The mission of the Garden
is to inspire people of
all ages to connect with
plants and nature.
Plant of the Month
Photos: Rachel Cobb and Sally Sandler
Cordia boissieri
Common Name: Texas Olive
Growth Habit: This is a large shrub that can grow 10-20’ tall and 10-20’ wide. It can also be trained into a small tree.
Cultural Requirements: A native of Texas and Mexico, Texas Olive grows in warm, sunny sites with good drainage. Once established, it is quite drought tolerant.
Features/Uses: Texas Olives have showy clusters of 2.5” white blooms in summer. The fruit resembles whitish olives, giving rise to the common name. The large 3-5” leaves look exotic and unlike other more typical, sparse-foliaged drought tolerant plants. Although evergreen along the coast, further inland Texas Olives lose their leaves in winter. They can be grown as background shrubs or as a featured specimen plant.
Bloom Time: Texas Olive blooms during most of the warm summer months.
Where at SDBG: Shrubby plants grow in the parking lot by the Seeds of Wonder Children’s Garden.
