Plants for Texas Rock Gardens or Xeriscapes

I am starting a thread that lists plants that do well or would do well in Texas rock gardens or xeriscapes. The thread is dedicated to imway2dumb (John) who was the inspired me to start the thread. Please feel free to add plants that you have found do well in intense heat and with little irrigation (either you have grown them or you just know that they would be suitable for a rock garden or xeriscape. If the plant has a PlantFile entry, please add it as I have done below. If it does not have a PlantFile entry, just provide its name and if you want to do so, add some information about it. The plants may be Texas natives, but don't have to be. If you know if the plant is a Texas native, please add this information. If you have tried to grow one of the plants listed in this thread in a rock garden or a xeriscape and it did not perform well, please tell us. Any information that you add will assist those who are attempting to locate great plants to add to their rock gardens and will be appreciated. I am going to keep adding plants to this list as time allows.

Thrift-leaf Perky Sue, Four-Nerve Daisy, Slender-stem Bitterweed, Plains Hymenoxys (Hymenoxys scaposa), Texas native - See its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/53549/index.html

Blackfoot Daisy, Black Foot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum), Texas native. - See its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/259/index.html

Fairy Duster Hybrid, Red Fairy Duster Hybrid 'Sierra Starr™' (Calliandra), hybrid of 2 naturalized Texas plants
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/105834/index.html

Hummingbird Plant, Uruguayan Firecracker Plant (Dicliptera suberecta)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1274/index.html

Firecracker Plant, Mexican Honeysuckle, Orange Plume Flower (Justicia spicigera), naturalized
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1335/index.html

Stalked Bulbine (Bulbine frutescens), spreads quickly by offshoots close to mother plant
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/453/index.html

Gold Moss, Stringy Stonecrop, Graveyard Moss (Sedum sarmentosum)
Sedum sarmentosum)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1893/index.html

Drummond's Skullcap (Scutellaria drummondii), Texas native
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/62458/index.html

Mother of Thousands, Mexican Hat Plant (Bryophyllum daigremontianum), naturalized, can be invasive
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/594/index.html

Variegated Wandflower, Variegated White Gaura 'Corrie's Gold' (Gaura lindheimeri)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/64622/index.html

Mountain Sage, Red-Sage Salvia (Salvia regla), endemic Texas native, subshrub/shrub
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/60119/index.html

Texas Bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis), Texas native
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/754/index.html

Klondike Cosmos, Sulphur Cosmos, Orange Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus), naturalized
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/218/index.html

Shrub Marigold, Mexican Bush Marigold, Mount Lemmon Marigold, Copper Canyon Daisy (Tagetes lemmonii)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54284/index.html

This message was edited Aug 7, 2005 6:06 AM

Hazel, what a timely idea, and thanks to John for the inspiration! I was just thinking yesterday that I really want to plant more xeriscapic plants, because I just can't afford to water a lot, and I can't stand to see my garden die if I don't. I guess the biggest trick will be finding those xeric plants that don't mind an occasional flood (we normally get so much rain here in the Spring and Fall.) My guess is that as long as they are planted high and dry, they should be okay?

Iris and most daylilies will do great with very little. Agaves are my fav for a no water area, and Native Rock Rose bloom non-stop with no water here. My yarrow also does a great job on no water! I have also found Dames Rocket to need very little water.

Excellent Idea Hazel, I like what you are doing on the picture threads too, providing all that wonderful information. I wish I had the patience to type as much.
Please keep up the good work. Josephine.

Hazel,

Is this limited to herbaceous plants?

maggiemoo, most of these plants need well drained soil. I killed a few cosmos by giving them too much water when it was so hot earlier by watering too much. Also, I think that the new soil I had bought to put in their area had a lot of compost in it which was not through "fermenting". I also drowned a pride of barbados last year by planting it in an area that had a solid limestone ledge beneath the soil. I broke up the limestone to about 2.5 feet down and maybe 3 feet wide. Then, I removed the stuff replacing it with well draining soil. It lived for about a month and was doing great. But, we had a lot of rain and I think the hole I dug held the water like a big bucket so the plant drowned, I was sad because I had wanted this plant for a lonmg time.

