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Questions and Answers:Q. What kind of palm tree will grow in Central Texas? A. Palm trees that should get through our winters are the Texas Palmetto (slow growing and needs moisture,) the windmill palm (20-40 feet), and the California fan palm (the only palm native to North America and can get 60 feet tall.) Plant palms in the fall so they can get established before the heat of the summer. Q. My daffodils are only showing foliage this year. They looked great last year. What happened? A. You most likely planted the larger type such as “King Alfred.” The larger varieties need a cold period, like certain tulips, to bloom consistently. It’s better to stick with the smaller varieties or treat them as annuals and not worry about the bloom set the next year. Q. I decided to plant more native plants over the last few years and it seems my garden is now taken over by them. How do I control this situation? A. Native plants are happy here, so they spread. In some cases, they become invasive in the garden. When you buy a native plant be sure you know it’s habits. Some native plants such as horsetail reed or goldenrod can be so invasive to the garden you’ll need to break out the weed killer for control. And, it doesn’t always work. I’ve learned to coexist with my horsetail reed. I’ve been amazed at some native plants’ ability to spread. Sometimes I pull up more of the plant than I cut for floral arrangements so it won’t crowd out other plants. If you really want to control flowering plants, stick to native annuals, such as cosmos. It’s the perennials that spread underground that will take over. There is something to having a carefree native garden though, and if you keep your natives in a different area than the plants that need more care, you can use less water and even stop watering them after they become established. That will slow them down, at least a little bit. Remember that our native birds and butterflies need those natives to live. Q. What is your opinion of the decline in bee populations? A. The decline in bee populations occurred at almost the exact same time a new type of pesticide began to be used on most crops that need bees for pollination. In addition, the fact that bees need to be shipped in from out of state to pollinate farms so big that there isn’t enough bees in the entire state to pollinate them otherwise is troubling because the bees become stressed and prone to disease. I was amazed that last spring I had over and acre of arrow leaf clover and rape in full bloom and didn’t see one bee. I saw more bees later in the summer, however. Where I used to see so many bees around my squash plants that I was afraid to weed around them I see very few, if any. The reasons for the decline are many, I’m sure, but we need them more than most folks realize. Scientists are working on trying to find out why they are disappearing, and I hope they find out soon. Q. Where did the name “Big Lump” come from? A. Big Lump was a tiny coal mining town east of Rockdale, Texas that is now only a memory for most folks around here. The Big Lump Coal Company was the main employer until the mine collapsed and everyone left. My farm is located near there, so I named it Big Lump. Click Here to Ask Me a Gardening Question
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