*Native Plants: trees, shrubs, perennials, groundcovers, grasses

Contributed by Eva Van Dyke, Barton Springs Nursery

LARGE TREES

Bur oak (50 – 70′ tall and wide)
Chinkapin oak (50-70′ tall; 30-40’wide)
Texas ash (40-50′ tall and wide)
Bigtooth maple (20 – 50’ tall; 20-30’ wide)

SMALL TREE/SHRUB
Flameleaf sumac (12-15’ tall; 10-12’ wide) Brilliant fall color, summertime seeds
Wafer ash (15-20’ tall; 12-15’wide)

Trees and large shrubs are great nectar and pollen sources, because there are so many flowers in one place. These four early spring bloomers are an important food source for our native bees.

TREES & SHRUBBY TREES
Early spring

Mexican Buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa)
Deciduous
Height: large shrub, 15 feet
Light: Understory
Soil: Rocky soil, adaptable to clay, loam.
Fruit: Seeds
Most deer do not eat this shrub.
Notes: Nectar and host plant

Mexican Plum (Prunus Mexicana)
Deciduous
Height: 15 to 25 feet
Light: gentle sun to light shade
Soil: Well drained, adaptable to clay loam.
Fruit: Small, edible plums
Not deer resistant.
Notes: bumblebees love fruit trees

Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora)
Evergreen
Height: 12 feet
Light: Full sun to part shade
Soil: Limestone hills, adaptable, clay
Fruit: poisonous seeds
Deer do not eat

Texas Redbud (Cercis canadensis var. texensis)
Deciduous
Height: to 20 feet
Light: Sun, part shade
Soil: Well drained, adaptable
Fruit: Seeds
Moderately deer resistant

Mid spring

Cherry Laurel (Prunus caroliniana)
Evergreen tree
Height: 15-30 feet
Light: Gentle sun to part shade
Soil: adaptable;
Fruit: Berries are eaten by birds
Highly deer resistant
Notes: not for arid locations

Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum (Viburnum rufidulum )
Deciduous
Height: 15-25 feet
Light: Gentle sun, part shade
Soil: Well drained loam, clay
Fruit: Berries are favored by birds
Moderately deer resistant
Notes: great fall color, don’t overwater

Roughleaf Dogwood (Cornus drummondii)
Deciduous
Height: 15-25 feet
Light: Understory, part shade
Soil: Moist stream banks, adaptable
Fruit: Birds eat the white fruit clusters
Not deer resistant
Notes: needs water

Late spring to summer

Anacua (Ehretia anacua)
Evergreen tree
Height: 30 feet
Light: Sun, part shade
Soil: Well drained, open woodland, adaptable
Fruit: Berries are eaten by birds
Highly deer resistant
Notes: Great nectar plant, needs water to establish

Blanco or Texas crabapple
12-15′ tall

Carolina Buckthorn (Frangula caroliniana)
Deciduous
Height: 12-15 feet
Light: Understory, some sun necessary for flowers
Soil: Well drained, rocky, streambanks, woods
Fruit: Birds love the berries
Not deer resistant
Notes: great wildlife plant

Summer – Fall

Kidneywood (Eisenhardtia texana)
Deciduous
Height: 3-10 feet
Light: Sun
Soil: Dry, well drained
Fruit: Seeds
Moderately deer resistant
Notes: blooms May – October; great for bees; leaves have a citrus scent

Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)
Deciduous
Height: 15-40 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained limestone soils preferred
Fruit: Seed pods
Moderately deer resistant
Notes: blooms spring through fall, attracts hummingbirds and bumblebees; not a true Willow, but related to trumpet vine and yellow bells

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Deciduous
Height: 6-12 feet
Light: full sun, part shade ok
Soil: moist
Fruit: seeds are eaten by birds
Moderately deer resistant
Notes: pollinator paradise; needs moist soil

Prairie Flameleaf Sumac (Rhus lanceolata)
Deciduous
Height: to 20 feet
Light: Full sun
Soil: Well drained, clay, loam, calcareous, rocky
Fruit: Drupes of red berries are favored by songbirds
Moderately deer resistant; deer browse young trees
Notes: important wildlife food source, blooms when nothing else will; nectar and host plant; erosion control, thicket forming, splendid fall color

PERENNIALS

Ground covers

Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora)
Evergreen groundcover
Flower: tiny verbena, white, May-October
Sun or shade
Grows in any soil Larval host: Buckeye
Moderately deer resistant

Horseherb/Straggler daisy (Calyptocarpus vialis)
Groundcover
Flower: tiny sunflowers, yellow, spring through fall
Sun or shade
Grows in any soil
Deer resistant

Calylophus (Calylophus berlandieri)
Evergreen groundcover
Flower: yellow, spring into summer
Sun
Well drained soil
Deer resistant

Salvias

Mealy Blue Sage (Salvia farinacea)
Root hardy
Flower: blue, May-October, often earlier
Sun
Well drained, prefers good garden soil
Deer resistant
Bees love blue salvias

Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea)
Root hardy, tender, reseeds
Flower: red, pink or white, spring through fall
Shade
Well drained woodland soil
Deer resistant
Attracts hummingbirds

Mallows

While many native bees are generalists like honeybees and enjoy lots of different nectar and pollen sources, some are specialists and need plants from a certain family. Mallow bees visit the following garden plants:

Desert globemallow (Spheralcea ambigua)
Evergreen shrub, 4 feet
Flower: Masses of orange flowers, February – November
Sun
Well drained, dry soil
Deer resistant

Winecup (Callirhoe involucrata)
Deciduous
Flower: purple, February-July
Sun to part shade
Well drained soil, adaptable
Minimal deer resistance
Nectar and butterfly host plant

Rockrose (Pavonia lasiopetala)
Deciduous
Flower: hibiscus-like, pink, spring to fall
Sun to shade
Well drained soil, adaptable
Moderately deer resistant

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Root hardy
Flower: big, pink, spring and fall, good perch for big butterflies, seeds for small birds
Sun to part shade in the afternoon
Well drained, good garden soil
Deer avoid

All Mistflowers are good pollinator plants.

Fragrant Mistflower (Eupatorium havanense)
Deciduous
Root hardy perennial shrub, 2-6 feet
Flower: clusters of small white blooms, October-November; important late nectar source for migrating butterflies and overwintering bees; seeds for small birds in fall and winter
Part shade, shade
Well drained woodland soil
Deer resistant

All Asters are a great pollinator food source.

Fall Aster (Aster oblongifolius)
Root hardy
Flower: purple, September-November, critical nectar and pollen resource for overwintering bees and migrating monarchs; seeds for small birds in fall and winter
Sun
Well drained soil, adaptable
Deer resistant

Especially for Monarchs

Frostweed (Verbesina virginica)
Root hardy, 3 feet
Flower: white, heads 3 to 6 inches across
Shade
Well drained soil
Another important fall food source for monarch migration. Frostweed forms colonies under live oaks, where monarchs seek shelter in inclement weather.
Winter seeds for birds

Perennial grasses for insect habitat and soil improvement.

Twin-flower Melic Grass (Melica mutica)
1-2 feet
Cool season grass
Pretty, light green, native grass
Gentle sun to light shade
Well drained soil, adaptable
Summer seeds for birds

After the glory of fall, let your garden rest. To provide pollinator habitat, don’t clean up too early. Native bees are sleeping in the hollow stalks of your perennials. No raking or scraping during the winter. Don’t cut anything until February (usually around Valentine’s Day), when you see new rosettes forming under perennial stalks. This will also provide a microclimate for your perennial roots, and protect them during a freeze.