Central Texas native weeds

[Pearly]

I was wondering if there are any tortoise keepers in Austin, TX area and what your experience is with native weeds here. To this date I've only been able to identify Dandelions that are good for my RF's, have never seen Plantains or Chicory... Have you guys seen anything that's good for them growing here? I have no trouble feeding them. They get very diverse organic diet every day, but already planning their outdoor pen and want to have it heavily planted with native edible plants for them. I noticed when taking them outside for their daily exercise out in the sun that they got absolutely nuts when allowed inside my flower beds, walking very fast, eating snails or snail shells, peeing/pooping. I'll start working on the outdoor pen in the Spring but want to have my tortoise nursery full of plants so they don't have to live in barren place.

 

[jaizei]

I'm horrible at id'ing plants so I just take an area down to bare earth and start fresh with a pasture mix that has everything listed.

 

[Pearly]

I'm horrible at id'ing plants so I just take an area down to bare earth and start fresh with a pasture mix that has everything listed.

Thanks, Jaizei, that's my plan too. I have area with 3 old raised beds in my back yard where the lumber is so old it has been disintegrating. This is next to my patio where there is great morning sun but no afternoon blaze. I used to roses there and they were thriving so I think this will be the perfect spot for them. Again, the babies are still very small, and will need to do a lot more growing in their warm, humid tank, but I want to get started on enclosing their area this fall/winter and plant some perennial seeds because this will be their daily exercise area so the more plants, the better.

 

[Prairie Mom]

There are lots of Texas members on the forum. I hope they will speak up soon. @daddykirbs can you offer any assistance?

 

[daddykirbs]

I was wondering if there are any tortoise keepers in Austin, TX area and what your experience is with native weeds here. To this date I've only been able to identify Dandelions that are good for my RF's, have never seen Plantains or Chicory... Have you guys seen anything that's good for them growing here? I have no trouble feeding them. They get very diverse organic diet every day, but already planning their outdoor pen and want to have it heavily planted with native edible plants for them. I noticed when taking them outside for their daily exercise out in the sun that they got absolutely nuts when allowed inside my flower beds, walking very fast, eating snails or snail shells, peeing/pooping. I'll start working on the outdoor pen in the Spring but want to have my tortoise nursery full of plants so they don't have to live in barren place.

Are you in a neighborhood or on acreage?

I'm watering a couple of areas to encourage the native ground covers to fill in. My Sulcata loves that. I'm also seeding with a grass / clover mix to fill in bare spots. Things like Hibiscus, Mulberry, Blackberry are being added strategically to give some leaves for a treat.

 

[Pearly]

Are you in a neighborhood or on acreage?

I'm watering a couple of areas to encourage the native ground covers to fill in. My Sulcata loves that. I'm also seeding with a grass / clover mix to fill in bare spots. Things like Hibiscus, Mulberry, Blackberry are being added strategically to give some leaves for a treat.

Hi Daddykirbs! Our house is in subsivision, but the whole backyard can at some point become a tort sanctuary. I'll have couple of grapevines bcs I know those will do well here, can try blackberry& mulberry, not sure how they will do here in the summer heat, but hibiscus will not do well in winter, it doesn't like freezing temps and I'm not set up for bringing any plants inside . Whatever I have growing out there must do ok in my climate zone with just water. I don't mind watering daily (used to it) but heavy pots that have to be hauled in and out are just more than I can do. I'd rather plant a native garden with a South American twist for our babies in their habitat, no pots, everything in the ground. San Antonio is much more humid than Austin area, but the heat is as bad. Do your clover, mulberry, blackberry do ok? How do you overwinter hibiscus?

 

[daddykirbs]

Hi Daddykirbs! Our house is in subsivision, but the whole backyard can at some point become a tort sanctuary. I'll have couple of grapevines bcs I know those will do well here, can try blackberry& mulberry, not sure how they will do here in the summer heat, but hibiscus will not do well in winter, it doesn't like freezing temps and I'm not set up for bringing any plants inside . Whatever I have growing out there must do ok in my climate zone with just water. I don't mind watering daily (used to it) but heavy pots that have to be hauled in and out are just more than I can do. I'd rather plant a native garden with a South American twist for our babies in their habitat, no pots, everything in the ground. San Antonio is much more humid than Austin area, but the heat is as bad. Do your clover, mulberry, blackberry do ok? How do you overwinter hibiscus?

So far my plants are doing ok as long as I water. They do not do well with the TX drought and heat combined. Once Mulberry is established it will tolerate the drought very well. I'm only seeding the grass and clover where I can water with a sprinkler. Once I tried a broader distribution and it wouldn't establish even with the hand watering. The Hibiscus will die back in the Winter, but you have a very high chance of it coming back in the Spring. I would try a Hibiscus where you can water it easily, then mulch it well.