favorite landscaping plants? My son is a new homeowner and needs some ideas. I thought - what better place to ask than DG. He has some mature trees and some groundcover out front. In the back is pretty shady , especially around the pool. He is a total newbie, so ease of maintenance would be appreciated. What works best for you? When is the best time to plant - spring or fall? I am flying out late Mayand would love to be able to help him.
Thank you for all your ideas. I know I can count on you.
Jan
Houston area gardeners - What are your favo.....
Some of my favorites are Knockout roses, Louisiana iris, vitex, day lilies, bat face cuphea, Mexican flame vine, coral vine, hummingbird bush (hamelia patens), hibiscus, chinese finge flower, copper plant, crinum, coreopsis, east friesland salvia, brugmansia, tea olive and esperanza. These are all easy care tough plants. Some will freeze to the ground (brugmansia and hummingbird bush specifically), but have always come back from the roots for me, even with the past two really cold winters.
You can see pics of all these and others that I grow in my DG garden journal if you'd like.
Crow
Crow, I enjoyed looking through your journal, especially your comments about how different plants were working or not. Appreciate your pics, too.
This should be helpful to us. Thanks.
Hopefully more DGers will pipe in with their choices as well. The more the merrier!!!
The ones that I love that give a good show and require little care (well, MY favs):
Azaleas, Esperanza, Rosemary, Salvia, Texas Sage, Lantana, Daylilies
Congrats to your son on his new house!
He's also lucky to have a mom like you to help.
Enjoy your visit.
Thanks, Cajun2. Appreciate your input.
First of all, you need to say where he lives in Houston. Houston has a variety of soils, some of which require extraordinary amounts of labor to grow certain plants. For example, I live in a part of Bellaire where growing acid-loving plants require extra effort. Soils around the River Oaks area (and elsewhere) can be sandy, and slightly acid. I'm on an ancient sea bed which consists of pure gumbo which is slightly alkaline. If he lives north of Houston, he has it easier. If he lives out in the west . . . . near Katy . . .welcome to the world of gumbo. It partly depends on which bayou is near him and from what area of Texas it drains.
You also need to consider the amount of sun. If he's in a new neighborhood, esperanza will do well; if he's in an older neighborhood with lots of large trees, not so much. I've had to cut down on the number of old garden roses due to my huge live oak trees. I've found my crinums like some afternoon shade, but this is a great plant anywhere.
And, then there are disease issues. Few landscapers plant daylilies anymore due to the viral disease that plagues them which came here several years ago from Florida. I had gorgeous hybrids, including tetraploids, losing every single cultivar but two to this problem. I've thrown out hundreds of daylilies because they were too "ill" to give away. Some people say that the daylilies keep blooming . . . . but they look TERRIBLE most of the time and each year bloom less and less. Some people may not have been affected yet, but my garden definitely was.
I agree with most of the plants recommended by Crowelli, however I lost well-established Hamelia bushes each of the last two years. I'm going to replant, but you can't count on it surviving. My Firespike, Giant Mexican Turk's Cap, and Justicia carnea are returning. The jury is out on Pachystachys lutea (Lollipop Flower), but I'll replace it because it's too popular with hummingbirds to stop growing it. I lost all of my Mexican Flame Vines and Passion Vine 'Alardii' (the only one I consider worth growing), but either have replaced or am in the process of replacing them.
LeslieT
Thanks, Leslie. He is north of Houston
If he's as far as the Woodlands, he may be in Zone 8b, instead of 9a, which makes a little difference in what survives the cold weather. But, odds are he has better soil. One thing he can do is contact the Master Gardener Assn for his area. They should have a list of plants recommended for his specific area. For example, I love going to Mercer and have purchased plants at their sales . . . but, some things do well there, that don't at all down where I am. And, vice versa.
LeslieT
Will check it out, Leslie. Thanks.