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.

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Sunday - May 18, 2008

From: San Antonio, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Shade ground cover in San Antonio
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I would like to find plants, spreading ground or flowers, to go under my red tips. These plants would be in a lot shade and not a great deal of water.

ANSWER:

By "red tips", we assume you are referring to Photinia x fraseri, Red-tip Photinia, a non-native shrub originating in China and the Himalayas. Anything that we recommend to you will be a native not only of North America but of your region; i.e., Central Texas. You can look at the complete list of Recommended Species for Central Texas by clicking on Recommended Species in the drop-down menu under "Explore Plants." Click on Central Texas on the US map, then "Narrow Your Search", designating Texas, herb (herbaceous plant) for habit, perennial for duration, 2 to 6 hours of shade a day, and dry soil. Here are the eight plants that we selected that should fit your criteria. Go to Suppliers in that same drop-down menu, type in your town and state in the Location box, and you will get a list of native plant suppliers in your area.

Callirhoe involucrata (purple poppymallow)

Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit)

Dichondra argentea (silver ponysfoot)

Capsicum annuum (cayenne pepper)

Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy)

Glandularia canadensis (rose mock vervain)

Mitchella repens (partridgeberry)

Phlox divaricata (wild blue phlox)