The Texas Mountain Laurel, Sophora secundiflora, is an excellent evergreen choice in your landscape.
They are drought tolerant once established and bloom beautiful fragrant purple grape like clusters of flowers that smell like grape Kool-Aid™. Similar to the Texas Redbud Tree, they bloom once a year in the spring. The Mountain Laurel are versatile and can be planted in full sun and tolerate partial shade as well.
They are a popular choice of both homeowners and landscapers alike. The Texas Mountain Laurel are an evergreen Texas native tree that does not require a lot of upkeep. Keep in mind, if it gets too much shade, it will be a little sparser and not bloom as much, but it can still thrive in the shade. This characteristic makes them unique in many ways.
Deer. Oh the dear the deer. Typically and generally, this is a plant the deer tend to ignore which makes them popular as well. Course, anyone that has ever “lived with deer” knows, you just never know.
The Mountain Laurel are an excellent choice for screening as they are evergreen. They grow naturally as a multi-trunk tree and make excellent specimen accent pieces in most any landscape or garden. If you prefer a single trunk, it is attainable but you have to start when they are young and prune and maintain.
If you have ever driven around Austin, Dripping Springs or the Hill Country, you can see these growing naturally throughout as well as in Central Texas. They are easily identifiable with their dark green glossy leaf. Another reason they are popular in the Austin area/ Hill Country area aside from that they don’t require much care is they can tolerate the poor soil conditions most people have in Austin and the surrounding area.
