Native Plants

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Tuesday - July 12, 2011

From: Plano, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Container Gardens
Title: Native Plants for North Texas Container
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson

QUESTION:

What would you recommend for a large permanent plant for a large container (3' X 3') for Plano, Texas in the sun?

ANSWER:

Mr Smarty Plants is really big on natives, even for container gardening, but do realize that this is a different situation from the normal for the plants and for your plan to care for them. A good primer for considerations for container gardening is available in the “How To Articles“ on this website.

So, what to put in the container? Here is a list of recommended species tuned to North Texas. It can be sorted by size. I think <1 ft plants will be too small for the container. A mix of 1ft plants might be nice and individuals of 6 ft plants will be of good proportions. Plants that are much larger than that will soon be too big for the container.

The full list is available to you. So you can go directly to selecting your own by bringing up the recommended plant list and doing the sort.

My personal preference would be a yucca or bunchgrass that retains their configuration interest through the year.

Hesperaloe parviflora (Red yucca)

Muhlenbergia reverchonii (Seep muhly)

Yucca rupicola (Twistleaf yucca)

Muhlenbergia lindheimeri (Lindheimer's muhly)

And for 6 ft individual plants, Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry) is one that has longer term visual interest. An attractive groundcover for single plants in a pot would be Dichondra argentea (Silver ponyfoot).

For 1 ft Plants, here are some flowering perennials that are at their peak from spring into summer, they might make an atractive mix, but the fall and winter will be less interesting

Callirhoe digitata (Finger poppy-mallow)

Engelmannia peristenia (Engelmann's daisy)

Melampodium leucanthum (Blackfoot daisy)