Native Plants

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Tuesday - August 14, 2012

From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Container Gardens, Cacti and Succulents, Shrubs
Title: Plants for big pots by pool in Austin
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

Could you please suggest some plants to put in big pots out by my pool? They will get lots of heat and sun. Thanks.

ANSWER:

I'm not sure how big "big" is. Are the pots 10 gallon pots, 50 gallon pots, 100 gallon pots? It is important that you match the size of the pot to the size of the plant you want to grow in it. You should read our How-to Article, CONTAINER GARDENING WITH NATIVE PLANTS, for important advice on growing plants in containers. I also suggest that you read the answer to a previous question about plants for a 100-gallon pot by pool in Ft. Worth. Not only will the plants for your pots need to survive the heat and the sun in the summertime, but they will also need to withstand the winter cold temperatures. With these cautions in mind, here are several plants of various sizes that should fill the bill:

Hesperaloe parviflora (Red yucca) is evergreen and both heat and cold tolerant. The flower stalks are 5 feet tall.

Nolina texana (Texas sacahuista) is evergreen and both heat and cold tolerant. It is 1.5 to 2.5 feet tall.

Sabal minor (Dwarf palmetto) is evergreen and both heat and cold tolerant. It can grow 6 to 10 feet tall.

Chrysactinia mexicana (Damianita) is a smaller (1 to 2 feet) evergreen plant that is very drought-tolerant.

Dasylirion texanum (Texas sotol) is evergreen and both heat and cold tolerant. It is 1.5 to 2.5 feet tall for leaf structure and the flower stalk can be 9 to 15 feet tall.

Leucophyllum frutescens (Cenizo) is evergreen and grows to 5 feet.