Grape Bubblegum Flowers….

Texas Mountain Laurel

Okay, you may be thinking, what am I talking about?  Well long ago, on a spring morning, I noticed an intoxicating fragrance in the air that reminded me of grape bubblegum.  Well, there were no candy stores nearby, but I did notice a small tree with beautiful purple blossoms.  It turns out, that the fragrance was coming from the flowers.

Texas Mountain Laurel

The flowers hung down like grape clusters and I later found out that this tree was called Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora).  

I have wanted to share this tree with you for a long time, but wanted to wait until they were flowering.  Well, yesterday as I was visiting my mother (Pastor Farmer) at Double S Farms, I noticed that their Texas Mountain Laurel were beginning to flower and so hurried home to prepare this post.

Texas Mountain Laurel

There are so many wonderful things that I love about this tree.   Of course, the fragrant, purple flowers are my favorite thing, but I also like that this tree is evergreen, drought-tolerant and easy to maintain.

They are native to Texas, New Mexico and Mexico.  They grow approximately 20 – 25 ft. high and 10 – 15 ft. wide.  They grow naturally as a large shrub, but are often seen trained as small trees. 

This beautiful tree is hardy to approximately 20 degrees F.  So, I highly recommend trying it in your landscape.  

They flower in March and their grape bubblegum fragrance is unmistakable.  Seedpods are formed shortly after flowering stops.  I am not a huge fan of seedpods in general, but I really like the ones from this tree – their creamy color and shapes add interest to the tree.

Texas Mountain Laurel

Inside the seedpods are bright red seeds that are extremely hard and poisonous.  Long ago, Native Americans would use the seeds to create bracelets and necklaces.

*One year, my nephews, (Mr. Green Jeans & Monkey Boy), took the seedpods and painted them yellow and painted little snowman faces on them and gave them as gifts for Christmas.  I still have mine and it decorates my Christmas tree every year.

There is a another variety that has gray leaves, which is also just as beautiful in my opinion.

*Caterpillars can become a problem during warm weather, but you can just ignore them and/or pick them off.  If you see loose webbing on the leaves, that is a sign that it is infected by caterpillars.  The damage caused from the caterpillars does not usually hurt the tree.  It helps if you detect the eggs before they hatch and remove them.  Since caterpillars usually infect the new growth, I just prune off the affected areas.

Texas Mountain Laurel

Texas Mountain Laurel is a slow-growing shrub/tree and so I recommend buying the largest size you can afford if possible.  Like so many flowering plants, there are those who formally prune it and remove all of the beautiful flowers – PLEASE don’t do this.

And so in closing, the next time you detect the fragrance of grape bubblegum in the air, look around you and see if you discover the beautiful Texas Mountain Laurel nearby.

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
35 replies
  1. Christine B.
    Christine B. says:

    Alas, the next time I detect the fragrance of grape bubblegum in the air…it will probably be grape bubblegum (stuck in my kids hair or something). I'll file this one away under "enjoy vicariously" as it would not survive my super lovely zone 3/4 area.

    Christine in snowbound Alaska

  2. Liza
    Liza says:

    Oh yay, yay, yay! They'll grow in New Mexico? I want one. I've never even seen one before, but I'm definitely going to look for one. It's so pretty!

  3. GloriaBonde
    GloriaBonde says:

    How lovely! I love scented plants. We have a varigated iris that smells like grape kool aid. I love it! – Do the cut flowers keep the grape scent? Gloria

  4. Kathleen
    Kathleen says:

    I was thinking it looked like wisteria too ~ or upside down lupine/blue bonnets! But yummy on the fragrance. I used to love grape gum so I'm sure I would totally adore this shrub.

  5. Meredith
    Meredith says:

    Somehow it reminds me of wisteria. Maybe a long-lost cousin? I love the detail about the grape bubblegum scent; it's wonderful that you can even evoke scent via a well-written blog post, Noelle.

    The snowmen created from seed pods are precious! I hope you keep them for as long as they last. 🙂

  6. gippslandgardener
    gippslandgardener says:

    Oh Noelle, I think I've fallen in love with Sophora secundiflora!
    I've just looked it up and it looks like it is available here, but not so easy to find. To my great delight I then discovered that one of the few stockists in Victoria is going to be at a garden show I'm going to soon, so fingers crossed it's in stock!
    Just don't tell anyone I'm supposed to be weeding rather than buying plants 😉

  7. gippslandgardener
    gippslandgardener says:

    Oh Noelle, I think I've fallen in love with Sophora secundiflora!
    I've just looked it up and it looks like it is available here, but not so easy to find. To my great delight I then discovered that one of the few stockists in Victoria is going to be at a garden show I'm going to soon, so fingers crossed it's in stock!
    Just don't tell anyone I'm supposed to be weeding rather than buying plants 😉

  8. Jeff
    Jeff says:

    Another reason to purchase a larger specimen is those caterpillars. They come to my two trees each year and eat most of the new growth.

    I have small trees and thus they look ragged. They are not that easy to remove because of the sticky webs.

    Larger trees seem to tolerate this feast better than the smaller trees.

    [ Jeff ]

  9. arizonaplantlady@gmail.com
    arizonaplantlady@gmail.com says:

    It was such a nice surprise to see that many of you have this plant. I am not surprised that you love it. For those of you who can grow it – I highly encourage you to get one. Gippslandgardener – since you are in Australia, maybe you will not have any problems with the caterpillars?

    I would love to hear about your experiences with your new Texas Mountain Laurels.

  10. Kathleen Scott
    Kathleen Scott says:

    And here I thought they were just Texas trees. The colder winter has delayed blooming but I'm seeing buds here.

    Do you have problems with genista moth defoliation of mountain laurels there?

  11. Kathleen Scott
    Kathleen Scott says:

    Oops, just reread the post and saw the bit about caterpillars. Combined with the epic drought here last year, caterpillars caused damage. I hand picked ours–a daily task–and my little trees are making it.

    Planted seeds around our property and have about 15 more coming up here & there. Some day we'll be awash in grape bubblegum aroma.

  12. Anonymous
    Anonymous says:

    Wow, am I glad I found your site! We just bought our house and were about to cut down the odd little tree beside the patio. I noticed bright red seeds scattered around below it and decided to do an internet search. Now I'm looking forward to flowers and bubble gum in March! Thank you!

  13. Elaine
    Elaine says:

    Thanks for this photo. I just discovered one in my “yard” (woods,basically) in Austin Texas and was having trouble figuring out what it was. It’s a volunteer. I’m not sure it has ever bloomed before, but I guess it is loving the rains this spring.

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