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
Not Yet Rated

Wednesday - January 25, 2012

From: Spring, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Lists, Drought Tolerant, Shrubs, Trees, Wildflowers
Title: Drought resistant flowering plants for Spring, TX
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Hi Mr. Smarty Pants. I live in Spring Tx. and wanted to plant a garden in my front yard. I'm looking for flowering plants that are colorful, easy to manage, and drought resistant but so far can't find any that have all the qualities listed above. Can you help me?

ANSWER:

Please take advantage of our Texas-East Recommended list (since Spring is in Harris County in that region) to look for plants that fit your criteria.  That list contains 133 native plants that are commercially available for landscaping in your area.   You can use the NARROW YOUR SEARCH option to choose various criteria, e.g., General Appearance, Light Requirement, Soil Moisture, etc., to customize your search.  For instance, if you NARROW YOUR SEARCH by choosing "Herb" from General Appearance and "Dry" from Soil Moisture, you will narrow the list to 26 choices.   All these wildflower species are listed as growing in dry soil; however, not all the species have an entry for Drought Tolerance under the Growing Conditions category. The following ones, though, are listed as having "High" drought tolerance:

Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow)

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed) which is listed under "Growing Conditions" as having "High" drought tolerance.

Echinacea pallida (Pale purple coneflower)

Liatris pycnostachya (Prairie blazing star)

Ratibida columnifera (Mexican hat)

Rudbeckia hirta (Black-eyed susan)

If you do a similar search using "Shrub" under General Appearance, none of the resulting species has a Drought Tolerance entry to tell us whether it is high, medium or low; but they all will grow in dry soil.  Here are several from that are colorful and easy to grow:

Erythrina herbacea (Coralbean)

Lantana urticoides (Texas lantana)

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (Turk's cap or turkscap)

Rhus glabra (Smooth sumac) with dark red fruit and beautiful red/orange fall foliage

Using "Tree" as a search element gives you:

Cercis canadensis var. texensis (Texas redbud) listed as "Medium, High" for drought tolerance

Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon) is listed under Conditions Comments as being drought tolerant.  The female plants produce bright red berries that persist over the winter and attract birds.

 

From the Image Gallery


Common yarrow
Achillea millefolium

Butterflyweed
Asclepias tuberosa

Pale purple coneflower
Echinacea pallida

Prairie blazing star
Liatris pycnostachya

Mexican hat
Ratibida columnifera

Coralbean
Erythrina herbacea

Texas lantana
Lantana urticoides

Turk's cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii

Smooth sumac
Rhus glabra

Texas redbud
Cercis canadensis var. texensis

Yaupon
Ilex vomitoria

More Drought Tolerant Questions

Deer resistant, drought- and shade-tolerant plant for Pennsylvania
August 14, 2012 - Hello, I need a deer/drought resistant, shade tolerant, rocky soil perennial. I would like it to have some winter appeal. I live outside of Philadelphia, PA. Thank you so much for your time...
view the full question and answer

Privacy screen for Sedona AZ
August 02, 2013 - I live In Sedona Az. A builder just built a house next to my house and the new house is ugly to look at. What plant or tree would grow fast and reach 18 foot in height fast. It can be about 5 to 6 foo...
view the full question and answer

Groundcover for clay soil in Southern California
August 08, 2012 - I live in Southern California and have hard packed clay soil in my yard. Could you recommend ground cover that would be green, low to the ground, require little water and survive in clay? I can't a...
view the full question and answer

Plants for a hillside in WI
February 18, 2012 - I live in Wisconsin and am currently doing a research project on plant variation on the north and south sides of a hill. I was wondering you could suggest any books to me that would address this issue...
view the full question and answer

Eight Foot Screen for Austin, TX
September 01, 2011 - I'm looking for a fast-growing shrub to "extend" the height of my fence and provide privacy in my yard in Austin. My lot is pretty much full sun and very dry, mostly clay soil. 8' is my goal. Than...
view the full question and answer

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