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 is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Friday - April 24, 2009
From: Llano, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Herbs/Forbs, Shrubs
Title: Native replacement for Mexican heather in Llano, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
Please suggest a native or adaptable alternative plant for Mexican Heather.ANSWER:
Cuphea hyssopifolia, native to Mexico and Guatemala, is an annual or tender perennial sub-shrub. To find a native alternative, we will go to our Recommended Species section, select on Central Texas on the map, and search for annuals or perennials, shrub, sub-shrub or herbaceous flowering plants that can do well in sun or part shade. Nothing we find will be an exact duplicate of Mexican false heather, especially in color, but they will grow in similar environments and be fairly low.
Amblyolepis setigera (huisache daisy) - annual, to 1 ft. tall, blooms yellow March to June, part shade
Chamaecrista fasciculata var. fasciculata (partridge pea) - annual, 1 to 3 ft. tall, blooms yellow May to Oct., sun
Glandularia bipinnatifida var. bipinnatifida (Dakota mock vervain) - annual, to 1 ft., blooms pink, purple March to December, sun, part shade
Monarda citriodora (lemon beebalm) - annual, 1 to 2 ft.tall, blooms white, pink, purple May to July, sun, part shade
Conoclinium coelestinum (blue mistflower) - perennial to 3 ft. tall, blooms blue, purple, July to November, sun, part shade
Melampodium leucanthum (plains blackfoot) - perennial to 1 ft. tall, blooms white March to November, sun, part shade
Tetraneuris scaposa var. scaposa (stemmy four-nerve daisy) - perennial to 1 ft. tall, evergreen, blooms yellow January to December, sun
Wedelia texana (hairy wedelia) - perennial sub-shrub, 1 to 3 ft. tall, yellow May to November, sun, part shade
More Shrubs Questions
Non-native lilacs for Salt Lake City, UT
April 15, 2012 - Is the weather in Salt Lake City UT good enough to plant a lilac bush root? If not, how long should I wait?
view the full question and answer
Pruning practices from Austin
May 16, 2013 - I need to do some pruning in my front beds and I know nothing about plants. From what I have been able to identify I have bicolor irises, plumbago, Japanese Aralia. I don't even know where to begin o...
view the full question and answer
Leucophyllum Resistant to Verticillium Wilt
March 25, 2015 - I need to know which large shrubs are resistant to verticillium wilt? I believe that a few of our Elaeagnus have succumbed to this disease, but being over 15 years old, I am not positive. I am thinki...
view the full question and answer
Need trees & shrubs for a 2.5x45 ft. planter box in Chatsworth. CA.
August 07, 2012 - We recently built a pool in our backyard and need to redo all the landscaping. We have a planter that is 45 feet long and about 2.5 feet wide. We'd like to put some trees in this planter that are n...
view the full question and answer
Need for smaller tree with less invasive roots from Ft. Worth TX
June 07, 2014 - The sycamore in the front yard has developed roots larger than the branches. They have decided that the water and sewer lines are perfect to acquire their water from. For this reason it will be coming...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |