar question to one from SC. I live in Pittsburgh, PA. We have a steep slope behind a newly built in pool. What type of plants can I put on the hillside to hold the soil. It gets a ...
view the full question and answer
Turf grasses and alternatives for NH
October 23, 2010 - I live in Hancock, NH, just north of Peterborough. We just bought a relatively new house that pretty-much has no lawn and minimal landscaping. Can you (or anyone) suggest native lawn grass alternati...
view the full question and answer
Tree to plant on rocky soil in San Antonio
March 10, 2012 - I want to plant a tree in a particular spot in the yard but after digging down 10 inches I hit solid rock. I filled the hole with water and it took hours for it to go down. It is one of the higher e...
view the full question and answer
Leaf drop from maple tree in Minnesota
August 15, 2008 - I have about a 30 ft maple tree in my yard, last fall I trimmed it pretty good because the branches were getting low where you could not walk under it or get grass to grow. This is the 2nd time in abo...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |