Native Plants

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Friday - February 21, 2014

From: Rosanky, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Erosion Control, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Reconsideration of previous question from Hays County TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

QUESTION: Please reconsider this question that I sent to you last week. Our home address is in Bastrop County, but the Blanco River property that we own is in Hays County near Wimberley. Our property owners association in Hays County would like to know what native plants/grasses to plant on the Blanco River bank in our river park to help prevent erosion. Some banks are steep and some areas are a gradual slope. Members want to know if it is preferable to leave downed trees and flood debris where they fall to prevent future erosion or if the better plan is to remove them and plant new trees and grasses. Our main goals are to protect our riverbank while also making sure property owners have access to enter the river and enjoy the water. Thank you for your help!

ANSWER:

Certainly. For others reading this, here is a link to our previous answer by us on February 19, 2014.

Previous question #10088

Apparently, you are concerned that our answer involved Bastrop County, since that was the return address of the question, but you were actually asking about property in Hays County. Looking at a map of Texas, you will note that these two counties are adjacent to each other, corner to corner, if you will. Bastrop County is east of Travis County, where the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is, and Hays County is south of Travis County. This would mean that conditions are very similar, both being in Central Texas, in terms of climate, rainfall and soils. However, we will address our recommendations individually, so we can be sure the information we gave you was as accurate as possible.

First, on the matter of fire danger posed by downed trees and debris on the slopes toward the Llano River. Yesterday, on KVUE we saw a warning on Red Flag danger, which includes Hays County. If you would like more informed advice on that, contact the Texas Forestry Service for Hays County, as well as the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Office for Hays County. While you are talking to the Extension Office, ask the if they have a list of grasses and plants good for erosion control in Hays County.

Next, we checked all of the plants that we suggested to make sure they were native to Hays County. The USDA Plant Profile Maps do not show these plants from that list as native to Hays, but in counties surrounding it. This could indicate only that those plants have not been reported in Hays County. Here are the exceptions to that list:

Carex planostachys (Cedar sedge)

Carex texensis (Texas sedge)

Amblyolepis setigera (Huisache daisy)

Dichondra argentea (Silver ponyfoot)

Hedeoma drummondii (Drummond's false pennyroyal)