GARDENER’S MAILBAG

Dear Neil: Do you have a couple of favorite, gray-leafed perennial plants? I have the perfect spot. They would need to stay 12 to 24 inches tall. I really don’t care if they bloom.

My two personal favorites are lambs’ ear and Powis Castle artemesia. They’ve both done very well for me, although I do replace them and start over occasionally. Lambs ear may melt out in extreme summer conditions, but given a little afternoon shade, it’s terrific. You definitely want to remove its flower buds before they start to open. The plants go downhill quickly when they’re allowed to come into bloom. With Powis Castle, trim it occasionally to keep it well shaped and compact. These are both very nice plants.

Dear Neil: After the winter two years ago killed my yaupon holly, this plant came up from its roots. It is about eight feet tall and six feet wide. The small, white flowers smell somewhat like a lilac. Can you help me identify it, please.

You have an Amur River privet that has come up from seed. Most gardeners’ first inclination is to like this plant, but after a few years, they realize that no introduced shrub in Texas rivals its invasive behavior. Those white flowers will give rise to small, purple fruit that birds treasure, and soon plant all over the neighborhood. They soon overtake entire woodlands crowding out native undergrowth in the process. This plant should never be encouraged and should always be removed.

For what it is worth, I really doubt that your yaupon holly froze two years ago. I guess it’s possible, but among all of the other plants in Texas that did freeze, I don’t recall seeing or hearing of any other yaupons that were healthy and vigorous at the time of the freeze having died.

Dear Neil: We recently built a new house in East Texas, and we were able to save five of the dogwood trees, the largest being 4-5- inches in diameter. The larger trees are producing new growth and limbs from the trunk and from the bottoms of the trees. I don’t mind letting those shoots grow, but are they in the best interest of the five trees?

They may very well be. Normally when we see that kind of new growth coming from a place other than at the growing tips of branches, it’s because the tree has been put under stress. I would suggest sitting tight until you can see if the top growth continues to grow normally – probably another month or two. If it dies back, some of these new shoots may need to become new trunks or branches. It’s not the end of the world if that happens, as the trees have large root systems that are capable to pushing strong new growth into the shoots.

Have a question you’d like Neil to consider? Email him at mailbag@sperrygardens.com. Neil regrets that he cannot reply to questions individually.