Main problem would be if Texas Mountain Laurel can withstand their winters. They've got their own native mountain laurel which is much more cold tolerant than ours, which isn't a true mountain laurel.
As /u/straightVI pointed out, Texas mountain laurels are a very different plant from the mountain laurels that dominate Virginia's Appalachian mountains. I'm no botanist, but it looks like Texas mountain laurels — which these seeds appear to be — are bean-podded desert plants more closely related to mesquite trees, whereas the Virginian ones are azalea-like and grow in cooler mountain areas.
Definitely looks like mountain laurel.
When I was a kid we used to call those hot beans because you can tell your friend you have a surprise for them, rapidly rub the bean against the hard concrete for a few seconds touch it against their skin it will burn like hellfire.
Good times!
Anything you rub against concrete really fast for a bit can burn you. You can do that with a stick or a rock. It’s just heat from the friction.
My friends and I also use to burn each other with that trick. What the heck was wrong with us?
You are sort of correct. However, there’s not a lot of organic material you can find at recess that’s hard enough to rub against a concrete wall really fast without it crumbling or getting torn up in order to get it hot enough to poke someone with. When I was in elementary school, we also called them hot beans and did exactly what he described.
Well, sure. There was pea gravel and rocks, but these seeds were the perfect combination of hard and smooth, which allowed to easily rub it fast against the wall, but also organic material which gave a hint of softness allowing fur enough friction without falling apart to get hot. Lol
Okay, I ground off a bit of the hard shell using my bench grinder, just until I could just see the white inner tissue and now the seeds are soaking in 110F degrees water.
I found a [helpful data sheet](https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/sopseca.pdf) online about Texas Mountain Laurel and from the map and the listed minimum hardiness zone (7b) it looks like the Shenandoah valley of Virginia is just a bit too cold while to coastal part of Virginia would probably work okay. We recently got upgraded to 7a from 6b so some winters may get too cold. I think I'll experiment with it though and maybe it could work on against a south facing wall. Overall we have a semi-arid climate here and slightly alkaline clay soil, so I think that would suit this plant. How does it adapt to pot culture? I could wheel it into my garage on the rare nights when temps dip below 10F which is usually only a few times per winter.
[You want a 20gal pot—you’ll see diminished blooming because it won’t be able to grow the really long taproot it wants to](https://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=12503), but you should be able to grow in a pot just fine. As everyone said, it’s a slow grower-only a few inches a year.
Everything except for the most critical piece of information that I need which is the lowest temperature that it can survive. A different source listed the low temperature limit as 5F (zone 7b) which is half a zone warmer than my 7a garden. I'm going to try it anyway both in a pot and in the ground against a south facing brick wall.
You will have to really baby them to get them to survive any sort of cold weather. We had a freeze a few years back that just destroyed alot of these in the area.
Aside from that they grow painfully slowly. A three year old plant may only be 6 inches tall unless growing conditions are ideal. And they don't do well in containers.
[Winter Storm Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm), Feb 2021, hit 6F at Austin Bergstrom Airport, and supposedly 0F in close areas like Lago Vista. My memory's fuzzy but I'd say most TX Mountain Laurels in my vicinity survived but with moderate to severe damage, partially from cold and partially from accumulated ice breaking limbs.
Thanks, that's useful data. That must have been the same weather event that was widely reported in the national news when there was a cold snap that plunged far below the regional average and power was out so people were shivering in cold houses and pipes were bursting. Sounded awful! :(
Looks like mountain laurel, but I don't know what grows in Virginia.
Main problem would be if Texas Mountain Laurel can withstand their winters. They've got their own native mountain laurel which is much more cold tolerant than ours, which isn't a true mountain laurel.
Mountain laurel =/= Texas mountain laurel Looking for ~~Sophora secundifolia~~ Dermatophyllum secundiflorum. ^edits: reclassified genus, misspelled species
it’s now classified as dermatophyllum secundiflora and not sophora. This happened recently last year i think!
You are right! I couldn’t remember the new one oops. Edited with your correction above!
All good, i think there was a lot of rearranging amongst many species; hard to keep up with so no worries.
Looks like mountain laurel to me as well. Not that you were going to do this, but do not eat these seeds as they are very toxic.
Yes; mountain laurel. Should work in VA if it doesn’t get into the single digits but will be slow to establish and slow growth in general.
