Even though summer flowers and shrubs have shut down for the winter, it’s still possible to have color in your landscape and in your home.
Seasonal Natives
Our native yaupons or possumhaws, both evergreen (ilex vomitoria) and deciduous (ilex decidua) grow to be over 12 feet tall, and display red berries during the fall and winter. Now is a great time to select these plants, since you can confirm that you are getting berry-producing female plants, and winter is the best time to plant them in your landscape. Our experience indicates that after transplanting it may take a couple of years for the berry production to start. (We’ve noticed that native plants take their time getting established before committing their resources to flower, fruit and seed production.) The picture shows one small area of a possumhaw that was planted three years ago – this is its first year to produce lots of berries – and it was worth the wait! More information is available at http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ilvo
Evergreen sumac (rhus virens), a shrub or small tree, has shiny dark green leaves, an intricate branching structure and produces frosted red berries throughout the fall and winter. It can be trained to be a small tree, by removing all branches except the central trunk. In its shrub form, it can provide screening or be pruned into a native hedge. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rhvi3
Another holiday-themed plant is Texas Betony, stachys coccinea, an evergreen ground cover with red flowers throughout the year. Once established, this wonderful plant thrives and flowers in heat and cold, in sun or partial shade, provides hummingbird nectar and is unattractive to deer! Its water needs are modest and an occasional shearing keeps it tidy. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=STCO
Holiday Flowers and Bulbs
Now is the time to plant cool season flowers such as pansies, cyclamen, ornamental cabbages and kale, and snapdragons. We cannot grow these plants successfully during hot weather, but our relatively mild winters allow them to grow and flower. For indoor holiday blooms, start Amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus in November. Bulbs and planting kits can be found at garden centers and mail order sources.
Seasonal Natives
Our native yaupons or possumhaws, both evergreen (ilex vomitoria) and deciduous (ilex decidua) grow to be over 12 feet tall, and display red berries during the fall and winter. Now is a great time to select these plants, since you can confirm that you are getting berry-producing female plants, and winter is the best time to plant them in your landscape. Our experience indicates that after transplanting it may take a couple of years for the berry production to start. (We’ve noticed that native plants take their time getting established before committing their resources to flower, fruit and seed production.) The picture shows one small area of a possumhaw that was planted three years ago – this is its first year to produce lots of berries – and it was worth the wait! More information is available at http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ilvo
Evergreen sumac (rhus virens), a shrub or small tree, has shiny dark green leaves, an intricate branching structure and produces frosted red berries throughout the fall and winter. It can be trained to be a small tree, by removing all branches except the central trunk. In its shrub form, it can provide screening or be pruned into a native hedge. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rhvi3
Another holiday-themed plant is Texas Betony, stachys coccinea, an evergreen ground cover with red flowers throughout the year. Once established, this wonderful plant thrives and flowers in heat and cold, in sun or partial shade, provides hummingbird nectar and is unattractive to deer! Its water needs are modest and an occasional shearing keeps it tidy. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=STCOHoliday Flowers and Bulbs
Now is the time to plant cool season flowers such as pansies, cyclamen, ornamental cabbages and kale, and snapdragons. We cannot grow these plants successfully during hot weather, but our relatively mild winters allow them to grow and flower. For indoor holiday blooms, start Amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus in November. Bulbs and planting kits can be found at garden centers and mail order sources.
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