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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Tuesday - March 10, 2009
From: Aledo, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Compost and Mulch, Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs
Title: Native plants for flower beds in Aledo, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have 2 beds that together run the length of the house foundation (25' each), we have 2 spots I would like to plant a Yaupon (Pride of Houston) in each spot approximately 2' from the foundation;is this a bad idea? Also, I have some Dwarf Yaupons and Dwarf Wax Myrtles to plant every 5' or so, what else would you recommend to plant between and in front of these? The site has Filtered Sun for 4-5 hours, heavy clay soil that I plan to amend with Silver Creek Materials 40% sand 60% compost topsoil mix.ANSWER:
Your plant choices all sound good, they are all native and can all survive in the limited sunlight. They will probably not grow as fast as they would in more sun, but they should be fine. The soil amendment of your heavy clay soil is also a good idea. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center recommends only plants native not only to North America but to the area in which the plants are being grown. Native plants, being accustomed to the climate, moisture and soils in which they are growing, will need less water, fertilizer and maintenance.
In terms of spacing, although the yaupon roots would probably not be strong enough to do any harm to your foundation, 2' still seems a little close. As the plant matures, it will expand its circumference, and it should do better given a little more distance from the building, if that is practical. Rather than plant anything in between the dwarf shrubs, you might consider planting perennial herbaceous flowering plants in front of them. This will give some color and variety to your garden. The flowering plants will mostly die back to the ground in the Winter, but you have the structure of the evergreen plants to maintain interest during that time. For additional interest, especially in the first year (perennials often don't bloom until the second year), you could add some bright annuals, selecting for different times of bloom. We are going to go to our Recommended Species section, click on North Central Texas on the map, and then Narrow Your Search first for "herbs" (herbaceous flowering plants) under Habit, perennial for duration, and part shade (2 to 6 hours of sun daily) for Light Requirements. We will repeat the process, changing only the duration to "annual." You can follow the same procedure to make your own selections. Follow the plant link to each individual plant page to learn the colors of blooms, height the plant is expected to grow and the months they ordinarily bloom.
These plants are all commercially available, and you can go to our Native Plant Suppliers section, type your town and state into the "Enter Search Location" and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed companies and landscape and environment consultants in your general area.
PERENNIAL BLOOMING PLANTS FOR NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
Conoclinium coelestinum (blue mistflower)
Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower)
Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot)
Salvia azurea (azure blue sage)
Wedelia texana (hairy wedelia)
ANNUAL BLOOMING PLANTS FOR NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS
Amblyolepis setigera (huisache daisy)
Coreopsis tinctoria (golden tickseed)
Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth's eryngo)
Gaillardia pulchella (firewheel)
Machaeranthera tanacetifolia (tanseyleaf tansyaster)
Monarda citriodora (lemon beebalm)
Phlox drummondii (annual phlox)
Rudbeckia hirta (blackeyed Susan)
More Herbs/Forbs Questions
Arrow weed
January 10, 2012 - Is arrow weed (Pluchea serecia) shade tolerant? Do you have an on-line resource for native species?
view the full question and answer
Petals on Black eyed Susans not developing from Austin
September 04, 2012 - I just read Barbara Medfords response to undeveloped petals on perennial black eyed susans and was disappointed not to find a better explanation. I have had the exact same thing happen to mine, and I...
view the full question and answer
Can bastard cabbage be eaten from Austin
May 02, 2013 - On a local cooking show they were talking about cooking local foods and mentioned bastard cabbage but never showed how to cook it or if it was in fact edible. Would be a way to help get rid of it if ...
view the full question and answer
Availability of Heliotropium angiospermum from Austin
April 01, 2014 - I have admired the Wildflower Center's Heliotropium angiospermum (Scorpian's Tail) for the great number of butterflies it attracts. I would really love to purchase one on these plants, but don't se...
view the full question and answer
Propagation of quincula lobata from Alleyton TX
July 20, 2011 - Quincula lobata..how to propagate and when?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |