Native Plants

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Monday - February 07, 2011

From: North Richland Hills, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Looking for a shrub to provide shade to the west side of a home in Ft. Worth, TX
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

We are on a corner lot and are looking for a tall tree or shrub to block the west side of our house. There is only a 5 foot area space between the sidewalk and side driveway where we want to plant the tree/shrub. We would like something that will not bother the foundation yet provide ample shade upon maturity due to the fact that we live in the Fort Worth, Texas area.

ANSWER:

Putting a tree in that small space could have two possible outcomes: 1) a poorly growing tree, or 2) a healthy tree but cracked sidewalk and driveway. (actually, there are probably more possibilities).

This link from the Texas Forest Service has good information about selecting tree sizes and their space requirements.

An alternative is to plant shrubs that will grow to sufficient size to shade the west side of the house, but have a less extensive root system than a tree. I have a short list for your consideration of both evergreen shrubs and deciduos shrubs. The deciduous shrubs will provide cover for the house during the summer, but allow the sun to warm the side of the house once their leaves are gone.

Rhus virens (Evergreen sumac) evergreen

Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon) evergreen

Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle) evergreen

Rhus glabra (Smooth sumac) deciduous

Castanea pumila (Chinkapin) deciduous (more pictures)

Ilex decidua (Possumhaw) deciduous

For more choices, go to the Native Plant Database and check it out. After clicking on the link, scroll down to the Combination Search Box, and make the following selections: choose Texas under State, Shrub under Habit, and Perrenial under Duration. Check Sun under Light requirement, and Dry under Soil moisture. Click the "Submit combination Search" button and you will get a list of 87 native species occurring in Texas that meet these parameters. Clicking on the name of each plant will bring up its NPIN database page that contains the plant's characteristics, its growth requirements as well as pictures.

A third alternative is to plant a vine on a trellis. A deciduous vine would also allow the winter sun to shine through to warm the wall of the house. To look at choices, go back to the Combination Search Box on the Native Plant Database page. This time choose Vine under habit, leaving all of the other choices the same, click the "Submit combination Search" button, and you will get a list of 14 plants that match the parameters.

For additional help, contact the folks at the Tarrant County Office of Texas AgriLife Extension.

Rhus virens

Ilex vomitoria

Morella cerifera

Rhus glabra