Is Mexican heather an annual or a perennial?

Thank you for not laughing...

Karen

It's an annual. Mine are about 7 years old............ I hope this
answers your question.

"Karen" wrote in message
.150...
Is Mexican heather an annual or a perennial?

Thank you for not laughing...

Karen

"cat daddy" wrote in
:
It's an annual. Mine are about 7 years old............ I hope
this
answers your question.

LOL. Yes, it does. (I'm trying to figure out if mine is going to
come back or if it needs to be replaced. Ditto for lantana and
plumbago.)

Karen

Think you mean a perennial.

"cat daddy" wrote in message
...
It's an annual. Mine are about 7 years old............ I hope this
answers your question.

"Karen" wrote in message
.150...
Is Mexican heather an annual or a perennial?

Thank you for not laughing...

Karen

"Karen" wrote in message
. 150...
|
| LOL. Yes, it does. (I'm trying to figure out if mine is going to
| come back or if it needs to be replaced. Ditto for lantana and
| plumbago.)
|
| Karen

Looking very carefully, in the right light, we can see new leaves
forming even on the lantanas that haven't had them yet, same for
Turks' caps, and even for plumbago, but in the case of plumbago we
don't see much yet on existing stems--what's there is coming mostly
from the roots.

All plants are perennial somewhere even if they come back from seed. Not a
stupid question at all. Sometimes Mexican heather comes back, sometimes not. I
would treat it as an annual in our USDA Zone 8b, but it may come back during
mild winters.

Victoria

On Mon, 31 Mar 2003 05:04:41 GMT, Karen wrote:

Is Mexican heather an annual or a perennial?

Thank you for not laughing...

Karen

It is a very thirsty plant and required a lot of watering -- at least every
couple of days in my case and at least in my case some came back after
winter freezes but about 80% didn't. Pretty but I choose not to replace
them and try for something hardier.

--
Marta
(if you email me directly you need to remove the X )

"Karen" wrote in message
. 150...
"cat daddy" wrote in
:
It's an annual. Mine are about 7 years old............ I hope
this
answers your question.

LOL. Yes, it does. (I'm trying to figure out if mine is going to
come back or if it needs to be replaced. Ditto for lantana and
plumbago.)

My heather still looks dead, but they have come back every year and now
need thinning and transplanting. It is the same for the lantana, but you
need to cut all the dead branches as it comes back from the roots.

"Wayfarer" wrote in message
. com...
It is a very thirsty plant and required a lot of watering -- at least every
couple of days in my case and at least in my case some came back after
winter freezes but about 80% didn't. Pretty but I choose not to replace
them and try for something hardier.

I think it's worth it as I've seen bees on them when it's pretty darn cold
outside. I like anything low maintenance that's a sure fire bee magnet!

h-

Nope. I was making a joke in regards to a discussion last Spring.
Mexican heather is classified as an annual, but mine are perennial in this
climate.

"WSZsr" wrote in message
. ..
Think you mean a perennial.

"cat daddy" wrote in message
...
It's an annual. Mine are about 7 years old............ I hope this
answers your question.

"Karen" wrote in message
.150...
Is Mexican heather an annual or a perennial?

Thank you for not laughing...

Lantana, anyways...I cut it back in early spring. Usually down to about 2"
above the ground.

Actually, I leave all the dead limbs on it until it starts growing to see
how high up the stalks it will come back that year. In Leander, the last two
years, that's been plumb down to the ground!

--

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
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"cat daddy" wrote in message
...

"Karen" wrote in message
. 150...
"cat daddy" wrote in
:
It's an annual. Mine are about 7 years old............ I hope
this
answers your question.

LOL. Yes, it does. (I'm trying to figure out if mine is going to
come back or if it needs to be replaced. Ditto for lantana and
plumbago.)

My heather still looks dead, but they have come back every year and now
need thinning and transplanting. It is the same for the lantana, but you
need to cut all the dead branches as it comes back from the roots.

Howdy folks,
In regards to my old nemesis Mexican Heather.

An annual is a plant that goes through the life cycle, growing
seedling, vegatative maturity, reproductive maturity ( flowering,
setting seeds, post seed setting ciggerette break etc) and senescence
( I love that word, I'm not getting old I'm just enjoying senescence
), all in one season.
Perennials complete their cycle in more than two years and continue
to cycle for some time to come, on the same plant.
So, in the botanic usage we are talking genetic coding and not how
long it grows in a particular climate.


What gets confusing is that perennials if taken far afield of their
native habitat can go down after one season from either being in a
climate that is too hot or too cold. Those plants should be 'treated
horticulturally as annuals" as the popular phrase goes.

Mexican Heather has always just ticked me off.
It is a perennial that is being planted in Central Texas which is
in an area just over the line from being able to return
dependably.When I was working retail sales, if we had a warm winter
every one would buy it up like crazy because it had done so well that
winter. Of course, as they say in the commercials,' past performance
is no indicator of future performance' and the next hard winter every
one would get nailed. In addition local micro climate makes a big
difference. Proximity to heat from the house, moisture level in the
soil over the winter etc.

I think the important thing to remember is that a perennial tag on a
plant may not mean it is one that is dependable in our area. More
research is called for. And it's not just the cold, but the heat that
takes out a lot of perennials that do well up North but bake down
here. ( I'm thinking Hostas, here , you can baby them along sometimes
but you don't see the huge plantings of them that you see up north )

Actually as far as stupid questions go, I've observed that when anyone
prefaces their question with "This may be stupid, but..." The question
is usually not stupid. The real mind bending stupid questions always
seem to come with a great air of seriousness.

take care,
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

Xref: 127.0.0.1 austin.gardening:19387

Since it draws bees don't put it near a hummingbird feeder. =


Karen wrote:
=

Is Mexican heather an annual or a perennial?
=

Thank you for not laughing...
=

Karen

-- =

J. Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.celestialhabitats.com - commercial
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/personal.html

On Mon, 31 Mar 2003 09:47:08 -0600, "cat daddy"
wrote:


My heather still looks dead, but they have come back every year and now
need thinning and transplanting. It is the same for the lantana, but you
need to cut all the dead branches as it comes back from the roots.


Um, that makes them perennial, not annual.

k
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