Native Plants
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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.
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Sunday - May 16, 2010
From: Louisville, KY
Region: Mid-Atlantic
Topic: Trees
Title: Evergreen plants safe for horses in Louisville, Kentucky
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I have a horse farm in Louisville, Ky. I want to plant evergreen plants along the walls in front of the horse barns. What types of plants are not toxic to horses can I use? Thank you so much for all your help with this. I bought a lot of yews(taxus x media) that after looking at your website I may have to take out and plant what you recommend. Thank you, Mr. Smarty PlantsANSWER:
You will probably want to remove the yew trees from the area since at least one Taxus species appears on each of the toxic databases listed below:
ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plant Lists—Horses
Poisonous Plants of North Carolina
Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock
University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants
Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System
Here are some evergreen trees and shrubs that should be safe for your horses—none of them appears in any of the above toxic plant databases. Some are taller than the yew that you picked but they might work for you anyway.
Thuja occidentalis (eastern arborvitae)
Pinus echinata (shortleaf pine)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) This species appears on the Non-Toxic portion of the ASPCA list.
Evergreen ferns:
Dryopteris carthusiana (spinulose woodfern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal woodfern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern)
Short Shrubs and Sub-shrubs:
Gaultheria procumbens (eastern teaberry)
Leiophyllum buxifolium (sandmyrtle)
Mahonia aquifolium (hollyleaved barberry) This plant is on the Non-Toxic list of the ASPCA.
Paxistima canbyi (Canby's mountain-lover)
If you are interested in seeing shrubs or trees that are not evergreen, go to the Kentucky Recommended page and NARROW YOUR SEARCH by choosing 'Shrub' or 'Tree" from the GENERAL APPEARANCE box.
Here are photos from our Image Gallery:
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