Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

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.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Share

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.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
2 ratings

Wednesday - July 13, 2011

From: Las Vegas, NV
Region: Rocky Mountain
Topic: Plant Identification, Shrubs
Title: Identification of shrub with purple flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Large purple flower shrub, flowers are on long stems. Round flowers with green leaves on the stalks, used as front yard landscaping in a new house in Las Vegas NV. Very drought tolerant, shrub grows to at least 3 feet high. Looks somewhat similar to purple amaranth but purple flowers are at the end of large stalks. Flowers turn a dull purple during summer but do not dry out and fall off. Looking for name of shrub, we want to know if we should cut off the old flowers to promote new ones or just leave the flowers alone.

ANSWER:

In our Native Plant Database I did a COMBINATION SEARCH choosing "Nevada" from the Select State or Province option, "Shrub" from Habit (general appearance) and "Violet", "Purple", "Blue" and "Pink" from Bloom Characteristics–Bloom Color.  I did two more searches substituting "Subshrub" and "Herb" for "Shrub" in the search.  Unfortunately, I could find nothing that matched your description.  That, plus the fact that you describe it as a landscape plant, makes me believe that it is probably a non-native ornamental plant.  Our focus and expertise here at the Wildflower Center are with plants native to North America so we can't really identify or tell you too much about non-natives.  However, you can visit our Plant Identification page to find links to several plant identification forums that can help identify plants, both native and non-native.   If you have a photo, you can send it to one of these for identification.  Another possibility is to try contacting the Southern Area Master Gardener Program of the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.  If it is a fairly common landscaping plant in Las Vegas, someone with the Master Gardener program is likely to know its name.

 

More Shrubs Questions

What causes rock rose branches to snap off?
August 30, 2013 - my small texas rock rose branches keep snapping in the center. What is causing this and what can I do?
view the full question and answer

Evergreen shrub for northwest-facing wall
June 09, 2012 - Can you suggest a tall (8-10') evergreen shrub for a site against a northwest-facing wall which gets no sun in the winter but full sun in the summer? Texas sage got too leggy and viburnum will be to...
view the full question and answer

Reducing the Height of a Redbud Tree
January 23, 2016 - We have a very large, about 15-year old, Redbud tree that is growing so tall it's obstructing our view of the river. How and when can we prune this tree back so it does not hurt the tree.
view the full question and answer

Yellowing of leaves in Texas Mountain Laurel from Austin
June 25, 2012 - I planted a Texas Mountain Laurel in my Austin, TX yard this January. The tree was good sized (about 5 feet tall) when I planted it. Recently the leaves of the tree have started to turn yellow alon...
view the full question and answer

Plants for Georgetown with shade in the AM and sun in the PM
September 30, 2015 - Hi, I live in Georgetown and I would like a recommendation for plants (shrubs and flowering perennials) that can handle deep shade until 1 or 2 pm and then have full sun blasting them til sun down. T...
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.