Lake Conroe Centennial Lions Club welcomed Montgomery County Master Gardener, Debra Stallings, at its recent meeting held at Walden Yacht Club.  Debra not only gave us an exciting program chock full of information at Texas Superstar plants, but she also raffled off the Superstar "Caesalpinia, Pride-Of-Barbados" to 5 lucky Lions. The winners, shown here, left to right, holding their plant are Mary Ritterodt, Dot Anderson, Steve Mordaunt, Bob Drucker and Anna Mode.  For more information about Lake Conroe Centennial Lions Club contact President Shirley Abt at shirlgirlmk@hotmail.cm.

Do you know what a Texas Superstar is?  We didn't either until Debra Stallings came to Walden Yacht Club and presented a program to the members of Lake Conroe Centennial Lions Club entitled "Texas Superstars." Actually Debra (along with two LCCLC members) is a Texas Master Gardener of Montgomery County (Texas A & M AgriLife Extension Service).  In other words, she knows her way around plants in Texas. According to her presentation, to be designated a Texas Superstar, a plant must be beautiful and perform well for consumers and growers throughout our state. Superstars must be easy to propagate which would ensure the plants are not only widely available throughout Texas but also reasonably priced. The decision as to which plants are highlighted is made by the Texas Superstar Executive Board whose members are located in different parts of the state. These Superstars are broken into six different categories: 1.  Annuals - Plants that complete their life cycles in years; 2. Perennials - Plants that come back every year; 3. Per-Annuals - Tropical perennials used as annuals; 4. Woody Shrubs; 5. Trees and 6. Specialty Plants In 2021, the Sweet Potato Vine ( an annual) and the Texas Super Sweet 1015Y Onion became Texas Superstars and the Valley Cat Tomato made the ranking in March of this year.  But the newest Superstar is the Red Yucca. The Red Yucca (a perennial) is a showy, native succulent that is Texas tough and thrives throughout our state.  Also known as Pink Yucca, Red-flowered Yucca, Soft-Tip Yucca or Samadoque, this plant is a favorite among gardeners in all parts of the southwestern United States.  The native plant resembles a cross between other common spine-pointed yuccas and aloe. The Red Yucca is also a sun-loving plant but can survive in partial shade. This plant also tolerates reflected heat and wind exposure.  Once established they are very drought and heat tolerant and container-grown plants can be planted from early spring through the fall.  The Red Yucca is a great plant for our area as it does well in hot and dry locations. And it is beautiful, with 4-5 inch pinkish, red spikes or narrow sparsely branched panicles of coral or salmon-pink.  The flowers may even be a dark red or even yellow in color. And to make this program even better, Debra, on behalf of the Texas Master Gardeners, raffled off Caesalpinia, Pride-Of-Barbados plants to five lucky Lions! How awesome is that.

For more information about Texas Superstars, go to texassuperstar.com or http://texassuperstar.com/.  For more information about the Texas Master Gardener Program check out www.mcmga.com or call 936-539-7824.

Lake Conroe Centennial Lions Club meets on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at Walden Yacht Club.  For more information, contact President Shirley Abt at shirlgirlmk@hotmail.com.

Larhonda Biggles is still seeking justice for her son years after his death at the Harris County jail, which led to the firing of nearly a dozen guards.