Native Plants

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Saturday - March 28, 2009

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Container Gardens
Title: Container plants for Dallas, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I need help with container plants that can endure being out in the full sun and don't need a lot of maintenance. I would prefer something that is about 2-3' at its height and has a rounded shape. I was thinking of some type of ornamental grass or perhaps a Sego Palm. I would appreciate any advice.

ANSWER:

First, we're going to suggest you read our How-To Article Container Gardening with Native Plants. The reason it's just about native plants? Because the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is just about native plants, native not only to North America but to the area in which they are being grown. A plant growing in an area where it has been evolved for millennia is more adapted to the local climate, soil and rainfall, and will require less water, fertilizer and maintenance. The Cycas revoluta (Sago Palm) is native to China and Japan.

We will go to our Recommended Species section, select North Central Texas on the map, and search first for herbs (herbaceous blooming plants), then shrubs and finally grasses, all under Habit. We will specify full sun under Light Requirements and perennial under Duration. You can repeat these steps with different characteristics and make your own selections. Follow the plant links to the page on the individual plant to find out its expected size, water requirements, color and time of blooms, etc. At the bottom of each of these pages is a link to Google for more information on the plant. After you have made some selections, you can go to our Native Plant Suppliers page, enter your town and state, and get a list of native plant nurseries, seed suppliers and landscape and environment consultants in your general area. They all have contact information, so you can find out if the plant you are interested in is available before you go shopping.

Herbaceous flowering plants for North Central Texas

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)

Conoclinium coelestinum (blue mistflower)

Echinacea purpurea (eastern purple coneflower)

Engelmannia peristenia (Engelmann's daisy)

Lobelia cardinalis (cardinalflower)

Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot)

Wedelia texana (hairy wedelia)

Shrubs for North Central Texas

Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (Wright's desert honeysuckle)

Salvia greggii (autumn sage)

Hesperaloe parviflora (redflower false yucca)