Native Plant Society of Texas
Boerne Chapter
The Home of
Operation NICE!™
Natives Instead of Common Exotics
Web site: http://npsot.org/Boerne
NEWSLETTER
October 2012
Volume 12 Number 8
Monthly Meeting Tuesday October 2, 2012
The October meeting, held at the Boerne Public Library, was well attended by members and at least a half-dozen potentially new members/guests. Mark Moseley, Rangeland Management Specialist, USDA-NRCS in San Antonio entertained and educated us while illustrating with photographs and explaining where and Why Does that Plant Grow There? The answer is essentially the relationship between the plant and soil type/geology (composition, depth, pH) and moisture.
President’s Message
October is here and change is in the air. The heat is breaking and I hope everyone got some of the much needed rain in September. With the lower temperatures comes the chance to help out at the Cibolo Nature Center. Although there will not be an October second Saturday clean up at the CNC, there will be one in November. See Betty Dunn’s article below.
If you happen have some excess seeds to spare, bring your seeds for a seed exchange during the social half hour at our monthly meetings. I have some Clammy Weed, Eryngo, Gaura, Horse Mint and Indian Blanket. I know Wilt Shaw is looking for seeds for his demonstration garden, so if nothing else put those seeds to good use at the Bergheim Fire Department’s Demonstration Garden.
The fall symposium is here at last and everyone should be excited at the chance to see NPSOT people from all over the state coming to the Hill Country to learn more about the unique environment we have here. To check up on all the happenings at the symposium go to http://npsot.org/wp/symposium2012/ on the web. There is a list of events and field trips, including two at the Cibolo Nature Center – Thursday October 4 and Sunday October 7 at 1 PM, with maximum attendance of 2 groups of 20 each. Aren’t we lucky the rains have made our gardens beautiful!
Finally it is time to change officers. At the end of the October meeting, the new officers were introduced and took their place as leaders of the Boerne chapter of NPSOT. Let me say that having been your president for the last year has been a wonderful honor and certainly a huge learning experience. The presidency of Boerne NPSOT is like no other I have been around. The real work is being done all the time by qualified and dedicated people and most programs that NPSOT has happen on a rhythmic clockwork type schedule with talented people knowing what needs to be done without much help from the president. I mention this to put the idea forward that if you have ever thought of being in the leadership of a community-based group, this is the easiest one to be part of. Should you want to expand your leadership skills contact me or any officer.
I am tempted to list those of special talent; however the list would be quite lengthy; however I do want to thank the outgoing Executive board of Jane McAuliffe, Delmar Cain, Kay Moon, Jim Latham, and Kathy Ward for making my tenure pretty smooth.
Our new officers are:
President - Jane McAuliffe
President Elect - Emily Weiner
Secretary - Dani Vollmer
Vice President for Programs - Mary Fenstermaker
With me, as the Immediate Past President.
The bench on this team is deep and talented and I look forward to the new leadership taking over and continuing what a very distinct and talented group of extraordinary people started over ten years ago.
Scott B. Barthel – President Boerne-NPSOT
Local Stuff
Demonstration Gardens Update
There was a fantastic turnout of around ten NPSOT members to work on tidying up the CNC Demonstration Gardens during the September Second Saturday workday. The weather was cooperative with a slight cloud cover and slightly lower temperatures than we had experienced in recent weeks. With so many hands we really were able to work on multiple planting areas, and accomplished quite a lot. We always enjoy getting that chance to work along side each other and catch up on what’s been happening in each other lives. It’s more than just work – it’s a social event you don’t want to miss.
In case you don’t know, Carolyn and Stan Walden have “adopted” the back courtyard garden we fondly call “Bill’s Garden.” It is again looking loved after starting to have an abandoned look to it. Carolyn has devoted a lot of time to taming those back garden trails. She also can use an occasional hand relocating surprises and invaders.
We won’t have our standard October workday as there are just way too many things competing for our time this month. Besides, the gardens are blooming so very good now! Do mark your calendar though, and hold November 10 so you can come out to help plant some small shrubs and trees at the eastern edge of the parking lot. Yes, it’s that little area between the handicapped space parking spots and Lende’s fence. As you will recall, that area will be maintained in a slightly “wilder” state as we establish more butterfly larvae food in that area. We really do need help with the foundation planting though, which we will start in cooler November, so mark that calendar now!
See you in the gardens.
Betty Dunn
Collecting Native Plant Seeds in the Area
Chuck Janzow has provided us with a list of plants and approximate seed collection dates for the area around Boerne, Comfort, and Welfare Texas. If you are interested in a specific species, check plants a week or two earlier than the listed date. He also added the disclaimer that the time frames listed are for when we have a typical winter when it is cooler versus the super mild winter we had for 2012. The following is a list of plants with dates between October and December.
October:10/1 Flameleaf sumac
10/5 Sycamore
10/7 Burr oak
10/7 Lacey oak
10/7 Chinquipin oak / November:
11/1+ Bald cypress
11/5+ Rusty blackhaw viburnum
11/10 Monterey oak
11/20 Evergreen sumac
11/20 Carolina buckthorn / December:
12/1+ White honeysuckle
12/1+ Madrone
12/1+ Silktassle
Operation Nice!
NICE! ™Plant of the Month
October 2012
Retama
(Parkinsonia aculeate L.)
