Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

You are way up there in the Panhandle, but we have a list of plants for you. Go to our Recommended Species, click on the Texas High Plains on the map of Texas. When we did this, we got 90 possibilities of plants native to that area. Since you specified perennials, we began (in the right-hand column of the page) Narrow Your Search. Under General Appearance, we chose "Herb" (herbaceous blooming plant), under Duration "perennial," and you can also choose how much sun you have under Light Requirements. We consider 6 or more hours of sun a day to be "sun," 2 to 6 hours "part shade," and less than 2 hours of sun "shade." For our sample list, we are choosing part shade, and dry for Soil Moisture. Then, click on the "Narrow Your Search" rectangle on the bottom of the column. We got 10 possibilities with those specifications, and chose 4 for you to look at. Follow the plant link to the webpage on that individual plant, and note expected size, bloom color and season, wildlife benefits and information on propagation and growing conditions.

Perennials for Donley County, TX

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed) - 1 to 3 ft., deciduous, blooms orange, yellow May to September, low water use, sun or part shade, well-drained soil, larval host for Monarch butterfly

Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot) - to 1 ft tall, blooms white, yellow April to November, low water use, sun or part shade, nectar for butterflies

Penstemon ambiguus (gilia beardtongue) - 3 to 6 ft. tall, blooms pink May to October, low water use, part shade

Salvia azurea var. grandiflora (pitcher sage) - 3 to 5 ft. tall, blooms blue, purple September to November, water use low, sun or part shade, attracts hummingbirds and butterflies

Now, how about some larger plants for your High Plains garden? Under "General Appearance" we searched first for "shrub" and then for "tree" and made four more suggestions.

Woody Plants for Donley County, TX

Lantana urticoides (West Indian shrubverbena) - 3 to 6 ft. tall, blooms red, orange, yellow April to October, sun, low water use, attracts butterflies

Chilopsis linearis (desert willow) - 15  to 30 ft. tall, deciduous, blooms white, pink, purple April to September, low water use, sun, nectar for hummingbirds

Cercis canadensis var. texensis (Texas redbud) - 10 to 20 ft. tall, deciduous, blooms pink, purple March and April, sun or part shade, nectar for butterflies

Diospyros texana (Texas persimmon) - 10 to 20 ft. tall, deciduous, blooms white, green March and April, low water use, sun or part shade, fruits attract birds and deer

Asclepias tuberosa

Melampodium leucanthum

Penstemon ambiguus

Salvia azurea var. grandiflora

Lantana urticoides

Chilopsis linearis

Cercis canadensis var. texensis

Diospyros texana