Native Plants

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Monday - October 22, 2007

From: Frisco, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Wildflowers suitable for full sun and partial shade in the Dallas, Texas area
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What wildflowers are best for the Dallas area both in sunny and semi shade locations? Are you able to purchase by mail?

ANSWER:

You can find a list of "commercially available native plant species suitable for planned landscapes in North Central Texas" by choosing TX—North Central under Recommended Native Plants by Region and State on our Recommended Species page. You can Narrow Your Search by choosing plant characteristics and growing conditions that interest you.

Here are a few herbaceous flowers that do well in full sun and in dry soil:

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower)

Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel)

Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet)

Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot)

And, here are a couple of shrubs that do well in full sun and dry soil:

Lantana urticoides (West Indian shrubverbena)

Salvia greggii (autumn sage)

These are herbaceous flowers that do well in partial shade and dry soil:

Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)

Conoclinium coelestinum (blue mistflower)

Phlox drummondii (annual phlox)

Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan)

And, these are shrubs that do well in partial shade and dry soil:

Rhus aromatica (fragrant sumac)

Mahonia trifoliolata (agarita)

Some of these plants will do well in either full sun or partial shade, and there are many more to choose from.

The Wildflower Center doesn't sell plants by mail (we have two onsite sales every year, our Spring Plant Sale and our Fall Plant Sale), but you can search for nurseries and seed companies that specialize in native plants for your area in our National Suppliers Directory. The Collin County Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas also shows a list of suppliers in your general area.