Native Plants

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Friday - January 16, 2009

From: Kerrville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Wildflowers
Title: Rows of red, white and blue flowers in Kerrville, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I have 1/3 acre project on the Guadalupe river in Kerrville Tx. I want to plant 3 rows, of red, white and blue flowers that are at best deer resistant. I have added 84 yards of lake btms (Ingram Lake) dirt across the area and plan to add/till in horse manure and a general purpose fertilizer. Could you suggest a wild flower plant variety(s) that would support the color plan.

ANSWER:

We don't believe a wildflower mix is what you want, because all the different color seeds would be mixed together. We can certainly suggest some red, white and blue wildflowers native to Central Texas. You could even plant them in nice rows. The first problem is going to be that they are going to bloom at different times in the Spring and Summer. The second problem is that when they reseed for the next year's bloom, we don't know how to explain to the seeds to keep in rows by color. We suggest you read our How-To Article Large Scale Wildflower Planting-Getting Started to help with your planning and we'll see what we can find in your color scheme. Oh, and deer resistant? I wouldn't count on it, when they're hungry, deer will eat anything that doesn't run faster than they do. However, you can take a look at our List of Deer Resistant Species and see if anything promising pops up.

RED

Castilleja indivisa (entireleaf Indian paintbrush) - annual, blooms red, orange March to May

Ipomopsis rubra (standing-cypress) - biennial, blooms red, orange, yellow May to July

Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower) - perennial, blooms red May to October

Phlox drummondii (annual phlox) - annual, blooms white, red, pink, purple March to June

Salvia coccinea (blood sage) - annual, blooms white, red, pink February to October

WHITE

Asclepias asperula (spider milkweed) - perennial, blooms off-white March to October

Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot) - perennial, blooms white March to November

Penstemon cobaea (cobaea beardtongue) - perennial, blooms white, pink April & May

BLUE

Delphinium carolinianum (Carolina larkspur) - perennial, blooms white, blue, violet April to July

Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth's eryngo) - annual, blooms blue, purple July to September

Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet) - annual, blooms white, blue March to May

Salvia farinacea (mealycup sage) - perennial, blooms blue April to October

Castilleja indivisa

Penstemon calycosus

Penstemon cobaea

Delphinium carolinianum

Eryngium leavenworthii

Salvia farinacea