by Lydia Holley October 7, 2024
Esperanza (Tacoma stans) brings bright beautiful blooms in fall which are appreciated by bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and people. You may know it as Yellow Bells.
Esperanza will grow to the size of a small tree in places where there is no frost. In East Texas, it grows to six feet. Cut it to the ground in winter and it will regrow in spring.
You may wonder how it can be perennial in East Texas when most websites report it as a zone 10 plant. That is because there are two varieties of Esperanza, Tacoma stans stans and Tacoma stans angustata. The former is tropical. The later is a Trans-Pecos type found in West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. It may be successfully overwintered here in mild winters with some protection. Planting location makes a difference. There is a beautiful specimen growing at the Henderson County Master Gardener’s Association’s Harvest Garden where it is planted on the south side of a building. There it receives protection from north winds.
There are several cultivars of Esperanza, ‘Gold Star’ being the most popular. Dr. Douglas Welsh, Professor and Landscape Horticulturist, says ‘Gold Star’ is probably a mix of the two varieties. It was found growing in San Antonio by Greg Grant and was named a Texas Superstar. If you do not like yellow, there are orange and red cultivars available, and even semi-dwarf plants that will only reach three feet in height.
Esperanza may be grown in containers, but bring them into a garage for the winter since their roots will be exposed to more cold than if they were planted in the ground. If you know someone with an Esperanza, it is easy to collect the seeds. Now is the perfect time to harvest seeds, but be certain to wait until its long pods are no longer green. New seedlings should bloom within two to three years.
Esperanza prefers full sun but will grow in part shade. It is not picky about soil, growing in sand to clay, acid to alkaline soils. It is the larval host plant for the plebeian sphinx moth.
Whether you plant Esperanza in the ground, place it in containers, or use it as an annual, the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds will thank you. And it will charm you, too.
For more information, call 903-675-6130, email [email protected].
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