The Texas Mountain Laurel Tree

The Texas Mountain Laurel Tree (Calia secundiflora) is also called the Mescal bean.  A great flowering small to medium-sized evergreen tree. It will produce very fragrant purple hanging flowers in early spring, usually around late March to early April.

They grow up to 15-maybe 20 ft. tall and about 15 ft. wide.  It loves full sun and thrives in and around the southwest.  It is a moderate water tree once it becomes established. Typically, after the third year of planting.

The Texas Mountain Laurel can easily be trained into a small to medium-sized tree.  Prune off the lower branches and suckers that will grow at the bottom of the tree (see the image below).  The flower smells like a grape Kool-Aid!

Where to plant this tree?

Place it in full sun and water about every other day during the first 2-3 years after planting.  Water about twice per month during the cold seasons.  It tolerates poor soil but does better with well-composted soil.

The Texas Mountain Laurel Tree

The Texas Mountain Laurel as a bush

Here is the bush version of the above before trimming.  The blooms have expired but they remain green throughout the year.  Here is a page on some great Desert Evergreen Shrubs.

Problems with The Texas Mountain Laurel Tree?

I see this tree in my landscapes throughout Las Cruces, NM.  It is a disease and insect-resistant tree.  However, it will produce large seed pods that are toxic (see the image below). It is important to be careful with these seeds when handling them.

Worms will attack this tree and they love the flower and the foliage.  The Genista moth larvae are its main problem, the sophora worm.  The best spray to use is Bacillus Thuringiensis also called BT.  It comes in liquid and or powder form.  Ask for a product called Thuricide (which contains BT) at your local nursery, it will do the job. BT is a biological pesticide.  Learn more about this at Wikipedia.

Go organic

Try picking these worms and their larvae one by one.  Use a good pair of tweezers to do the job.  You can also do your best to attract birds to your trees or garden.  Most birds will eat worms and larvae.  The Orioles and Warblers love them.  A clever idea is to place a water fountain or large birdbath to attract these types of birds to your area.

The seed pods of the Texas Mountain Laurel

They are highly intoxicating and so is the foliage.  Here is a great post about the seed pods from the Texas Hill Country Website. 

The pods are encased in a hard shell and are hard to penetrate by animals.

The “Silver Peso” Texas Mountain Laurel

It grows about the same height and width as the dark green Texas Mountain Laurel but with a silver leaf.  Is also called the Silver Sierra™ Mountain Laurel.  Learn more about this tree over at MSWN.