The 2020 Texas Superstar Brochure is now available online and hard copies are also available at the Extension office. The Brochure highlights new selections for 2020 and includes Texas Superstar Plants that were introduced after the 2016 brochure was published.
The Texas Superstar Program trials not only ornamentals but fruit trees, grape vines, strawberries, tomatoes, and herbs. In the selection process of plants every effort is made to ensure that the plants perform well across the state. To be designated a Texas Superstar the plant must not only perform well in our versatile climate but also should be easy to propagate, readily available and reasonably priced.
While there are so many plants to select from, one plant stands out due to its beauty, disease resistance, and resilience in our Texas weather. The Yellow Butterfly vine, Callaeum macropterum, gets its name from the beautiful seed pods shaped like a butterfly that start out with a chartreuse color, slowly turn brown, and remain on the vine for a long time. The yellow flowers are a bright yellow with five petals grown in a cluster. The vine does not cling and can grow to 10-15 ft in height and width. It can be trained on trellises, arbors, and fences. It is hardy in Zone 8b-10 and in mild winters retains its glossy green leaves.
New for 2020 is Blue Daze, Evolvulus glomeratus, a low spreading groundcover or spiller in a container. Hardy in Zone 9-11, it is considered an annual in areas where frost is a common occurrence. It grows best in full sun and tolerates a variety of soils as long as it is well drained. The foliage is greyish-green with a mass of small blue flowers. It grows 9 to 18 inches tall and spreads to 36 inches wide.
For more information on Texas Superstar please follow the information on their website Texas Superstars.