Native Plants

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Wednesday - August 20, 2014

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shrubs
Title: Shrub for Dallas Street
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

I am looking for a native shrub for Dallas, Texas. It is full sun with a maximum height of 3 feet to border the street edge of a shopping center. It will get irrigated.

ANSWER:

The first place to go to find a list of potential plants for your shady container is our Native Plant Database. Use the Combination Search feature instead of Recommended Species. This will provide a bigger selection with much more choice to narrow down.
Under Combination Search, select the following categories: TX, Habit – Shrub, Duration – Perennial, Light Requirement – Sun, Soil Moisture – Moist, and Size – 3-6 feet.
The best plant to consider from this search is:

Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (Flame Acanthus) – A native deciduous shrub, 3-5 feet tall. Reddish-orange tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds. Drought-tolerant. It takes well to shearing and can make a dense, low hedge.

Several other plants are suitable but their heights are taller than your requirements.

From the Image Gallery

Flame acanthus
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii