Native Plants
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Tuesday - July 08, 2008
From: San Angelo, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives
Title: Question about non-native blue potato tree
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a blue potato tree that I planted last summer, the top looks dead but isn't, the bottom has grown into a bush, help what can I do?ANSWER:
Mr. Smarty Plants supposes you are talking about Solanum macranthum (syn: Solanum wrightii) (Blue potato tree or Brazilian potato tree), a native of Brazil. Here are more photos and more information. Our focus and expertise here at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center are with plants native to North America and, therefore, we aren't going to be of much help to you with your non-native blue potato tree. If the top isn't really dead, wait awhile and perhaps it will leaf out again. If you don't mind having a bush instead of a tree, you could try trimming the top down to the area where it is leafy. Better yet, I suggest you join one of the gardening forums, such as the University of British Columbia (UBC) Botanical Garden Forum, The Garden Forums, GardenWeb Forums , or Helpful Gardener Gardening Forums where you might find someone who has a blue potato tree and has had a similar problem.
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