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
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 Grasses or Grass-like Questions
Keeping Bermuda out of Native Turfgrass
May 15, 2011 - We live on zip code 78154. Sadly our yard has bermuda grass–we are using solarization to kill the bermuda and plant seeds of buffalograss/bluegrama/curly-mesquite. All the neighbors have bermuda and ...
view the full question and answer
Difference between Pseudoroegneria spicata and Elymus trachycaulus
May 21, 2007 - What is the difference between Pseudoroegneria spicata and Elymus trachycaulus.
view the full question and answer
Plants to stabilize a bank in VT
April 10, 2012 - I am looking for suggestion on what plants might best be suited for aiding in the stabilization of a very steep bank above Lake Champlain.
view the full question and answer
Holding bare soil before sowing native grasses in spring.
November 03, 2009 - I want to try your buffalo/bluegrama/curly mesquite. Right now my yard is ploughed. What should I do until spring? I assume I should add living compost to the top 3", plant bluegrass for now, and ...
view the full question and answer
Native grasses palatable for horses and eliminating KR bluestem.
January 11, 2008 - Looking for native Texas grasses which are palatable for horses, to overseed in areas which are currently overrun with KR bluestem. What are the best grasses and best way to accomplish this? (SW Gi...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |