Growing Native Plants in Texas: The Why and The How of It
Do you want to begin growing native plants? You can start your native plant garden with only a few native plants. Or, if you already have a garden or landscape, you can begin adding native plants a little at a time to them.
Katy Prairie Conservancy, now the Coastal Prairie Conservancy, and the Native Prairie Association of Texas, began a program for people wanting to begin a native plant garden, but not knowing where to start. They held a competition to come up with 9 of the best plants to grow for those who were beginning their exploration of native plants. The competition resulted in these 9 plants:
Little Bluestem, a native grass (Schizachyrium scoparium)
Spiderwort (Tradescantia spp)
Beebalm (Monarda spp)
Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
Indian blanket (Gaillardia pulchella)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Red salvia (Salvia coccinea)
Gulf muhly (Muhlenburgia capillaris)
Texas bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis)
To look for more information about growing native plants and the 9 native program, which now includes 9 natives for sun and 9 natives for shade go to https://www.coastalprairieconservancy.org/9-natives
The 9 natives are just a few of the great natives that you can start with in your native plant garden. In our Easy Native Plant Garden plot at Seabourne Creek Nature Park we have added Texas lantana and Texas coneflower to the original 9. We also have a great groundcover called sensitive briar (Mimosa latidens) Its pink flowers attract bees. Finding out which native plants you like and what wildlife they attract is a fun journey.
Native plants grow well in our environment as they developed in this area for 1000s of years and are adapted to the weather and soil conditions, as well as other factors.
Doug Tallamy, an entomology professor and native plant advocate has started what he calls The Homegrown National Park. His sentinel book, “Bringing Nature Home” chronicled his journey reconstructing a native landscape on his property. He emphasizes how important it is to grow native plants. You can check out his organization by going to https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ and put your native garden on the map.
Native plants support wildlife which is necessary for the existence of humans. Growing native plants in your yard or landscape provides a bridge for wildlife that has been disrupted by agriculture and human development.
Although you cannot find many native plants at commercial nurseries, there are several places to find them. The following are good suppliers for native plants.
- Houston Audubon Native plant Nursery https://houstonaudubon.org/conservation/bird-friendly-communities/nursery.html
- Morning Star Prairie Plants https://morningstarprairieplants.com/
- Spring and Fall plant sales from the Houston Arboretum https://houstonarboretum.org/plant-sales/
- Spring and Fall plants sales from the Clear Lake Native Plant Society https://www.npsot.org/chapters/clearlake/
- Wildscapes which is a workshop put on by the Houston Native Plant Society offers plants at this great event. Look for this in September. https://www.npsot.org/chapters/houston/programs/wildscapes-workshop/
- Buchanon’s Native Plants in Houston https://buchanansplants.com/
- Joshua’s Native Plants and Garden Antiques https://www.joshuasnativeplants.net/
Growing native plants is a great way to contribute to the environment, provide a corridor for wildlife and enjoy the different seasons of native plants. One thing to remember is that most native plants have different blooming seasons so you need to plant for the different seasons. There are spring bloomers, summer bloomers, and fall bloomers.
To find when the blooming season is for native plants you can go to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website at https://www.wildflower.org/plants/ You can enter in the common or scientific name for the plant that you want to put in your garden. It will also give you more information about the plant, including what wildlife it attracts.
Other sites where you can use to find out about native plants are:
- The Missouri Bontanical Garden https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/plantfindersearch.aspx
- USDA https://plants.usda.gov/home
- The Biota of North America Program (BONAP) http://www.bonap.org/
- The Native Plant Society of Texas Houston https://www.npsot.org/chapters/houston/