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.

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Tuesday - April 14, 2009

From: Dallas, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Privacy Screening
Title: Need drought resistant screen at Lake Whitney, Texas
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

Need drought tolerant shrub for use as screen at Lake Whitney. Will have to survive with little watering.

ANSWER:

You can go to our Recommended Species page and select Central Texas on the map. Click on NARROW YOUR SEARCH, and make the following selections: select Texas under state, Shrub under Habit, Perennial under Duration, and Sun under Light Requirement, and Dry under Soil moisture. Click the Narrow you Search button and you will get a list of plants to choose from for your Hedge. Clicking on the name of each plant will bring up its NPIN page which describes the plant's characteristics. You can alter the list by changing the selected items.

The four plants below are possibilities:

Mahonia trifoliolata (agarita) - 3 to 8 ft.

Ilex vomitoria (yaupon) - 12 to 25 ft.

Leucophyllum frutescens (Texas barometer bush) - 2 to 8 ft.

Rhus virens (evergreen sumac) - 8 to 12 ft.