Native Plants
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.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Wednesday - December 19, 2012
From: The Woodlands(Spring), TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant, Shrubs
Title: Shrub for mostly shaded area in The Woodlands TX
Answered by: Joan Singh and Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
What large shrub will grow in a partially shaded to mostly shaded tree area in The Woodlands(Spring), Texas which is north of Houston, Texas between Houston and Conroe? The Woodlands is in the very southern tip of the Piney Woods region of Texas. Houston is in the northern part of the Gulf Region of Texas.ANSWER:
We are familiar with the area of The Woodlands. It is right on the border between two ecoregions: Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes and Pineywoods. Follow these links to the pages on those ecoregions, read the description of the soils and climate and you will find characteristics that fit where you are. Using the sidebar on the right side of the page on each, we will search on "shrub" for Habit, both "part shade" (2 to 6 hours of sunlight a day) and "shade" (less than 2 hours of sun a day" under Light Requirements. From those two lists, we will select some suggestions. You can follow each plant link to our webpage on that shrub to discover its expected mature size, what kind of soil it likes (which you should have because of where you are gardening), and how much moisture it requires. We will check that each plant we suggest does appear in the area of Montgomery County.
From the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes List:
Aesculus pavia var. pavia (Scarlet buckeye)
Aloysia gratissima (Whitebrush)
Amorpha fruticosa (Indigo bush)
Calylophus berlandieri ssp. pinifolius (Berlandier's sundrops)
Erythrina herbacea (Coralbean)
From the Pineywoods List:
Callicarpa americana (American beautyberry)
Ceanothus americanus (New jersey tea)
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (Coralberry)
Several of these shrubs appear on both lists; we have listed the duplicates only in the first list. You may rerun these searches to see if you can find others that you prefer. If you have difficulty finding your selected shrubs from our database, go to our National Suppliers Directory, put your town and state or just your zip code in the "Enter Search Location" and you will get a list of native plant nurseries, seed companies and consultants in your general area. They all have contact information so you can inquire as to availability before you start driving.
From the Image Gallery
More Shrubs Questions
Getting rid of non-native, invasive English Ivy from Davidsonville MD
March 19, 2014 - Just moved and need to rid the well established Ivy planted on the steep slope area around the back and side of the house as it is taking over the bushes on the top and trees in forested area at botto...
view the full question and answer
Evergreen shrubs for privacy in Merced County California
September 11, 2009 - Mr. Smarty,
A main road will be moving closer to our home in the next two years. A chain link fence will be put in but we would like to start planting now for privacy. We would appreciate any ide...
view the full question and answer
How to correct Anacacho leaves that are turning brown and curling in Driftwood, TX?
May 11, 2012 - Anacacho lunarioides leaves are turning brown and curling,how do I correct?
view the full question and answer
Lantanas with brown leaves
December 18, 2008 - I have several lantana plants here in Austin, TX. They did extremely well all summer long up until our first freeze. It looks like they have all died. Are they just dormant or are they dead? Their lea...
view the full question and answer
Western Poison Oak Sap Transfer
January 26, 2016 - My partner is a park ranger and constantly exposed to poison oak. He gets infected sometimes but mostly seems to tolerate it pretty well. I, on the other hand, keep getting reinfected with it, all ove...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |