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
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

rate this answer

Friday - March 15, 2013
From: Waco, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Lists, Groundcovers, Shade Tolerant, Grasses or Grass-like
Title: Shade Tolerant Grasses and Groundcovers for Waco TX
Answered by: Brigid & Larry Larson
QUESTION:
What is the best shade-tolerant grass? What is the best shade-tolerant ground cover?ANSWER:
Mr Smarty Plants thinks “best” is a bit too dependent on what you want from the grass or groundcover to just give you an answer and think it would be definitive. Of course, you have required “shade-tolerant” and as you asked “Mr Smarty Plants” – The Wildlflower Centers bias towards native plant solutions will be considered necessary.
A good start is to consider our “Recommended” collections. It turns out – We actually do have a collection for "Plants for Dry Shade in Central Texas". Of course, this list has all sorts of plants, not just grasses and ground-covers, but you can then limit the selection to those and review the results.
Another of my favorite ways is to scan the previous Mr Smarty Plants answers. Interestingly, there seem to be none from Waco specifically, but then there are lots from Texas towns that are middlin’ close.
Groundcover for vineyard from Round Rock, TX
Plants under Oak Trees in Austin TX
Groundcovers for Kingsland TX
Native replacement for non-native Bermudagrass in Leander TX
Native turf grasses for shady lawn
Tough grasses for shade
Shade tolerant groundcover plants for Tarrant County, Texas
Native grasses for shady yard in Austin
Native grasses or sedges for a border in Texas
There’s lots of additional information in those, but scanning them for consistency, the most recommended grasses are Carex planostachys (Cedar sedge) and Carex texensis (Texas sedge), and the most recommended ground-covers are Calyptocarpus vialis (Straggler daisy) and Phyla nodiflora (Texas frogfruit). That should give you the spirit of "most popular"!
Hope this is usefull! MSP
From the Image Gallery
More Plant Lists Questions
Small Tree for Texas Garden
November 06, 2014 - I would like to plant a small tree just 3-4 feet from my house, but I don't want to damage the foundation. Is there a small fruit or nut tree I could plant that would fit the bill? Failing that, is t...
view the full question and answer
Groundcovers for Miami, FL
November 10, 2011 - I live in Miami, Florida. I have a medium size Bismarck Palm in my front yard. What would be a good ground cover other than grass around this palm?
view the full question and answer
Is there a recommended list for Texas Eastern Cross Timbers?
August 29, 2011 - Is there a recommended list for Texas Eastern Cross Timbers?
view the full question and answer
Salt tolerant plants for shade in wet Florida site
June 24, 2012 - We live in north Florida and have an area that nothing will grow there, it is about 12 ft. long and very wet due to neighbors sprinklers. It is shaded and gets brackish water. Only 400 yards from oc...
view the full question and answer
Listings of the native plants in Texas
September 15, 2006 - What are the native plants in the state of Texas?
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |