Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Thursday - October 22, 2015
From: Driftwood, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Meadow Gardens, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Wildflowers to complement Mexican hat in Texas
Answered by: Guy Thompson
QUESTION:
We have 10 acres in Driftwood that has Mexican Hat pretty much everywhere that is not shaded. We are looking to add additional wildflowers to them in order to have color earlier and later in the season as well as to complement the Mexican Hats when they are in bloom. We know that Mexican Hat can push out other species so we want to be sure to select appropriate wildflowers. What do you recommend?ANSWER:
This website lists many wildflower species that grow in your area. I specifically suggest the following that will bloom before Ratibida columnifera (Mexican hat): Castilleja purpurea var. lindheimeri (Lindheimer's paintbrush), Lupinus texensis (Texas bluebonnet), and Gaillardia pulchella (Firewheel) will shade out and help to prevent overgrowth of Mexican hat. The following species mature and bloom at the same time or later than Mexican hat: Monarda citriodora (Lemon beebalm), Coreopsis lanceolata (Lanceleaf coreopsis), Coreopsis tinctoria (Plains coreopsis) and Achillea millefolium (Common yarrow). All of these plants are robust and can hold their own with Mexican hat.
Mexican hat is a perennial. If you have too many of these in certain areas you may hoe up or plow to remove most of them. Then seed the plot with an annual such as Bluebonnet or Firewheel and these should take over.
This section of our website gives tips in starting a meadow garden. Wildflower seeds can be obtained from one of your local plant nurseries or from mail-order houses. I particularly recommend Native American Seed as a source of seed by mail. This is the time to plant wildflower seeds to bloom next spring. They will germinate with fall rains and grow slowly as rosettes over the winter before bolting in warmer spring weather.
From the Image Gallery
More Herbs/Forbs Questions
Stabilizing a lakeside slope from Bracey, VA
May 24, 2012 - We are trying to beautify and stabilize a relatively large lakeside steep slope with a southern exposure in central Virginia. The soil is characterized by red clay and shale rock. How can we turn this...
view the full question and answer
Stress on Goldenball leadtrees from Austin
June 07, 2014 - I know of two separate instances where young Goldenball Lead Trees (leucena retusa) have shown symptoms of defoliation and a bleeding of white sap from sores that have developed on the bark. The first...
view the full question and answer
Tropical plants for a pool-side planter in Cape Coral FL
April 19, 2010 - I live in Southwest Florida and have a pool inside a cage with a pool planter built into the deck around part of the pool. What kind of tropical plants can I put in the planter that are not root inva...
view the full question and answer
Effects or insecticide on Monarch butterflies
July 28, 2013 - Thank you for fielding questions about plants!! Our nursery just informed us that their milkweed grower was using imidacloprid in their milkweed production. As a follow up to the question already in...
view the full question and answer
Native landscaping plants for Sherman, Texas
December 19, 2007 - We are starting from scratch on landscaping our new yard. We live in Sherman, TX and I would like to use plants and flowers that are native to Texas and have a good chance of surviving. What are you...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |