Native Plants

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Sunday - March 15, 2009

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Plants for border garden in shade in Austin
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Need suggestion for what to plant in a border garden. We live in northwest Austin and the garden is north-facing and shaded. Currently are oleanders but they don't get enough sun. Also growing are nandinas and lilies, would like some color. Thank you.

ANSWER:

Here are some plants that will grow in part shade (2 to 6 hours of sun per day) and/or shade (less than 2 hours of shade) in Austin:

Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (flame acanthus) part shade.

Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine) part shade, shade.

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed) part shade.

Calylophus berlandieri ssp. pinifolius (Berlandier's sundrops) part shade.

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower) part shade.

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (Turk's cap) part shade, shade.

Phacelia congesta (blue curls) part shade.

Salvia coccinea (blood sage) part shade, shade.

Wedelia texana (hairy wedelia) part shade.

These final ones are small trees:

Cercis canadensis var. texensis (Texas redbud) part shade.

Sophora secundiflora (Texas mountain-laurel) part shade.

Ungnadia speciosa (Mexican buckeye) part shade.

You can find more possibilities by going to the Recommended Species page and selecting Central Texas from the map or pulldown menu. This will give you a list of commercially available native plants suitable for landscaping in Central Texas. You can then use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to select plants for shade or part shade under the 'Light requirement' option.