Victoria Master Gardeners have a proud heritage
by Linda Lees/Victoria County Master Gardener
Gilbert Onderdonk, Victoria horticulturist
Marcia Kauffman, Victoria County Master Gardener, with Gilbert Onderdonk sign at Victoria Educational Gardens
As the Victoria County Master Gardener Association joined the local community in celebration of Victoria’s 200th anniversary, a very proud horticulture heritage was rediscovered.
A little known fact is that Victoria County was the home of Gilbert Onderdonk a recognized pomologist, a cultivator of fruit trees. He was considered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as the greatest American horticulturist of his time. Onderdonk is credited with beginning fruit production in Texas that is now a major industry.
In 1851 Onderdonk was a 22-year-old suffering from poor health, and he ventured to Texas from New York seeking a warmer climate. He established a ranch near Mission Valley, married and started a family.
In 1883 his wife Martha purchased land close to a railhead near the city of Victoria for their first nursery. Soon after, they founded the town of Nursery and started their second nursery. The Nurseries became known for Onderdonk’s informative catalogues and large selections of fruit trees and plants.
Onderdonk began shipping fruit along the Gulf Coast and out-of-state. He was guest lecturer at Texas A&M College and was recognized in France for his contributions to viticulture.
Through his catalogues we know what plants were readily available to Victoria gardeners in the 19th and early 20th centuries. A few of these fruit trees are listed below.
Peaches
Onderdonk received praise for his success with peaches. One of his introductions was the Honey Peach, a favorite of many home gardeners. Onderdonk noted that peaches originated in China, and didn’t do well outside of China until they arrived in Florida and Texas.
Plums
Onderdonk obtained the Golden Beauty Plum by taking cuttings from a wild tree near Fort Belnap, Montana. Some garden catalogues still offer the Golden Beauty Plum. Onderdonk described it as a “choice variety for plum preserves.”
Pears
Kieffer and Le Conte Pears were among half a dozen types of pears Onderdonk offered at his nursery. He wrote the Le Conte was the most vigorous growing pear found in the Victoria area.
Grapes
The Herbemont Grape was Onderdonk’s best grape, but he also admired the Lenoir or old “Black Spanish” grape. Due to Lenoir’s resistance to phylloxera, Onderdonk wrote that this variety was useful in reconstruction of the California vineyards.
Blackberries
Blackberries didn’t do well for Onderdonk until he found a variety in Colorado County that was a cross between an East Texas wild Blackberry and a Dewberry. He named it Braden’s Blackberry.
Trees, Shrubs and Roses
Onderdonk sold Jujube also known as the Chinese date, which he described as something between a plum and date. These trees were planted as ornamentals and for their attractiveness to bees.
For home landscapes, Onderdonk sold Altheas, Box Elders, Crape Myrtles, Catalpas, Pomegranates, Willows and many other trees.
Onderdonk particularly liked the native Ceniza. He said “Ceniza should be grown in every family ground of the extreme South.”
Onderdonk also favored Lemon Grass that he found in most gardens on the lower Rio Grande. Lemon Grass tea was the only tea known to residents along the Texas border. Onderdonk called it his favorite beverage.
The Onderdonk Nursery did not “originate” roses. Rose bushes were obtained from professional rose growers. Onderdonk wrote “We disseminate no cheap, hot-house, bay rose plants.” Among the varieties common today, the Onderdonk Nursery carried Duchere, Empress Eugenie, Madame Alfred Corrier, La Reine, Cecile Brunner and the Queen of the Prairie.
Although Gilbert Onderdonk died in 1920 at age 91 and is buried at Victoria’s Evergreen Cemetery, his legacy lives! In recognition of
Gilbert Onderdonk, a biographical sign honoring him was installed recently at Victoria Educational Gardens, 283 Bachelor Dr. in Victoria.
Do come see it and all the gardens!
The Gardeners’ Dirt is written by members of the Victoria County Master Gardener Association, an educational outreach of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension – Victoria County.
REFERENCES
References
Oppenheimer, E. Gilbert Onderdonk: The Nurseryman of Mission Valley, University of North Texas Press, 1991.