Here in the Southwest, we’re blessed with an abundance of lovely, low-maintenance native plants – and they’re finally working their way into garden centers! Each of the five species below is a personal favorite, and they’ve all proved themselves in the landscape.
‘Compacta’ ceniza is a 5-foot-tall, brilliantly colored shrub.
Photo Credit: David L. Morgan
Its bluish leaves make lacey oak stand out in a landscape.
Photo Credit: David L. Morgan
Little bluestem is one of the most attractive and toughest native grasses in the Southwest.
Photo Credit: David L. Morgan
Pecan is a fine shade tree that produces delicious fruit.
Photo Credit: David L. Morgan
Possum Haw has crimson-colored fruit that persists all winter.
Photo Credit: David L. Morgan
Ceniza (Leucophyllum frutescens). If it’s a tough, drought-tolerant shrub you’re looking for, look no further than this “sage” of the West that predicts rainfall and colors the landscape with purple flowers.
Aptly named, ceniza (Spanish for “ash”) is a gray-leaved plant that thrives in dry climates in full sun, where temperatures commonly reach the scorch level. (Old-timers call it barometer bush, reckoning that its flowering is a sure sign of rain.) It’s much loved in the Southwest, where it can be found growing – and flowering – in masses of small, purple flowers nearly year-round, often producing the only cheerful color in rocky, dry hills and over caliche limestone deposits.
While it’s historically been used as a hedge to protect ranch houses from dust storms and wandering wildlife, in recent years ceniza’s been rediscovered by the nursery trade. (New colors have been discovered, too.) And we’ve now got dwarf cultivars, like the popular, Leucophyllum floriferous ‘Compactum’, which only reaches 5 feet tall, as opposed to the 8-foot mature species.
A couple of cautions when planting ceniza in your garden: First, be sure to stick it in full sun, or it’ll lean toward the light and become leggy and disfigured. Second, don’t plant it in areas where drainage is a problem. In a low area, consider planting it in a raised bed away from garden sprinklers. And don’t be surprised or worry if your ceniza loses its leaves in a cold winter – they’ll return in spring. (The plant’s hardy to Zone 8 – maybe a little higher if protected.) Though soft new leaves are favored by wildlife, ceniza isn’t heavily browsed and has no serious insect pests or diseases in nature.
Lacey oak (Quercus laceyi). It’s the leaves that make this medium-sized tree so special: Softly rounded and dark bluish to grayish-green, they almost look smoky from a distance. The leathery foliage falls late in winter after a delicious show of color that can range from peach to a golden-yellow – even muted red on some plants.
Native to the thin, hard limestone rock of the Texas Hill Country, lacey oak is a gem of a plant! It survives well in any fairly well-drained soil and is hardy to at least Zone 7. (It would probably even adapt perfectly well into Zone 6 if anyone would give it a try.) The farther north you take it, the more deciduous the plant becomes, so unlike the semi-evergreen live oak, snow damage is never a problem with good ol’ Lacey.
This lovely tree should grow to about 45 feet high and wide at maturity (the national champion is just 58 feet tall), so it’s an ideal size for a contemporary landscape.
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). Ornamental grasses look like “native” plants, and they seem to belong in a landscape – even if they’re introduced from other countries, as are many species found in the US. But some truly indigenous grasses are recognized as having ornamental qualities, too, including little bluestem. This perennial grass is found in prairies, open woods, dry hills and fields from mid-Canada southward, deep into Mexico, and from the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains (zones 3-9 in the US).
Little bluestem’s an upright, warm-season, rhizomatous species that starts its growth in late spring and matures in early fall; its seed ripens in October and November. It reaches 2-4 feet tall and about a foot wide. Its ornamental value is in its variable, colorful foliage (bluish-green to light purple) and its purplish flower heads, which persist upright on the plant throughout most of winter. It truly is an all-season plant!
The grass is commonly seen along roadsides, but don’t expect to see it in grazed pastures – it’s a popular forage plant for cattle and horses. Little bluestem is drought-tolerant and thrives best in full sun in a wide range of soils.
Pecan (Carya illinoinensis). While pecan is the state tree of Texas and a prominent nut tree in the US, it’s recently lost favor as a landscape plant, thanks to the introduction of many smaller flowering species and other plants that have longer-lasting fall color.
Pecan is native from Minnesota south to Texas, growing along rivers and creeks. It’s hardy to Zone 4, and improved varieties – more than 500 – are widely planted in the Southern states for crop production.
Where it’s native, the tree is revered by homeowners, but ornamental sales have lagged in other locales. That’s really unfortunate, because pecan’s a long-lived, dependable tree that survives in many soils and suffers drought remarkably well. The plant doesn’t lose its fruit or leaves to early spring freezes like other fruit trees do, because pecan wakes up from its dormancy much later. It’s a grand, spreading shade tree, reaching up to 90 feet tall and 50 feet wide.
Homeowners may overlook its fall color, but the tree’s leaves turn an attractive yellow to light brown in November before falling. And while the fruit suffers from several disease and insect problems, a regular spray schedule should keep the tree – and its crop – healthy.
Possum haw (Ilex decidua). In some parts of the natural landscape, there wouldn’t be any winter color at all if it weren’t for good ol’ possum haw! That’s especially true deep in the woods, along creeks and rivers in the Midwest and Southeast.
Possum haw grows natively in low areas and has no serious pest problems. And unlike many other deciduous hollies, it thrives in alkaline soils, so it’s useful as a landscape plant from the Florida sands to the Midwest and the Far West. Hardy to Zone 5, it likely survives even lower temperatures, and is nearly windproof.
Depending on its habitat, possum haw can be a shrub-like plant that’s 8 feet tall and wide to a small-sized tree that reaches 15 feet tall and 10 feet wide. (Specimens in cultivation may reach 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide.) It has many horizontal and ascending branches and sports glossy, dark green leaves in summer that turn yellow in fall. The females are easily spotted from November to February, laden with crimson, scarlet, orange or almost yellow fruit. White flowers appear in March through May. The gray bark provides a soft color when the plant’s hedged or trimmed into interesting shapes. For those who prefer deciduous plants and winter color, possum haw is a fine choice.
Each of these great natives has its own special appeal to me – and I hope to other gardeners out there!
