We get a lot of inquiries about Texas Mountain Laurel when they start blooming in spring. Everyone wants to know about the plants covered with wisteria-like purple flowers that smell like grape bubble gum! There’s really no other plant quite like it, so this is an easy one for us to identify by description alone.
Texas Mountain Laurel has dark green, glossy leaves that stay on the plant through winter, so it makes a great dense screen. It tends to be multi-stemmed and shrubby if left unpruned, but is often shaped into a small, rounded tree that fits nicely into residential landscapes. Very little pruning is needed or recommended, as this drought-tolerant plant grows slowly and only blooms on the previous year’s wood. It grows well in rocky, alkaline soils, and needs good drainage to thrive.
*Parts of this plant are reported to be toxic if ingested
Height: 15 – 20 feet
Width: 6 – 10 feet
Bloom color: Purple
Flowering season: Spring
USDA minimum zone: 7
Cold hardiness: 10° F
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