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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

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.

Search Smarty Plants

See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

rate this answer

2 ratings

Monday - June 22, 2015

From: Lubbock, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Lists, Container Gardens, Xeriscapes, Drought Tolerant, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Container Plants for Lubbock, Texas
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

Hello! I am looking for plants suitable for container gardening for a west facing porch in Lubbock. Plants need to be super tough to endure the baking sun, constant wind, dry air, extreme temperatures in the different seasons, and reflected light in this location. All suggestions welcome!

ANSWER:

You are correct that plants have to be super tough to survive the extreme heat, drought and temperatures for containers on your west facing porch.

To find some possible plants, take a look at the Native Plant Database and search for Texas, Herb, Perennial, Sun, Dry and 0-3 feet in height. This will generate a large list of plants but not all will be suitable for containers. You may have to try several plants to find out what will work best in your situation.

So some plants to consider are:

Achillea millefolium (Common Yarrow) Trim to keep compact.

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed)

Dichondra argentea (Silver Ponyfoot)

Engelmannia peristenia (Engelmann's Daisy) Has a tap root so needs a deep pot.

Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida (Prairie Verbena)

Lenophyllum texanum (Coastal Stonecrop)

Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot Daisy)

Salvia coccinea (Scarlet Sage)

Sedum nanifolium (Dwarf Stonecrop)

Tetraneuris scaposa var. scaposa (Four-nerve Daisy)