The
Texas Mountain Laurel is one of my favorite plants. I first remember seeing them in Bend Bend National Park in west Texas during a camping trip when I was 14 yrs old or so. They've become quite popular in the Austin area (where I grew up); you see them in yards, along boulevard medians, and in shopping center parking lots. They're not terribly common in Palm Springs. There is a planting of them in Palm Desert at one of the shopping centers. This one pictured is in my front yard. It's done quite well, and this year, for the first time, had multiple blooms. The blooms come early in the desert (February this year) and have an intoxicating "grape" smell. They remind me a bit of wisteria blooms. My plant has grown about a foot a year with all the growth in the spring just after blooming. It holds up well with the summer heat and easily handles any frosts we occasionally experience. I think they look best trained as a small tree with a "natural" branching structure. Do not trim as a bush!
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| Trained as a small tree with a mature height of 15-20'. |
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| Evergreen with bright green leaves and stunning late winter blossoms. |
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Blossoms smell like grape. Bees love them!
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