That's a great plant, I'll have to look for it.

Blackfoot Daisy blooms in the heat of summer and cold of winter. It never dies back here in San Antonio. One year we had temps in the teens several nights in a row and the blooms slowed down for a few days but popped right back out when it warmed up. It is perennial and I've never had seeds sprout so I purchase the plants which are easy to find around here.

I really want some blackfoot daisy. I have seeds being winter sowed outdoors and hoping to get a few plants at least. I wonder if maybe you don't get cold enough in San Antonio for the seeds to stratify and come up volunteer? You'd be real hard pressed finding it around here for sale along with just about any other native plant I am interested in.

My blackfoots died due to heavy rains one year. I have clay soil sand would probably work better. Anisacanthus, blue mist, and Lantana tolerate heat really well. Pink skullcap(semi-evergreen), greg's salvia,hybrid violets and yaupon holly for winter. For poor drainage wax myrtle, swamp rose, and Lousiana iris.

I recommend Calylophus. Almost evergreen, drought tolerant, disease free, showy and extended bloomer.

Omar

I have two favorite plants. Datura, and Lord Baltimore hibiscus. These are drought tolerant, non-stop bloomers in my area. Their flowers are just beautiful. Barbra

We get some pretty tough weather down here, snowed last year and lots of freezes too. Just might not last long enough to really rough up those seeds. I find the plants at Lowe's on clearance.

I hadn't thought of too much rain as a problem, our soil drains pretty well most of the time though. I lost several lantanas to the extreme heat/drought last year even with regular watering.

Blackfoot daisies grow wild all over my yard, USUALLY. This year they did not flower or seed. The few flowers turned brown and wrinkled. I sure hope they are just dormant because I want them back!!!!! My Calylophus died in my yard this year or they are still dormant. Drought tolerant, not drought proof. Hahahahahaha. The one thing that bloomed beautifully were my antelope horn milkweed. I do have a soft spot for them. I also do love standing cypress. Neither have a long bloom season so they are not excellent in that way.

A growing favorite of mine is stiff leafed false golden aster (or something like that). It is not much seen in the "trade". It is bullet proof and a really long bloomer, neat and compact and low mounding heteratheca.

cactusgarden, can the desert marigold be planted in spring? I finally found a source, they're hard to find around here.

Ogrose, mine come up in fall, winter and spring from seed off the plants. I think they do like cooler weather to germinate because the only time I never see volunteers coming up is in summer. Once you have them, you have them because they make lots of seed. They will grow in pure sand with zero dirt. They will even come up and grow into a full sized plant in the sidewalk cracks just not wet heavy soil. They rot. In too much shade, the plant looks messy and sprawls.

Wantanamara, I love the Calylophus, thanks for introducing me to that one. I sowed a few seeds this fall for two more plants to put in the ground come spring. You know, they say every plant, no matter how drought hardy needs at least SOME water SOMETIME. From what I read, most of these tough natives have a built in defense against drought because the seed is viable for a long time. I bet you will have all the natives coming back or seed germinating when the rains come. I read about Lupine seeds found in a tomb that were over 1000 years old that germinated in two days somewhere.

I'm trying to think of a really horrible dry place to try the Datura again. (maybe) When I grew this before years ago in good soil, as I said in another post, it was a monster Triffid the size of a large shrub with constantly splitting branches that stunk bad. I am talking about the native one, Jimsonweed. A zillion seedlings. Am I talking about the correct plant? I have seen photos that are pretty with blue leaves.

Yes, I wish all that I had to keep track of and water was a city lot but I really am looking for plants that will grow in a Xeric setting because I do not have the water to water when it is dry. The Xerics have been good till this year and I will have to live in the rhythm of lower expectations during drought and wait for rebirth and rejuvenation Just like the roadsides. I am making peace with this and I am looking forward to what rejuvenation looks like.

We are experiencing a wave of bovine occupation. 6 of my neighbors cows escaped and and pulled out 12 opuntia species and are delighted about the regrowth of my Bamboo muhly,.....Another plant that I think should be in the excellence category, but not for Cactus Garden. It died back during the drought but not completely and it has survived some nasty cold fronts and is rebounding nicely. The cows did think that they needed a bit of trimming.

What I meant was on that native Datura, I think it would be wise to avoid areas with good garden soil that has been amended. I need to plant it in some unamended crap. I have crap, but I'm trying to decide if I want it or not. If you plant this in good soil, you won't like it much, at least that was my experience. It was years ago that I planted it in a bed I had worked on a lot. Lots of natives look rather ugly and gangly when they get the too nice treatment. This one definitely can get too happy, loose its character and be nuisance with the seedlings in a garden setting.

