Houston Gardening Questions

What is Houston's Plant Hardiness Zone?

• According to the United States Department of Agriculture's Hardiness Zone Map, Houston is in zone 9A. The average annual minimum temperature ranges from 20 F to 25 F so choose plants that are hardy for this zone's lowest temperatures.

What Native Plants Attract Butterflies?

• Houston's chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas recommends several native plants that attract butterflies to the garden. Giant swallowtail butterflies like the common hop tree, lime prickley ash and hercules club, while the tiger swallowtail prefers various ash trees and black cherry. The American painted lady might be found on sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, asters and coreopsis.

What are the Best Small Trees for Houston?

• According to a brochure put out by the Garden Club of Houston, recommended native small trees for the Houston area include the Texas wild olive, or Cordia boissieri. Texas wild olive matures about 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide, producing large white flowers all year round. Other recommendations include the American holly, chalk maple, eastern redbud, Mexican plum, ironwood, fringe tree, possum haw and parsley hawthorne.

Which Native Plants Are Drought-Tolerant?

• Drought-tolerant native trees include the Texas persimmon, which matures to 35 feet tall, producing white flowers in spring. Among pine trees, the loblolly, short and long leaf types do well with little water. For shrubs, consider butterfly weed, which attracts butterflies and thrives in sandy but well-drained soils. Once established, the wax myrtle is drought-tolerant and can grow in almost any type of conditions, from sun to shade, wet or dry soil.

What are the Best Plants to Control Erosion?

• If erosion is a problem, choose plants with the right root structure to help stabilize soil. In the Houston area, such trees include the river birch, which does well in sun or shade and tolerates wet or dry soils. Shrubs for consideration include the Virginia sweetspire, which has the added benefit of bright red foliage in autumn. The coral berry shrub tolerates a variety of soils. For perennial plants, good candidates include the pigeonberry for ground-cover, which thrives in partial sun with berries that birds love.

Which Plants are Invasive?

• Non-native plants to avoid as they may become invasive and displace native plants include Japanese honeysuckle, Chinese tallow, Chinese wisteria, eleagnus, nandina and the infamous kudzu. If already in the yard, try to remove them and replace with more suitable plants for the Houston region.