Texas Mountain Laurel

Plant Name: Texas mountain Laurel, Sophora secundiflora

glossy, dark green leaves are evergreen and leathery. The large clusters – as long as six inches – of showy flowers appear in early spring, and sadly, bloom for just a few weeks before withering and taking their scent away.

Planting Sites: Performs well in part shade, but deep shade may reduce its flowering and cause leaf spots. It can tolerate full sun but the deep-green leaves may turn yellowish.

Planting Instructions: These shrubs like cool, moist but well-drained, acidic soil (pH 5.0 to 5.5). Its natural habitat is woodsy areas near swampy zones, but not in soggy soil. It dislikes heavy clay soils. If you have dense soil, consider planting mountain laurel in raised berms or planters filled with a well-draining soil mix.

Watering Instructions: When they are young, water the shrubs well, and keep the soil moist and acidic by using a layer of wood chips or evergreen bark mulch. Feed the shrubs in spring with a plant food formulated for acid-loving shrubs, such as rhododendron food.

Comments: Blooms attract insect pollinators.

Planting and care instructions provided by the Lindheimer Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas