Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
1 rating

Tuesday - April 22, 2008

From: Killeen, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Container Gardens
Title: Native plants for containers
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

Dear Mr. Smarty Plants, I have found the website very helpful, but have a few questions of my own. I recently purchased the winecup plant, phlox and cedar sage perennials. I have planted them in potting containers with miracle grow potting soil. I have read afterwards that they grow in rocky soil. Will these plants do well in pots? If not can you recommend some good native plants that do well in pots. I have two basset hounds that love to play in my flower beds, so I have reverted to planting in containers.

ANSWER:

Are you kidding? Those plants would be tap dancing, if they had tap shoes. The native plants of this area often grow in rocks because that's what there is. Those rocks still have to have some soil around them, and when you put a native plant into a lovely potting soil, with its own uncrowded space and good drainage, it will flourish. Read this How-To Article on Container Gardening with Native Plants to find out more about how to plant and what to plant. We took some of the plants you mentioned, all Texas natives, and added a few more, mostly succulents that will do well in containers.

Callirhoe involucrata (purple poppymallow)

Phlox drummondii (annual phlox)

Salvia roemeriana (cedar sage)

Manfreda maculosa (spice lily)

Manfreda sileri (Siler's tuberose) - Images

Sedum nanifolium (dwarf stonecrop)

Sedum pulchellum (widowscross)

Echinocereus reichenbachii (lace hedgehog cactus)


Callirhoe involucrata

Phlox drummondii

Salvia roemeriana

Manfreda maculosa

Sedum nanifolium

Sedum pulchellum

Echinocereus reichenbachii

 














 



 



 

 

 

More Container Gardens Questions

Native plant for container on deck in Oak Grove VA
April 05, 2011 - What VA native plant can I grow in a container on my deck that will block the view from the neighbor's deck? I am thinking columnar. This is in full sun and gets hot winds off of a bay. The plant ...
view the full question and answer

Container plant in difficult sun exposure from Leander TX
June 06, 2014 - HELP!!!! I have a large Mexican terracotta pot on my front porch. This awkward area is facing westward, so receives the full dose of Texas sun after about 3 pm onward. Now here's the catch; my fr...
view the full question and answer

Winter plants for windowbox in Piedmont SC
October 26, 2012 - What kind of outdoor window box spruss can grow in upstate South Carolina in the winter months?
view the full question and answer

Planting horsetail indoors from Collierville TN
November 12, 2012 - I would like to plant horsetail indoors. Can it handle the inside? Will it try to go dormant or it that a temperature trigger which means it will not go dormant?
view the full question and answer

Container vegetable gardening in Austin
April 07, 2011 - Is vegetable container gardening an option with Austin's hot summers? I live in an apartment and I really want to plant an organic vegetable and herb container garden. I'm having a hard time findin...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.