Buying Local Plants

Believe it or not, a succulent can get sunburned if it’s not grown in this Texas heat.

I am here with Joey Lenderman at the Enchanted Gardens Greenhouse. Lot of cool stuff here. They grow a lot of plants in here, and it’s really important to buy local stuff.

It is. Lots of plants, such as this lavender here, have problems growing if it’s not locally grown and then acclimated to our heat and humidity.

I do know that French lavender specifically, everybody’s favorite lavender, cannot grow unless it’s been born locally.

That’s about right.

So cool. What about this sedum, what’s the kicker here?

Sedum is another one. When it’s grown out-of-state with a different humidity level and different heat level, then it struggles to get established around here. And it might struggle so long that it never gets [crosstalk 00:00:44].

Wow. And a ground cover, if you don’t get it established, man, it’ll get out competed real quick.

That’s right.

Then you got adorable echeveria. What happens with these if they’re not from nearby?

Same deal. Believe it or not, a succulent can get sunburned if it’s not grown in this Texas heat, it can have a problem.

So, the humidity’s a challenge. The heat’s a challenge.

It is.

There are some other factors besides those in growing locally. We have milkweed here, or monarch’s delight as I like to call it.

That’s right. Yeah, with milkweed you definitely want to make sure it’s organically grown, so it’s safe for the caterpillars. That’s the biggest thing about milkweed.

Because you don’t want it killing the one thing you want it to eat.

That’s right.

So, the thing with growing locally, and you being able to kind of control this, is we know what goes in it. We know what system supports it, we can control that stuff and it’s not a question anymore. Lastly, we have peppers here, but I think you’re thinking all vegetables you want to buy local.

It’s great to buy locally grown vegetables. We grow them so that they’re ready at the right time to be planted.

Gotcha. Because timing is everything with veggies. Houston, it’s all slot through all that stuff. So, buy stuff that’s been grown locally. Enchanted Gardens does a lot of it. Really cool job. Thanks, Joey.

Thank you.

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