Native Plants

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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.

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Friday - March 19, 2010

From: Sweetwater, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Grasses or Grass-like, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Plants for yard in Sweetwater, Texas
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

What plants or grass would you suggest for an area that that is located on the east side of our house - full sun morning through noon, then it's shaded the remainder of the day.. Thanks!!

ANSWER:

Mr. Smarty Plants suggests that you visit our Recommended Species page and select the Texas High Plains from the map or from the pull-down menu to find a list of commercially available native plants that are recommended for landscaping in your area. You can limit that list by various criteria—in your case, in the NARROW YOUR SEARCH column, choose "Part Shade" from the LIGHT REQUIREMENT option.

From that list, here are some grasses that should do well:

Bouteloua curtipendula (sideoats grama)

Pascopyrum smithii (western wheatgrass)

Poa arachnifera (Texas bluegrass)

Sorghastrum nutans (Indiangrass)

Here are some shrubs/small trees:

Amorpha canescens (leadplant)

Diospyros texana (Texas persimmon)

Rhus microphylla (littleleaf sumac)

Zinnia grandiflora (Rocky Mountain zinnia)

Finally, here are some showy herbaceous perennials or annuals:

Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)