Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Two things we want you to know: First, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center recommends only plants native not only to North America but also to the area in which those plants grow naturally; in your case, Washington Co., TX. Such plants will have a better chance of having the right soil, climate and rainfall for their particular requirements. The second thing you should know is that there is no such thing as an "instant" tree. We can certainly find some trees that will have an ultimate height of 30 feet or more, but it will be a number of years before they get that way. And before you say you want fast-growing trees, generally speaking, fast-growing trees are  shorter lived and sometimes more susceptible to damage and breakage of limbs. And they still don't get tall overnight.

For this sort of a problem, we like to offer plants for a mixed screen of trees, shrubs, tall grasses and even herbaceous blooming plants. As these plants grow, they will not only start to screen your view of the barn, but the view the neighbors have of your property. Different textures and sizes, along with seasonal blooms or berries will distract the eye until you hardly notice the barn.

You need to look at the area where your new plantings will be to determine how much sunshine it will get. We consider "sun" to be 6 hours or more of sun a day, "part shade" 2 to 6 hours of sun, and "shade" 2 hours or less. Since you did not specify the amount of sunshine for your space, you will need to follow each plant link on the list we give you to our webpage on that plant to find its best growing conditions.

Many of these plants will be woody plants, trees and shrubs, which should be planted in colder weather (November to January) in Texas. If you must plant them now, do it quickly, preferably in the evening, having the necessary hole already prepared with some compost mixed into the native soil. For each woody plant, stick a hose deep in the prepared soil after planting and let it drip until the surface is damp. In the heat of a Texas summer, you should do this once or twice a week until the plant is well-established, it starts raining or it gets cooler, whichever comes first.

To find these recommended plants, we will go to our Native Plant Database, scroll down to the Combination Search and, using the right hand list, select on Texas for state, "tree" for habit, "dry" for Soil Moisture and 12 to 36 ft. for Height. After making 3 selections from that list, we will make subsequent selections with searches for "shrub," "grass/grass-like," and "herb" for Habit, without specifying heights. Before it goes on our list, we will have checked to ensure that the plant is indeed native to the Washington County area.

Trees

Cercis canadensis var. texensis (Texas redbud)

Cornus drummondii (Roughleaf dogwood)

Ilex opaca (American holly)

Shrubs

Rhus virens (Evergreen sumac)

Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon)

Morella cerifera (Wax myrtle)

Grass/Grass-like

Aristida purpurea (Purple threeawn)

Bothriochloa laguroides ssp. torreyana (Silver beard grass)

Schizachyrium scoparium (Little bluestem)

Herbaceous Blooming Plants

Aphanostephus skirrhobasis (Lazy daisy)

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed)

Centaurea americana (American star-thistle)

There are many more plants in each category in our database; this was just an exercise to help you learn to use the database and make your own selection.

On the subject of plants safe for horses and cattle, here are links to databases to search (by scientific name) for plants poisonous to animals:

The Merck Veterinary Manual

ASPCA   

University of Arkansas 
 
University of Illinois  (common names only)    

Toxic Plants of Texas

Poisonous Plants of North Carolina 

Cornell University Plants Poisonous to Livestock

University of Pennsylvania Poisonous Plants

Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System

California Poison Action Line

FInding the plant listed is a good indication of toxicity. However, not finding the plant listed doesn't guarantee that it is non-toxic, but it increases the probability that it is. It is a good idea to check with your veterinarian.