Best Plants & Trees to Grow in West Texas Landscapes

by Eric
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C J Oakes, Ed

What are the best plants and trees to grow in West Texas landscapes? Glad you asked. The AgriLifeExtension of Texas A&M classes West Texas as Region-A. They recommend the plants listed below.

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Region-A
Panhandle & High Plains

  • Grasses & Lawns (pdf) – Buffalograss, Bermudagrass, Zoysiagrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue and more
  • Ornamental Grasses – Dwarf Pampas Grass, Mexican Feathergrass, Chinese Silver Grass, Perennial Fountain Grass
  • Groundcover – Eastern Redcedar, Lilyturf, Turk’s Cap, Rockrose, Coralberry and more
  • Herbs – Rosemary
  • Topiary (ornamental shapes) – Chinese Holly, Yaupon, Japanese Ligustrum, Italian Cypress, Indian Hawthorns and more
  • Small Shrubs – Creosote Bush, Violet Silverleaf, Heavenly Bamboo, Desert Spoon, Apache Plume and more
  • Medium Shrubs – Bay Laurel, Winter Honeysuckle, Yellow Bird of Paradise, Texas Kidneywood, Spanish Daggers or Yucca and more
  • Large Shrubs – Horse Apple, Ash Juniper, Texas Persimmon, Desert Willow, Common Fig and more
  • Small Trees – Texas Redbud, Mexican Redbud, Ocotillo, Tree Cholla, Eve’s Necklace, Mexican Buckeye and more
  • Medium Trees – Cedar Elm, California Fan Palm, Black Willow, Palmetto Palm, Monterey Oak and more
  • Large Trees – Aleppo Pine, Chinkapin Oak, Chinese Pistachio, Post Oak, Cork Oak and more
  • Spreading Conifer – Shore Juniper, Japanese Garden Juniper, Creeping Juniper, Oriental Arborvitae, Mugo Pine and more
  • Upright Conifer – Pinyon Pine, Afghan Pine, Leyland Cypress, Common Douglas fir, Blue Colorado Spruce

For best results in planning your West Texas landscaping, use the Earth-Kind® plant selector to choose the best plants and trees to grow in your Texas landscape.  Create beautiful, low maintenance landscapes, while conserving and protecting natural resources and the environment.

Reduce the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides that you use in your landscape. Choose plants that are rated for heat tolerance, drought tolerance, pest tolerance, soil requirement and fertility requirement based on region.

Source: AgriLife

Earth-Kind® Landscaping

Earth-Kind® Landscaping

Use Earth-Kind® landscaping principles and practices to create beautiful, low maintenance landscapes, while conserving and protecting natural resources and the environment. Reduce the amount of water, fertilizer and pesticides that you use in your landscape.

Is your landscape contributing to a healthy and sustainable environment?

Take the Earth-Kind challenge

Earth-kind Quick Start:

10 ways to make your landscape Earth-Kind (pdf)

Planning the home Landscape

Americans spend tremendous amounts of money “landscaping” their businesses, homes, streets, parks, schools, etc. Much of this money is wasted, however, because of little or no planning. Ideally, you should consult a professional landscape architect or designer on planning, but you can produce good results if you follow these steps.

Earth-Kind Plant Selector

The Earth-Kind Plant Selector, part of the Texas Urban Landscape Guide, is an extremely useful tool for selecting the right plant for a specific location. Each plant in the database is rated for heat tolerance, drought tolerance, pest tolerance, soil requirement and fertility requirement based on region.

For more information about Earth-Kind Landscaping, please contact your local county agent, specialist, or Ask an Expert online.

Source: AgriLife

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