Wachahe
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:44 am
Location: Austin

Gardening/flower question

I've been googling and reading, but would like some advice from the gardeners on the board.

Our house faces west and gets full, direct sun all afternoon (Austin). We have a long, low brick planter that is part of the front of the house (facing west). Right now it is full of rocks and some pots with crappy, dead succulents that we didn't bother to maintain when we moved in because we didn't like how they looked.

So, I have no idea what to put in the planter. We are going to empty out the gravel/rocks and fill it with dirt, and then want to plant something pretty/flowering. There are drainage holes at the bottom it. I found a site that had some good wildflowers and such for full sun in central Texas, but I don't know how easy it is to buy these and get them started in a new environment. The ones listed were:

Damianita
Texas Lantana
Prarie Verbena
Cherry Sage/Autumn Sage
Blackfoot daisy
Shrubs:
Texas sage
Vines:
Coral honeysuckle

Anyway, if anyone has any advice, it'd be much appreciated. Needs to be drought tolerant and fairly easy to maintain - I've been known to kill many, many plants.

imafan26
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Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

I never really like plantings up against a house foundation. If you have a planter box and still want to use it then, instead of just dirt, I think you should add compost and fertilizer. I think if you have problems with watering regularly, a drip system with a faucet timer would be good. There is still some maintenance since you will need to check the timer at least monthly to make sure it is still working, change the batteries and adjust the watering times for the age of the plants and the season. Most drought tolerant plants still need to get a good start so even a timer on a soaker or sprinkler temporarily is a good idea until the plants are established and can be weaned off the system.

Texas sage is used as a hedge plant here, It does have nice blue flowers but it is not a showy shrub.

I have planted desert honeysuckle. It has orange blooms most of the year and can live on rain once it is established so you only need a temporary sprinkler system until it gets established. It does not need a lot of fertilizer and it should be pruned regularly or it will get quite big and spread. If it is kept on the dry side once established it stays much smaller.

Rosemary would be another good choice. it also can live on rain once it becomes established. It has small blue flowers in summer and it is an edible herb

Perovskia or Texas sage is another drought tolerant plants with blue flowers that can grow three feet high and wide.

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rainbowgardener
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Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Pictures always help.

That is a terrible situation for plants.... Full direct afternoon sun in TX is killer, augmented by the house behind it holding heat. BUT it is shade all morning so not as many hours of sun as some of the full sun plants would want. And being in a box not the ground means less soil for the roots to grow into.

I would find a good local nursery (NOT a big box store) with knowledgeable people and talk to them about your situation.

That said, here are some plants to look in to:

Mexican petunia (unlike the petunias most of us are familiar with, this one is perennial, with a long bloom season); verbena, perennial salvia, penstemon, cape plumbago (a ground cover that can drape over the edges of your container), agastache/hyssop, milkweeds, obedient plant, jupiter's beard/centranthus, coneflower, bee balm.



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