another stupid mistake; Mexican Heat...

[FJ and G]

I did more plantings over the weekend and made a really really stupid mistake. I was browsing the shrub area of a humongous nursury on Rt 29 in Fairfax VA, and saw the coolest looking tree you can ever imagine (I'll try to procure a photo): a Mexican Heather with tiny miniscule leaves and mini mini purple flowers that are said to last all summer, given fertilizer. AND, it only grows to about 18 inches tall.

I carefully read the label. It was amongst all of the other plants that thrive in my 7 zone. Well, you know where I'm going, I suppose.

This cool tree was a mere 3.99 and I snapped it up and planted it on Peanut Ridge. IMO it is the best looking thing in the garden.

Soooo. I was browsing my garden book and noticed that this shrub is ONLY good for zones 9 and 10 and will be killed deader than a doornail if there's a frost.

Boy did I feel like a chump.

I wi***hey'd have listed the zone on it like they did to all the other plants!

But I suppose it's the buyer beware thing.

Anyway, I'm so enamored by this purple tree that I plan to leave it out from mid April to end of October every year and bring it inside (I'm in Northern Virginia). It does semi sun OK so I'm hoping these trips back and forth will do no harm to this extremely lovely plant (scale tree).

I vowed never never never ever to transport tropic plants back and forth into the house and back out seasonally; but when you're in love, hey.

[tangerine-jack]

You could cover it over in mulch during the winter, you don't get a lot of really thick frost anyway. It should do just fine covered up.

[Anonymous]

It's a beautiful plant. I can see why you were attracted to it.

I found some info at http://sd1new.net/GardenPages/mexican_heather.htm

It says that "Foliage is hardy to 28F, but will generally grow back from roots if frozen to the ground. " and "Great in the ground or in containers ..." If you routinely get below 28 degrees in the winter, you might try growing it in a pot and hauling it into the garage on cold nights.

[FJ and G]

thanks for tips, guys.

Will a tropic plant stress out from each season moving it indoors then out then in then out?

Here's the Mexican Heather I planted

[John Busby]

Hi FG&J
The simple expedient of covering it with a plastic bag at night might work.
I have a Bannana tree growing in a pot at the moment and a bit big to move
(till it moves to it permenant spot in the back garden)
thats what I do to protect it from frost as its winter here and we do get frosts
regards John

[FJ and G]

Alas, the plastic, the mulch would work I'm sure most years but on rare, rare occasions, the temps get downright frigid, down to zero in Northern Virginia. Yes, rare.

So the question would be (and it's buried here and might deserve a separate topic post if not answered):

1. What is the stress on a plant from transporting it inside and out and back and forth

2. I've done this before and bugs pop out inside, from plants that have been outside.

Advice appreciated! I'm sure others would benefit from these questions as well. Thanks!

[vsmith]

they grow bigger than 18" also...quite a bit bigger from the ones I've seen here

[SandyR]

I did some research on the web after buying a Mexican Heather last year, since I live in zone 6. What I found was this: it's treated as an annual here, and it does not winter over in the house. So I left it outside, and it died over the winter. But, same thing as what you found, it was only $3.99, so I bought a new one for this year. Since my house is so chilly in the winter, I might try bringing this one in and watch it slowly die.

SandyR

 

[FJ and G]

Sandy,

Watching it slowly die sucks, even tho they're cheap. I'm hoping to bring it indoors and that it will survive and that all sorts of bugs and stuff don't come out of the soil and invade my house.

[wallyworld]

Don't get the impression you are alone in this. The "railroad" as in "garden railroad" I have no problem with, but I am clueless when it comes to the "garden" part. I rely on the little info stakes put inside pots that specifically let dummies like me figure out if something is an annual or not. I bought some great ground cover tagged as perennial and when I went to plant them the pots themselves were marked annual. So which is it? I guess Ill find out next year...

[ttrigg]

David;  Here are a couple of thoughts from my wife.  She makes her living managing other peoples plants.

1. What is the stress on a plant from transporting it inside and out and back and forth

So long as you bring it in about three weeks (or more) before your first frost (based on an average) the plants should do well indoors.  Take them back outside three or more weeks after the last frost of the year.  The Mexican Heather should do well like this.  Shock will be minimized with proper watering.

2. I've done this before and bugs pop out inside, from plants that have been outside.

Get some incecticidal soap, give the plant THREE good baths (spray the stuff on the plant) three weeks, two weeks and one week out before brining the plant indoors.  Do the same for any plant "wintering over" inside the house, that should take care of any pesky little critters..

[FJ and G]

Thanks, Tom! If this works out, I may put in a forest of these Mexican heathers.

[ttrigg]

David;

Forgot to tell you how this plant propagates.  Two methods: 

1) By seed, only if weather and temperature conditions are just right.  It is a hard one to start from seed if you do not live in a desert area.  I'm NOT saying it can not be done, just hard.

2) Most common method is what I call "root suckers".  Like strawberry plants, the Mexican Heather will have little plants starting from the "dew line" roots, and from "secondary branches" that come in contact with the dirt.  "In the wild" you will find that Mexican Heather will form large circles as much as 15~20 feet across.  The original plant started from seed, the "baby" plants grew from the "mother" plant forming a circle when the mother plant dies off.

BTW the typical life span for this species, depending upon the variety, can be from 3 to 10 years.  If you want to start a "forest", just let all the "babies" grow, or clip and transplant them after they have established roots of their own.  Again depending on the variety, and your local weather patterns each plant can produce 10~100 "babies" each year.  If left to run rampant it can be very invasive, but is easily controlled by digging up and trashing all the little "babies."  If you put them in a compost pile they will take it over.

Another thought:  Keep all the little "babies" in a 4 inch (+) pot, winter them over in the house, when moving them outside in the spring, plant them in the ground and collect the "babies" into your empty pots.  Let the two year old plants experience the cold of winter and die off.  You will have your new forest to plant each spring.  In their third year they do begin to look a little ragged, and are not so pleasant to the eye..