Parkinsonia aculeate L., a member of the Leguminosae (Fabaceae) family, has to be the most unusual looking tree we have in this part of the world. It is commonly known as Retama, Palo Verde, Mexican Palo Verde and Jerusalem thorn. A champion bloomer all summer with big yellow flowers, tipped with orange as they mature, Retama is one of few deciduous plants that does not even need its tiny leaves for photosynthesis! During winter and drought, when the tree’s leaves are shed, the tree’s beautiful bright green branches and trunks take care of food manufacturing.
This smallish tree can assume a single or multi-trunked form, with single trunk specimens growing taller, up to about 35’ in very hot climates like south Texas and Mexico, but not so large here in the Hill Country near the limits of its range. Retamas have a fine, lacy silhouette with many graceful small branches and leaflets so small that they practically disappear against the twigs and branches. Branches and twigs are lined with little prickles which repel deer, but make this a tree to place a bit away from pedestrian traffic.
If you know what Palo Verde means, but had not seen the tree, you would probably recognize that “green stick/tree” right away; the common name is a perfect descriptor. “The word Jerusalem in the common name Jerusalem Thorn does not refer to the Middle Eastern city but is a corruption of the Spanish and Portuguese word girasol, meaning turning toward the sun” (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Plant Database), thus Retama needs full sun.
Retama is fast growing and very wildlife friendly. It is a nectar source for bees, birds and butterflies, provides seeds for birds and small mammals, nesting sites and cover. The honey made from Retama flowers is quite fragrant.
The culture of Retama is easy, as the tree is not picky about soils and withstands some salinity and seasonal bad drainage. Plant the tree early in the season to give it a long time to establish before winter frosts. Monthly watering is called for during the first season, but less often in the second season unless we are in the grip of a severe drought. Give this tree the hottest full-sun spot you have and not much water once it is established. Expect sometimes-alarming winter dieback in the Hill Country, especially during the first couple of years, but also a quick rebound in growth. As the tree settles in, its cold hardiness will improve.
Even if Retamas had no flowers they would be worth growing for their unusual form and spectacular green trunks. All-season flowering makes this a value-added native for a sunny spot.
Nice! Tip: Use Retama instead of the ubiquitous Crepe Myrtles, which, lovely as they are, have been vastly overplanted. Retama should take its place alongside Texas Redbud, Desert Willow, Texas Mountain Laurel, Golden Leadball tree and Anacacho Orchid trees as a flowering-tree staple of Hill Country gardens.
The Operation Nice! 2012 Poster, with all of our 2012 plant of the month selections, is on our website at http://npsot.org/wp/boerne/files/2011/12/plant_of_the_month_2012.pdf
Regional Stuff
Texas Master Naturalist-Hill Country Chapter
October 22, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.
“Oil and Gas Well Drilling in Today’s Environment”
Texas and many other states are in play for the recovery of vast resources of oil and gas from shale beds. A world class Texas oilfield containing these resources is the Eagle Ford Shale, extending from south to east Texas. Carter Keairns, UTSA Graduate Teaching Faculty, will focus on the activity in this vast area. He will speak on how these areas were created geologically; why they are unique types of reservoirs and why they require special development techniques. Other topics covered include how drilling sites are chosen; how wells are drilled, including horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing operations; how the wells are completed and what environmental issues are associated with this drilling activity. In short, everything you wanted to know about the Texas oil patch in today’s world.
Dr. Keairns, originally from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, received his PhD from Texas Tech University, and has both extensive teaching and professional experience as a Petroleum Geologist, in addition to his having made numerous presentations to Master Naturalist organizations throughout the state of Texas.
Join us Monday, October 22nd, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. in the UGRA Lecture Hall, 125 Lehmann Drive, Kerrville, Texas. Arrive early to chat with members and guests.
Questions regarding this presentation may be directed to Tom Hynes at (830) 990-5750.
State-Wide Stuff
32nd Annual Native Plant Society of Texas Fall Symposium
Thursday, October 4 – Sunday, October 7, 2012
YO Ranch Hotel and Conference Center in Kerrville Texas
More info at http://npsot.org/wp/symposium2012/welcome/
Texas Native Plant Week
October 14-20,2012
http://txnativeplantweek.wordpress.com/
NPSOT is a sponsor. Check out the website for regional events, resources, activities, etc.
Happenings – the Calendar
November 6 (Tuesday) 7:00 PM. NPSOT Chapter meeting at the Cibolo Nature Center. The speaker will be Shelly D. Maher, Soil Conservationist with NRCS at the E. "Kika" de la Garza Plant Materials Center in Kingsville. Her presentation will be on the process of plant releases (seed collection to release).
To find out about activities and workshops with other organizations call or visit their websites:
Cibolo Nature Center (830.249.4616) http://www.cibolo.org/calendar
Master Naturalist:
San Antonio, Alamo Chapter www.alamomasternaturalist.org
Kerrville, Hill Country Chapter www.hillcountrymasternaturalist.org
Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park (210.372.9124)
Medina River Natural Area Second Saturday Programs (210.624.2575)
For more information or to RSVP for any event please contact by telephone. Website: www.sanaturalareas.org
· Our meetings are free and open to the public. Join us the first Tuesday of the month, January-June and September-December, at 6:30 p.m. at the Cibolo Nature Center, Boerne, Texas.
Our Sponsors
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A LITTLE
NATURE STORE
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San Antonio, TX
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Boerne, TX
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830 249 1808
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Boerne, TX
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2585 Thousand Oaks
San Antonio, TX
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210.494.6131 / REMAX
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Boerne, TX
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Boerne, TX 78006
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