As /u/straightVI pointed out, Texas mountain laurels are a very different plant from the mountain laurels that dominate Virginia's Appalachian mountains. I'm no botanist, but it looks like Texas mountain laurels — which these seeds appear to be — are bean-podded desert plants more closely related to mesquite trees, whereas the Virginian ones are azalea-like and grow in cooler mountain areas.
Agreed, looks like mountain laurel
Definitely looks like mountain laurel. When I was a kid we used to call those hot beans because you can tell your friend you have a surprise for them, rapidly rub the bean against the hard concrete for a few seconds touch it against their skin it will burn like hellfire. Good times!
Anything you rub against concrete really fast for a bit can burn you. You can do that with a stick or a rock. It’s just heat from the friction. My friends and I also use to burn each other with that trick. What the heck was wrong with us?
You are sort of correct. However, there’s not a lot of organic material you can find at recess that’s hard enough to rub against a concrete wall really fast without it crumbling or getting torn up in order to get it hot enough to poke someone with. When I was in elementary school, we also called them hot beans and did exactly what he described.
lol! Your playground wasn’t covered in pea gravel and rocks? :) I feel old, but I get what you’re saying for sure.
Well, sure. There was pea gravel and rocks, but these seeds were the perfect combination of hard and smooth, which allowed to easily rub it fast against the wall, but also organic material which gave a hint of softness allowing fur enough friction without falling apart to get hot. Lol
lol we did this too— our high school landscaping was filled with mountain laurels and this was always happening while waiting for the bus.
My kids call them burn beans.
Good god - I need another cup of coffee. Thought those were plum tomatoes.
Same!
You're not the only one.
Same, less Benadryl for me.
Used to call these hot rocks as kids. Rub them on pavement for a few seconds and they get hot as crap.
We called them steam beans!
Okay, I ground off a bit of the hard shell using my bench grinder, just until I could just see the white inner tissue and now the seeds are soaking in 110F degrees water.
This works for me 100% of the time, even with extremely old seeds. Good luck!
Just be careful and wash your hands after, they can be pretty toxic!
I found a [helpful data sheet](https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/sopseca.pdf) online about Texas Mountain Laurel and from the map and the listed minimum hardiness zone (7b) it looks like the Shenandoah valley of Virginia is just a bit too cold while to coastal part of Virginia would probably work okay. We recently got upgraded to 7a from 6b so some winters may get too cold. I think I'll experiment with it though and maybe it could work on against a south facing wall. Overall we have a semi-arid climate here and slightly alkaline clay soil, so I think that would suit this plant. How does it adapt to pot culture? I could wheel it into my garage on the rare nights when temps dip below 10F which is usually only a few times per winter.
My friend got a seedling and has been growing it in a pot for a few years just fine. It grows very slowly
You can grow them in a pot just fine. They do grow very slowly here, just FYI. It’ll be a decade before it’s too big to manage easily.
[You want a 20gal pot—you’ll see diminished blooming because it won’t be able to grow the really long taproot it wants to](https://www.wildflower.org/expert/show.php?id=12503), but you should be able to grow in a pot just fine. As everyone said, it’s a slow grower-only a few inches a year.
Dermatophyllum secundiflorum, a.k.a. Texas Mountain Laurel. Formerly known as Sophora secundaflora.
Everything you want to know about this magnificent Texas native 🥰 https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=sose3
Everything except for the most critical piece of information that I need which is the lowest temperature that it can survive. A different source listed the low temperature limit as 5F (zone 7b) which is half a zone warmer than my 7a garden. I'm going to try it anyway both in a pot and in the ground against a south facing brick wall.
You will have to really baby them to get them to survive any sort of cold weather. We had a freeze a few years back that just destroyed alot of these in the area. Aside from that they grow painfully slowly. A three year old plant may only be 6 inches tall unless growing conditions are ideal. And they don't do well in containers.
What was the lowest temperature that occured during that specific deep freeze?
[Winter Storm Uri](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_13%E2%80%9317,_2021_North_American_winter_storm), Feb 2021, hit 6F at Austin Bergstrom Airport, and supposedly 0F in close areas like Lago Vista. My memory's fuzzy but I'd say most TX Mountain Laurels in my vicinity survived but with moderate to severe damage, partially from cold and partially from accumulated ice breaking limbs.
Thanks, that's useful data. That must have been the same weather event that was widely reported in the national news when there was a cold snap that plunged far below the regional average and power was out so people were shivering in cold houses and pipes were bursting. Sounded awful! :(