75154, thanks for listiing those plants. I have never grown dames rockets and might give them a try. I too have daylilies that I very seldom water. For some reason, my rock rose which is planted in full sun takes more water than I thought it would, I had been thinking about putting it in part sun. It tends to wilt a bit in high heat, but rebounds each day. Maybe it doesn't need more water, just less heat. Yarrow is great. Agaves are wonderful and take no care.

Frostweed, I am enjoying adding the plants to the Texas Native Plants by Color and type hreads and have learned a lot while researching them. I just wished I knew how to type instead of hunt and peck. I have found so many plants that I had thought were natives are really adapted. I have completed going through all of the photos I have posted in the PlantFiles (all 1163 of them) and adding the natives' to Texas Native Plants by Color and type threads. Now I am sorting tthrough them and am going to add the plants that are adapted natives.

Veronica, the plants I have added so far have only been herbaceous because I am going through the photos I have posted in the PlantFiles and just haven't come to any non-herbaceous ones yet. Non-herbaceous plants need to be listed too.

Five trees and shrubs that are suited to growing in areas with as low as 15" of rain.

Piñon, Rocky Mountain Pinyon Pine, Two Needle Piñon Pine (Pinus edulis), native. See entry in PlantFiles
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54413/index.html

One-Seed Juniper, Cherrystone Juniper, Redberry Juniper, (Juniperus monosperma), native. See entry in PlantFiles
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/57557/index.html

Serviceberry, Shadbush, Juneberry, Saskatoon Berry (Amelanchier alnifolia), introduced. See entry in PlantFiles
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/64424/index.html

Aspen (Populus tremuloides). native. See entry in PlantFiles
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/54165/index.html

Apache Plume (Fallugia paradox) native. See entry in PlantFiles
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/37056/index.html

Veronica, do you have the Apache Plume? I have seen that shrub in books and have wanted one for a long time, but have never been able to find it.
I think it is really pretty. Josephine.

No I don't , Josephine. I entered the post because I didn't have to have a photo. I would love to have one too.
Veronica

We will have to see how we can find it, it sure would be nice.
Josephine.

http://www.garden-of-edith.com/nativeshrubindex.htm

This is the only internet vendor I could find... might be a little hard to locate local.

Thank you Mitch, we'll have to look into it. The price is surely right.
Josephine.

Shipping is what will kill you on those deals -

Many people do not think of planting rain lilies in their landscapes, but I find them to be very rewarding and they don't take any care.

Rain Lily (Zephyranthes citrina), not Texas native - has done very well in my gardens
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1244/index.html

Pink Rain Lily, Fairy Lily, Zephyr Lily (Zephyranthes grandiflora), not Texas native - has done very well in my gardens
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1243/index.html

Rain Lily, Fairy Lily, Zephyr Lily, Zephyranthes candida, naturalized in Texas
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2536/index.html

Rio Grande Copperlily, Texas Atamosco Lily, Copper Lily, Rain Lily, Stagger Grass (Habranthus tubispathus) native
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/49036/index.html

Drummond's Rain Lily, Cooperia (Zephyranthes chlorosolen, Synonym: Cooperia drummondii), native
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/49061/index.html

Small's Rain Lily, Cooperia (Zephyranthes smallii, Synonym: Cooperia smallii), endemic Texas native, listed as a "Critically Endangered" species
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/49111/index.html

Giant Rain Lily, Prairie Lily, Hill Country Rain Lily (Zephyranthes drummondii, Synonym:Cooperia pedunculata), Texas native, listed as a "Vulnerable" species
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/65974/index.html

Jones' rain lily (Zephyranthes jonesii, Synonym: Cooperia jonesii), endemic Texas native, listed as a "Vulnerable" species
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/49077/index.html
http://jimfrech.home.mindspring.com/jonesii.htm

This message was edited Aug 5, 2005 6:29 PM

Hazel, I have some rain lilies, but they all but disappear in the summer. I know that they will just pop up and flower when the rain comes, but what do you do or plant around yours so they are not crowded or covered up, but so that you don't have a bare spot when they aren't in bloom?

