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 - June 13, 2008
From: Las Cruces, NM
Region: Southwest
Topic: Privacy Screening, Shrubs, Trees
Title: Evergreen plants for a windbreak
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Our church has need to plant a windbreak. We would like fast growing native plants, preferably evergreen or really early 'leafers' to protect us from our windy season beginning in mid/late February.ANSWER:
Here are several evergreen or semi-evergreen shrubs native to New Mexico that should work well. To see more possibilities visit the Recommended Species page and click on New Mexico on the map for a list of commercially available native plant species suitable for landscaping.
Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush) evergreen
Atriplex canescens (fourwing saltbush) semi-evergreen
Cercocarpus montanus (alderleaf mountain mahogany) almost evergreen
Fendlera rupicola (cliff fendlerbush) deciduous to semi-evergreen
Fraxinus greggii (Gregg's ash) almost evergreen
Juniperus scopulorum (Rocky Mountain juniper) evergreen, small tree to 40 feet
Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) evergreen
Pinus edulis (twoneedle pinyon) evergreen, small tree 10-30 feet
Yucca elata (soaptree yucca) evergreen
Yucca torreyi (Torrey's yucca) evergreen
From the Image Gallery
More Trees Questions
Smarty Plants on arborvitaes
March 28, 2005 - Hello,
I live in Allentown, PA and have a 7-foot arborvitae shrub in my backyard, planted in the corner of the yard where a wood fence intersects with the brick wall of the garage. I have had ma...
view the full question and answer
Mixed native plantings for steep slope in Austin
April 18, 2007 - Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: We wrote to you recently about plantings for a fairly steep slope in a park in Austin. We had asked about grasses and perennials. An article about planting on slopes in this mo...
view the full question and answer
Moving a red oak away from the house foundation
January 24, 2008 - About a 3 weeks ago I noticed a 5 ft. red oak growing in my flower bed. I hadn't noticed it growing up through my shrubs until the leaves turned bright red. The problem is that its coming up about tw...
view the full question and answer
Suffering Yaupon in Austin
July 14, 2012 - I am in the Austin area and I planted a Pride of Houston Yaupon in my back yard in March. It is in full sun. Lately the leaves have been turning pale green and now they fall off the tree upon touchi...
view the full question and answer
Failure of flameleaf sumacs to produce fruit
January 09, 2013 - Our two flame leaf sumacs produce none to little fruit. Both are about 4 years old, quite large, healthy looking; flowering this year was very good, but no fruit. What keeps them from producing fruit?
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |