Texas Landscapes - Gardening in the Southwest

Growing Native Plants in Southwestern Texas Helps Environment

Sep 14, 2009

Water is precious in the West Texas desert. Growing native plants not only offers beauty, but provides water conservation because the plants are adapted to conditions.

Southwest Texas includes desert and mountains. It is characterized by hot summers and little rainfall. Winters in the mountains can be very cold, by Texas standards. Planting wildflowers, shrubs, and trees that are native to deserts bring gardeners visually pleasing landscapes that respect natural resources.

What to Grow in Southwest Texas Native Gardens

At the lower elevations of Southwest Texas, a landscape gardener can select flowering cactus plants such as the prickly pear, agave, and yucca. The University of Texas in conjunction with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center has a detailed list of recommended landscape flowers and plants for West Texas.

Native trees including Desert Willow and Blue Palo Verde can be integrated with evergreen shrubs and cacti. Desert willow is a small, deciduous tree with long narrow leaves. It flowers from late spring to fall with trumpet-shaped blooms that range from light pink to light violet. It survives well in arid conditions and is considered one of Texas's best small native trees.

At higher elevations, landscape gardeners can safely add coniferous trees including Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir and Juniper. Flowers for high desert landscapes include Coreopsis, Penstemon, Cosmos, Morning Glory, Verbena and several varieties of Salvia. Desert-wise gardening has hundreds of articles relevant to plants and plant care for dry environments such as Southwest Texas.

Planting and Caring for Southwest Texas Landscapes

The best time to plant most flowers, shrubs and trees in Southwestern Texas is in the fall from mid-September through early December. However in high deserts, landscape gardeners may find spring to be a better time to place tender plants.

Dig a hole three times as wide and as deep as the container holding the transplant. Add water to fill the hole so that moisture will be available to the new plant. If the soil around the plant hole has caliche—white calcium carbonate—this needs to be broken up before planting and filling the hole because roots cannot penetrate this concrete-hard substance.

Add organic matter or compost to feed the initial plant growth in poor soils. Gently remove the plant from its pot and untangle the root ball. Place the plant centered in the hole and backfill with local soil that was removed to dig the hole. Firm the soil around the plant and stake trees.

Cacti are treated somewhat differently than other plants being added to the landscape. Usually these plants are removed from their container and allowed to sit un-potted for a few days in a shady location to allow any damaged roots to callus over. Don’t forget to use gloves when planting prickly cacti.

Fertilize new plants lightly and water as needed until the plant is established.

The copyright of the article Texas Landscapes - Gardening in the Southwest in Desert/Water-wise Gardens is owned by Barbara Brown. Permission to republish Texas Landscapes - Gardening in the Southwest in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.