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
Tuesday - March 19, 2013
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Erosion Control, Shade Tolerant
Title: How to stabilize a slope under Red Oaks?
Answered by: Joe Marcus
QUESTION:
A portion our front "yard" (20x40 feet) is a limestone hillside shaded by 3 large spanish oaks. The small amount of grass holding onto the hillside is now gone from the drought, and the hill has eroded down to rock and roots. My questions are: 1. How to stabilize the slope without damaging the tree roots; eg, if terrace, how deep can topsoil be added; use of rock versus soil/mulch; mesh or other means to keep the soil in place. 2. Once the hillside is stablilized, what drought resistant grass or plants can tolerate full shade and require little maintenance. Thank you for any help!ANSWER:
With more than 8000 questions and answers (as of March 20, 2013) published in Ask Mr. Smarty Plants, many questions have been answered already. A particularly good answer to a recent question covers most of your issues regarding shade-tolerant ground-covers.
Terracing is an effective way to reintroduce soil to an eroded slope. The amount of soil you can add will depend on what you wish to keep growing there. In general, you should add no more than one inch of soil around the trunk of trees or shrubs. However away from the trunk and especially down hill from a tree, the soil can be deeper. Terraces on steep slopes usually require construction of retaining walls using rocks, masonry or timbers.
For complex projects, we recommend hiring a licensed landscape architect or a certified landscape professional.
More Shade Tolerant Questions
Austin Shade Plants for Pots
March 28, 2010 - I live in a condo in Austin Texas so I don't have any flower beds or yard space. I would like to put a few large pots of plants and flowers on my front patio but it's mostly shaded during the day. W...
view the full question and answer
Vines for shade in Central Texas
February 04, 2008 - We'd like to fill in our long expanse of yard fencing with climbing vines. We are limited by 40' live oaks that cut off the sun but surely something works in the shade and heat!
view the full question and answer
Shade tree with no roots to interfere with patio in Lake City FL
April 24, 2011 - I have a 4x4 area surrounded by cement patio but would like a tree for shade that does not have roots that will mess up the slab.
view the full question and answer
Plants for shade
August 19, 2008 - I live in hot, humid Houston and the tree coverage of my yard is nearly 100 percent (so, little sunlight reaches the ground). Can you suggest a plant or two that would thrive in these conditions?
view the full question and answer
Need plants with red flowers to grow in shaded area in yard in Austin.
May 04, 2010 - I have a shaded area where all the shrubs die. I would like to plant some flowers there instead of shrubs. What red flower plants can sustain a lot of shade.
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |