Native Plants

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Thursday - February 02, 2012

From: Sumner, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Planting, Wildflowers
Title: Best wildflowers for Lamar County TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

What are the best wildflowers for northeast Tx? We live right below the Red River just north of Paris. Can they only be planted by seed in the fall? Thank you.

ANSWER:

On our Recommended Species page is a group of plant lists for Texas Ecoregions, under "Just for Texans." You are in the Pineywoods, according to the area map on the first page of that list. We will sort on "herbs," which includes wildflowers. It could be sorted even more by desired height, bloom time and/or color, etc., but for now, we will just select what we consider the best native wildflowers for that area. You can then follow each plant link to our webpage on that plant and find out what its light requirements, soils, and water needs are, along with size and bloom color. You can make a sort of your own, picking some you like better. Another source of information, as well as seeds, is from Native American Seeds, which designates your area as the right place to plant the Caddo Mix of seeds. There will be duplication on the two lists, but it will help you get more information about what you need. NAS also can help you estimate how many seeds you need for a certain area.

We find that the best idea for planting and managing wildflowers is the meadow garden. Our How-To Article on Meadow Gardening is very complete with instructions on when, where, what and how to plant. Concerning your question about when to plant, here is an extract from that article:

"WHEN TO PLANT

Fall is the best time to plant many native species in Texas. Some seeds need a chilling period (cold stratification) to break their dormancy, while others have hard seed coats that need to be worn down or scarified before they can germinate. Sowing seeds in the fall often provides the conditions necessary to break seed dormancy. Warm, wet, spring weather then induces the seeds to germinate. Ideally, native seeds should be planted following nature's seeding schedule."

Wildflowers for East Texas:

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed)

Echinacea purpurea (Eastern purple coneflower)

Eryngium leavenworthii (Leavenworth's eryngo)

Euphorbia marginata (Snow on the mountain)

Gaillardia pulchella (Firewheel)

Helianthus angustifolius (Swamp sunflower)

Ipomopsis rubra (Standing cypress)

Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal flower)

Monarda citriodora (Lemon beebalm)

Oenothera speciosa (Pink evening primrose)

Phlox drummondii (Annual phlox)