Native Plants
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Thursday - August 28, 2008
From: San Marcos, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Native evergreen for shade
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
Hi, I am looking for a plant that is evergreen (or semi evergreen), native to central Texas, and shade tolerant. This is for a Wildscape area in San Marcos. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks!ANSWER:
Here are some evergreen and semi-evergreen plants that will tolerate part shade (2-6 hours of sunlight/day) and a few will tolerate shade (<2 hours of sunlight/day).Vines:
Lonicera sempervirens (trumpet honeysuckle) semi-evergreen, sun and part shade
Gelsemium sempervirens (evening trumpetflower) evergreen, sun and part shade
Bignonia capreolata (crossvine) semi-evergreen, sun and part shade
Shrubs/Small Trees:
Sophora secundiflora (Texas mountain-laurel) evergreen, sun and part shade
Ilex vomitoria (yaupon) evergreen, part shade
Mahonia trifoliolata (agarita) evergreen, sun and part shade
Morella cerifera (wax myrtle) evergreen, sun and part shade
Rhus virens (evergreen sumac) evergreen, sun and part shade
Leucophyllum frutescens (Texas barometer bush) evergreen, sun and part shade
Herbaceous plants:
Calyptocarpus vialis (straggler daisy) semi-evergreen, sun, part shade and shade
Phyla nodiflora (turkey tangle fogfruit) semi-evergreen, sun and part shade
Grasses and sedges:
Carex texensis (Texas sedge) evergreen, sun and part shade
Carex planostachys (cedar sedge) evergreen, part shade
There are several grasses that aren't evergreen, but they are still attractive when they begin to brown. For example:
Chasmanthium latifolium (Inland sea oats) part shade and shade
Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye) sun, part shade and shade
Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) sun and part shade
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