Texas winter landscape plants1/17/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() Since this shrub is kind of an “ugly duckling,” it’s best to plant it toward the back of the border but close enough to your route through the yard so that you can enjoy its fragrance. Plant in full sun to light shade in just about any kind of soil. This deciduous shrub hails from China and grows 8 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 6 to 8 feet as far north as zone 5. It forms a multiple-stemmed, large shrub with arching branches and a rounded head. As early as December and through the spring, it produces very small, creamy-white flowers in the leaf axils. In fact, the flowers are hardly noticeable, but the nose can certainly detect their fragrance in the landscape. This is a must-have shrub for winter flowers and their intoxicatingly delightful, lemony fragrance. Winter Honeysuckle ( Lonicera fragrantissima) The cultivar ‘Aureomarginata’ is a variegated form featuring green leaves with yellow margins. This cultivar exhibits slightly better winter hardiness than the species. Plant in partial shade in moist, well-drained soil. Fall and Winter Color for North Texas Options for Sunnier Locations Pansies, Violas, and Panolas Annuals 6-8 tall x 6-8 wide Ornamental Cabbage and Kale. Spice up your winter landscape with this evergreen shrub native to the Mediterranean region. Depending on the cultivar, this woody herb grows 2 to 6 feet tall and equally as wide. As if the aromatic leaves weren’t enough to entice you to include it in your landscape, the shrub also sports small, light blue flowers from late winter through April and May. Plant this delightful shrub in full sun in well-drained soil in zones 7 to 11.Ĭalled winter daphne because of its late winter flowers, this evergreen shrub from China and Japan grows 3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 4 feet wide. From late January to March in USDA zones 8-9, this slow-growing shrub produces clusters of intensely fragrant, reddish-purple flowers set against dark green, glossy leaves up to 4 inches long. The Stansbery Collection for Botanical Art.The Arader Natural History Collection of Art.BRIT Collections, Labs & Library Exhibitions.It’s actually a small shrub with soft, hairy silver-gray leaves and bell-shaped flowers of violet, purple, lavender, or pink that bloom year-round, even in winter. Starting in December, paperwhite narcissus begin the winter parade of sweet-smelling flowers that faithfully return every year to cheer up the winter blahs, followed by other narcissus varieties in the coming months. Texas sage, aka cenizo, aka Texas barometer bush, is not in fact a true sage (or Salvia) plant. But there are other sources of flowers besides annuals. Of course, pansies, snapdragons and stock are some annuals we can plant and enjoy well into next spring. Winter flowers are not all that common, but they do exist. The blocky patterned bark of dogwoods is also attractive. Our beloved dogwoods not only have pretty spring flowers, but after the colorful fall foliage falls, the attractive red berries are on full display until consumed by birds. And the weeping yaupon holly provides drama with its strongly descending pendulous branches loaded with red berries. ![]() ![]() A few varieties bear other colors, such as ‘Virginia Dare’ with orange berries, seen in the IDEA Garden. Winter gardening: Even record freeze couldn't eradicate Central Texas' toughest invasive species, experts say We are particularly worried about the Japanese blueberry trees, an extremely kind. The small, dark green leaves make a perfect foil for bright red berries covering the tree. Yaupon Holly ( Ilex vomitoria) is a small, evergreen tree that makes an outstanding landscape specimen. Orange berries of Virginia Dare yaupon holly Note that the common dwarf yaupon holly variety is a male clone, so it will never bear fruit. American holly, yaupon holly and possumhaw (or deciduous holly) are 3 of the more common plants that are native to east Texas. If a named variety is known for bearing fruit, it will have fruit in your yard, and bees take care of the pollination issue. The good news is that hollies sold in garden centers are clonally propagated. This fact is important mainly if you are in the woods looking at young holly plants you might desire to use in your yard. Not all hollies have berries, because a plant can be either a male, which only bears pollen-bearing flowers, or one with female-only flowers, which when pollinated turn into the berries. Of course, hollies are synonymous with berries, and are one of the more popular groups of plants used in landscaping. You won’t find this native vine for sale, but if you come across one, grab a few berries for their seeds to sow and grow on a fence or other support. It is called Carolina snailseed ( Cocculus carolinus), so called because of the shape of the seeds inside the berries. I was visiting a garden shop the other day and was asked to identify a vine with cheery bright red berries. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |