Native Plants
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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - May 23, 2014
From: Batson, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Container Gardens, Ferns, Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs
Title: Hanging Baskets for Batson, TX
Answered by: Larry Larson
QUESTION:
What plants can I put in hanging baskets for my shady porch?ANSWER:
This Mr Smarty Plants just finished a rather large answer for a relatively equivalent question from Austin. It has lots of references to "How-to" articles and to even further previous Mr Smarty Plants questions and answers. Rather than pulling all that right back in, I'm just going to reference you to that answer [be ready for LOTS of references] and then go on to look at Shade Plants for Hardin County.
Here is that answer: Hanging plants for Austin, TX
The general process for selecting plants for a specific climate and area is to use the “Recommended Species” lists from the Native Plant Database. This link is to the “Pineywoods Collection”.
One can further reduce this list to specific characteristics by sorting for them. When I selected “Shade” for Light Requirement and heights of 0-1 and 1-3 feet, I was left with 23 results. You can do this yourself and review the results for your favorites. I found the following suggestions to be good possibilities for your baskets:
Herbs: Mitchella repens (Partridgeberry), Phlox divaricata (Wild blue phlox), Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan), Ruellia nudiflora (Violet ruellia)
Ferns: Onoclea sensibilis (Sensitive fern), Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern), Pteridium aquilinum var. pseudocaudatum (Bracken fern), Thelypteris kunthii (Wood fern)
Shrubs: Ceanothus americanus (New jersey tea), Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (Coralberry)
From the Image Gallery
More Container Gardens Questions
Hearty, bushy native plants for windowboxes in Abilene, TX
October 08, 2005 - I live in Abilene, Tx and am a horrible gardener. I would love to have window boxes with some sort of hearty bushy plant. Any suggestions, I'm at a total loss...? Thanks!
view the full question and answer
Replanting a blue agave in Rio Rancho NM
January 11, 2010 - I have acquired a Blue Agave, approximately 4-5 ft high. It still appears quite healthy. It was used over the holiday season for display purposes in a liquor store. Unfortunately, the root ball has be...
view the full question and answer
Bluebonnets in pots in New Caney, TX
April 25, 2009 - My mother in New Caney (Texas), would like to plant Bluebonnets in some lovely terra cotta containers on her porch (and will hopefully mail me some dried pressings of my beloved state flower). Other t...
view the full question and answer
Arborvitae for house plant from Austin
August 15, 2013 - I am a Northerner transplanted to Austin, TX. While I love Austin it feels like many of the plants & trees I came to love up north won't grow here at all. Could I grow an arborvitae in my home as a...
view the full question and answer
White specks on unknown houseplant from Ridgeway SC
June 20, 2013 - I have an unknown houseplant that seems to have some sort of pest or disease on it. It has white snowy specks atop its leaf. I bought this purple fuzzy leafed houseplant from Walmart in Winnsboro, SC ...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |