Native Plants

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Thursday - November 13, 2008
From: Roanoke, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Low plants for shady, damp area in Roanoke, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
First, thanks for answering my first question about Texas Native Trees for our new home! I have just started working on plans for our back yard and have a question about Texas Native Shade plants. We have an area that seems to remain somewhat damp with little watering as it gets little to no sun. I am looking for some low lying plants and ground cover to place here. This area is where our master bedroom windows are so I do not want anything that will get too tall(2-3 feet). We like color, flowers and want a few things that will either have interest through the year or alternate interest so at least there's something. Thanks again for all the wonderful help!ANSWER:
Thanks, we're glad to help, hope the trees you select will do well. We will go to our Recommended Species site,and see what we can find for "shade" which we consider to be less than 2 hours of sun a day, and moist soil. We're going to select North Central Texas on the United States map, and then select, first, Herbs (herbaceous plants) on the drop-down menu for Habit, Shade for Light Requirement and Moist soil. Next, we'll look for some grasses in the same way, as there are some very attractive grasses that can tolerate that little light and the moist soil. And, we'll add in a couple of low ground covers. They will give some variety and texture to your garden. We probably referred you last time to our Native Plant Suppliers section, where you put your town and state in the "Enter Search Location" box and get a list of native plant nurseries, seed companies and landscape consultants. Here are our suggestions but you can certainly go looking for more in our Native Plant Database.
HERBS (herbaceous plants)
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine) - up to 2' tall, perennial, blooms red, pink, yellow, blooms February to July
Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower) - 1 to 6' tall, perennial, red, May to October
Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan) - annual to short-lived perennial, 1-3' tall, yellow, June to October
GRASSES
Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama) - 2 to 3' stems, perennial, red, yellow, May to October
Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass) - 3 to 8' tall, perennial, yellow, August to October
GROUND COVERS
Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit) - 3 TO 6" tall, perennial, white, May to October
Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy) - 6 to 12" tall, perennial, March to November
More Shade Tolerant Questions
Native shrub for part shade in Austin
April 16, 2009 - I live in SE Austin (Dove Springs area). I have a 3' by 3' area near my front door. It gets morning sun, but not the entire morning because of the tall tree in my front yard. By 11 o'clock or noon,...
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Variety of native tall plants for a screen in shady area near Ft. Worth
June 12, 2007 - Hello, we live west of Ft Worth. We are looking for tall plants to form a visual screen along a chain link fence we share with a neighbor. We have post oaks there and it is very shady and the ground ...
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Austin Shade Plants for Pots
March 28, 2010 - I live in a condo in Austin Texas so I don't have any flower beds or yard space. I would like to put a few large pots of plants and flowers on my front patio but it's mostly shaded during the day. W...
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Native ground covers for shade in East Texas
June 06, 2008 - I live in Mount Pleasant, Texas which is in northeast Texas. I would like a list of ground covers that would do well in our area. The place I want to put it gets a lot of shade. The ground is clay. Th...
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Fast-growing shade tree for New Braunfels, Texas
January 29, 2009 - I would like to plant a tree in the back of my property which is located in the Hill Country just north of New Braunfels. Could you please suggest something that is fast growing and will grow in full...
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