Maggie, I just stick them here and there usually in front of and inbetween other plants. I have some of my plants like liriope staggered in one part of a flower bed. That is, some are closer to the front landscape timbers than others which allows me to plant other plants in front of some of them. This is where I have planted most of my pink ones that have large blooms. They have naturalized there with their numbers increasing each year. I also plant them inbetween small growing groundcovers I have in some areas such as low growing stonecrop and dwarf verbena hybrid 'Tapien Rose'. I plant them and then move the other plants slightly out of the way so the rainlilies have a little space to grow up through. Actually, I don't think I need to do this because most of them will grow through turf grass.Also, I have planted some around a little group of dwarf 'Stella de Oro' lilies. One group that has white blooms is in a 8 inch wide container which is "stuck" in amongst my purple flowering trailing lantana. The lantana covers the container up around the sides, but not the top because I move the branches slightly to the sides. As the lantana grows taller, I put the container on bricks.The rainlilies poke their blooms up and they really look nice this way.

Thanks, that makes me feel better. I planted some Mother of Thyme as a sort of ground cover around my roses, but I have the rain lilies and some other stuff scattered througout. I was concerned that the rain lilies would be smothered by the Mother of Thyme, but your point about them growing through turf grass if an excellent one. They sure ought to be able to patch through a light ground cover (I was cutting it back over them, which left funny-looking "holes" with nothing in them - or at least it looks like nothing is in them.)

I have the four-nerve-daisy planted in full sun in fairly rich dirt, but it gets only rain water. It spreads slowly, blooms most of the time when it's warm and is evergreen. Great plant!
Of course we also have bluebonnets. They come up in the yard and in the flowerbeds, but they are different in the flowerbeds. We are organic gardeners and use lots of compost in the beds. Malcom Beck told us that's why the bluebonnets bloommed in Feb but only in the rose beds. The ones that came up in the yard bloommed at the normal time. It also snowed that year, so we have a picture of this bluebonnet bloomming it's heart out surrounded by snow!

I have scullcap (don't know which one) planted where its get only a little morning sun, afternoon shade, only rain water, good rich dirt. It covers about a two foot area and blooms spring to frost, stays evergreen. Great plant!

Silverfluter, I love my four-nerve-daisies too. In concur that they are great plants. I ahd planyed some pink blooming small growing scullcap, but I killed them and don't know how I did that. I see them in lots of rock gardens and xeriscapes.

More plants:

Chocolate Daisy (Berlandiera lyrata), Texas native, blooms smell like chocolate
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1605/index.html

Prairie Spiderwort, Western Spiderwort (Tradescantia occidentalis), Texas native, some consider it invasive but the one I have that came up in my yard has never spread
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/2079/index.html

Buffalo Bur (Solanum rostratum), Texas native, listed as invasive, I love the blooms, leaves has thorns, burs are sharp, don't let it go to seed, annual
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/32175/index.html

Firecracker Plant, Mexican Honeysuckle, Orange Plume Flower (Justicia spicigera), native to Mexico and now naturalized in a few parts of south Texas; a super duper plant - I have had mine for over 20 years; in Zone 8b, it may die back during a very cold winter, but has not done so for over 4 years or so.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1335/index.html

Desert Petunia, Florida Bluebells, Mexican Petunia, Mexican Blue Bells, Blue Shade (Ruellia brittoniana), naturalized - Blue shade is a wonderful groundcover that blooms nonstop and takes no care unless it spreads where you don't want it (easily removed). It is a fast grower that likes part sun and will cover an area quickly. It can also be grown in hanging baskets and containers. Not picky about soil, not needing a lot of water, appearing to be insect pest free, fast growing, nice foliage and beautiful flowers make this an excellent ground cover. It makes a great xeriscape, rock garden (placed under a large shrub) or wildscape plant.
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/38180/index.html

Showy Goldenrod (Solidago speciosa), Texas native (great late summer through fall color)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/88279/index.html

Giant Tree Cholla, Tree Cholla, Candelabrum Cactus, Cane Cactus, Cane Cholla, Walking Stick Cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata), Texas native, has beautiful blooms and an interesting shape, perfect for rock gardens
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/66650/index.html

Mexican Mint Marigold, Spanish Tarragon, Texas Tarragon, Sweet Mace, Yerbis Anis (Tagetes lucida)
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/318/index.html

Texas Yellow Star (Lindheimera texana) - loves dry soil
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/55468/index.html

This message was edited Aug 13, 2005 3:00 PM