Yes siree, thats about the only thing I have to worry about. Keeping track of all that city water.

Here the Datura grew in a wide low mound. It was large but it had form and if one moved close by it , the branches would break easily. I moved it to a place with more space but then we had drought. I am not worried, we do have seeds sprouting. and it still might come back from the roots.

cactusgarden, sent me your address and I will send you seeds from my datura plants. I have double purple and white, double yellow and double white. Just spread the seeds right now. In the spring you will have plants. Make sure you put the seeds where you want the plants, they do not like to be transplanted. Barbra

Honeybunny, after studying on it, I don't think I have a large enough space left to grow it. You did clear up one thing. Its obvious you are not talking about Jimsonweed, that Datura that grows wild around here in Oklahoma and in Texas. That was the one I planted once that was too aggressive.

I already have so many pots I am sowing for spring planting that I am probably seriously over doing it as it is, but that was especially generous and nice for you to offer seeds. Thank you.

I'm really curious about this. I tried to grow Daura wrightii (the native jimson weed) this summer in the Dallas area. I thought it was supposed to be drought tolerant so I planted it in an out of the way place which meant I had to carry water to it.

It was a water hog. I had to water it every other day or so, or it wilted badly.

If it were a perennial I would have just chalked it up to needing to get established, but I understand in Dallas it might be an annual in which case, I'd have to water like that every year.

However since it was so sickly in the drought it never bloomed, so unless it's hardy I won't have it next year anyay.

Is that typical for it to be so wimpy?

Thanks

Teri

This plant must really act different in different conditions. When I grew it, it bloomed so prolifically that there was once as many as 150 blooms at one time and usually at least 20 to 45 or more. Pretty, but the down side was thats a LOT of seed pods and I found out the hard way they explode, throwing seeds everywhere at long distances. That was why it was so aggressive. The plant took up so much space, a space hog, comparatively speaking. The little ones are easy to pull but it was an alarming number.

This summer was so bad, I am not sure you can count it as a good indicator of how any plant will perform. If you do grow it, I advise removing the seedpods.

I have a friend that planted it one year. His whole yard was covered in large plants the next. He sort of lets things go and this one plant took over. It acts like an annual here but I looked it up and its listed as a perennial. Don't know for sure on that because I didn't give it a second year.

I think we are talking about 2 diffent datura plants. My datura has a common name" Devils Trumphet. I am zone 9 coastal. It reminds me of a bouganvilla. Has a beautiful flower, can take full sun, hardly any water, and doesn't like to be moved. Barbra

Teri,
I am sure I sent a reply yesterday but I don't see it now.

My daturas/moonflower bushes all wilted during the heat of the day but were fine by nightfall with or with out watering.

I remember thinking for a long time mine never bloomed. It was planted in an out of the way place so I just never noticed ..because it bloomed at night. By the time I'd get out there the blooms would be gone during the day! Perhaps yours was blooming at night and that's why you didn't see them? I was shocked the first time I noticed! The plant and blooms glowed in the moonlight.

Yours should come back from the roots.

I think there are different types of the white datura. Even variation and confusion in the Datura wrightii and Datura meteloides. Both white. I think, and this is me thinking according to the garden knowledge that I have perused (much of it contradicting and overlapping) that the Datua wrightii and the Datura meteloides look very similar but the Datura wrightii is taller and the Datura Mateloides is a lower broad mound. The D. wrightii is more of a water hound than the D meteloides. D . meteloides is indigenous through utah , new mexico and texas. the D wrightii is indigenous in Texas and points east. That said , I have seen a lot of confusion of people and these two names. they could be synonyms. I have notice cultural differences between populations.
Datura stramonium is seen in wetter and further north. I could be wrong about all of this because the info is confusing. Datura metels are from a variety that was taken to india and messed with over there and then return as all those beautiful doubles and triple in the different colors. There is the purple throated Datura discolor that is a truly desert variety that grows in southern inland California , Low valley area of Arizona.There are several other varieties also. It is a bit more cold tender than the others and is a low mounding and smaller plant. I was careful and ordered seeds from a western population. I am lusting after the Datura discolor.

It is still a plant that needs room, and one does need to manage the seeds. I clip them off before they burst. I also collected a type that had been growing in a old abandoned farmstead not far from me on top of a limestone hill.

Here is a link that might be useful: Datura blossom slideshow

The ones I have are native wrightii, non-cultivars. Mara which one are you growing down there?

I know they have not bloomed because they didn't even grow a single new leaf all summer. They really struggled.

Teri

I think mine are the D meteloides. I killed it by moving it this spring and then only watering it once.