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Friday - February 04, 2011

From: Canyon lake, TX
Region: Select Region
Topic: Butterfly Gardens
Title: Butterfly/hummingbird garden plants for Hill Country, TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

What drought resistant plants would you recommend for a Hill Country butterfly/hummingbird garden that receives at least a half day of sun? It has afternoon exposure.

ANSWER:

We have two lists, found on our Recommended Species page, that are tailored for your requirements. The first is Hummingbird Plants for Central Texas. There were 30 plants on this list; after we specified "herb" (herbaceous blooming plant) under General Appearance, and "part shade" (2 to 6 hours daily of sun) under Light Requirements, there were 10 plants suggested that should attract hummingbirds for your garden. Using the instructions above for generating the list, follow the plant link to our webpage on each plant. This page will tell you the expected size of the plant, what pollinators it attracts, how much sunlight it needs daily, soil and moisture it prefers, and color and time of bloom.

Next, let us send you to our article on Hill Country Horticulture, which is actually a list of plants recommended for use in this area. Since the Hill Country is mostly in need of drought-resistant plants, that is going to be a good place to start. There were are 430 plants on that list; to narrow it down, we selected on "herb" for General Appearance, and "part shade" for Light Requirements. This yielded a list of 146 plants. As with the first list, reading each plant page will give you more information. Obviously, there will be some overlap between the two lists, and you can also find shrubs, using the same search method, that will serve your purpose.

Our list below is not necessarily generated from either list, but plants we know from personal experience will grow well in the Hill Country, are native to Texas and attract pollinators.

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterflyweed)

Bignonia capreolata (Crossvine)

Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (Turk's cap or turkscap)Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (Flame acanthus)

Lantana urticoides (Texas lantana)

Salvia greggii (Autumn sage)

Salvia coccinea (Scarlet sage)

Erythrina herbacea (Coralbean)

Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii (Flame acanthus)

From our Native Plant Image Gallery: