Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Tuesday - September 21, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Evergreen shrub for part shade in Austin
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I am planning a pocket prairie on the north side of my house. Where I am struggling is finding an evergreen shrub that will grow about 6-8', be native and provide semi-privacy in front of a bedroom window. Although the prairie will get full sun, the shrub I need will only get about 3 hours of direct sun. Can you help?ANSWER:
Here are several native evergreen shrubs for the Austin area that will grow in part shade (2 to 6 hours of sunlight per day):
Prunus caroliniana (Cherry laurel) and here are more photos
Garrya ovata ssp. lindheimeri (Lindheimer's silktassel)
Sophora secundiflora (Texas mountain laurel)
The maximum size for several of these is larger than you stated that you want, but all of these can be trimmed to size.
Here are photos from our Image Gallery:
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