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.
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Tuesday - May 04, 2010
From: Austin, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Shade Tolerant
Title: Need plants with red flowers to grow in shaded area in yard in Austin.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
I have a shaded area where all the shrubs die. I would like to plant some flowers there instead of shrubs. What red flower plants can sustain a lot of shade.ANSWER:
You might want to explore what factors are causing the death of your shrubs: too wet, too dry, too shady? What kind of plants are providing the shade?
In the mean time, let me introduce you to an exercise called "Combination Search". Go to our Native Plant Database and scroll down to the Combination Search window. Select Texas under Select State, Herb under Habit, and Perennial under Duration. Under light requirement, check Part Shade or Shade (which ever applies); check Dry under soil moisture; and check red under flower color. Click the "Submit combination Search" button and you will get a list of plants from our NPIN data base with images that match these characteristics. By clicking on the name of each plant, you will pull up its NPIN page that contains descriptions of the plants along with growth requirements as well as more images. You can generate other lists by changing the choice in the categories.
Here is a short list of red-flowered plants that I found.
Aquilegia canadensis (red columbine)
Nyctaginia capitata (devil's bouquet)
Salvia roemeriana (cedar sage)
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (wax mallow) aka. Turk's Cap
More Shade Tolerant Questions
Native grasses for shade for Austin
September 21, 2009 - I just read with interest your article on multi-species native lawns. However, I believe the suggested grasses don't grow well in the shade, is this true. Are there any suggestions for native (mult...
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Native plants with little sun and northern exposure for New York
April 26, 2006 - I live in a co-op and want to fix up the backyard. The backyard area has a west area to plant with a northern exposure and little sun and I am looking to plant something to cover the area. I would lik...
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Shade trees not invasive to foundations and driveways
August 02, 2009 - I am in zone 9. What shade trees can I plant that will not be invasive to foundations or driveways?
Thank you,
Mr. Smarty Plants
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Turks cap not blooming in Austin
June 03, 2008 - Why is my Turks Cap not blooming? It gets about an hour of sun in the morning, then shade for the rest of the day.
It gets watered with the sprinkler system that waters our lawn.
view the full question and answer
Grass to grow in the shade of pecan tree
December 10, 2008 - Dear Mr. Smarty Pants,
We have an enormous pecan tree in our backyard that had grass underneath the breadth of the branches, but not around the trunk. The grass isn't doing well (though we did fai...
view the full question and answer
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