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Questions and Answers:Q. I’ve heard about plants known as “Texas Superstar” Plants. What are they and how do I get them for my yard and garden? A. “Texas Superstar” plants are highly recommended plants developed or discovered by Texas A&M University. A full list of plants considered Texas Superstars is available on www.Texassuperstar.com as well as sources. I have experience with every plant on the list and can offer my personal opinion of each one. Your individual garden conditions may be different and what doesn’t do well for me might work great for you, so I encourage you to experiment as that’s half the fun of gardening. Texas Bluebonnets and Maroon Bluebonnets: Do best in alkaline soils. Maroon bluebonnet strands can cross pollinate with blue and eventually fade out over the years but they do look great together. Burgundy and Plum Parfait coleus: Although recommended for full sun, they will get leggy and ragged later in the summer. Best for container use. Texas Gold Columbine: Blooms in spring, greens up in late winter. Beautiful and unusual yellow flowers. Difficult to transplant. Gets ragged in summer. Duranta: Can die back to ground in winter. Great shrub for butterfly garden. Blue flowers. Gold Star Esperanza: Dies back to ground in winter, but is an outstanding drought tolerant shrub with stunning yellow tubular flowers. Firebush or Hamelia: Worth a try. Will thrive once established. Considered drought tolerant but needs care for the first year or two. May die to ground in winter. Showy red flowers. Flare Hibiscus: Dies to ground in winter but comes back dependably every year with a bigger show than last. Large red flowers. Not drought tolerant in sandy soils. Lord Baltimore Hibiscus: Flower similar to standard hibiscus but plant structure is not as lush as other hibiscus. Dies back in winter. Moy Grande Hibiscus: Large pink flowers similar to old garden reseeding standard. Doesn’t always return in the spring but reseeds freely. Removing seed pods promotes bloom. Deciduous Holly: Grows painfully slow. A holly that loses its leaves in winter, leaving showy berries. Purchase plant with berries to guarantee female plant. You need four males for every berry producing female so that may be a problem in some landscapes. New Gold Lantana: Blooms several times during the growing season. Dies back to ground in winter. Prone to mildew problems in mid summer that can affect fall bloom cycle. Otherwise care free. Trailing Lantana: Purple or white flowers. Spreads slowly but dependable once established. Good groundcover up to one foot high, but you will still need to weed among the branches as cover is not solid. Plant in front of Mexican sage for stunning purple fall show. Bunny Bloom Larkspur: Plant seeds in fall for spring show from April-June. Reseeds freely. Can be used for wildflower plantings. Dependable. Satsuma Mandarin: Best for containers north of Zone 9. Produces high quality fruit. Prone to damage from leafcutter ants. Otherwise few pest problems. Shantung Maple: Slow grower but excellent fall color. Very drought tolerant. Small tree to 25 feet. This is an excellent small tree for our area. Mari-mum: A marigold with large yellow flower on a short and wide bushy plant. Great for fall planting but transplants are difficult to find . Spring plantings are susceptible to spider mites in late summer. Tomato 444: Touted as heat tolerant and disease resistant, this tomato has not performed well for me or some other farmers I’ve talked with. It’s hard to find and expensive. Other approved cultivars seem to do better in our area, according to my experience. Lacey Oak: Slow growing oak resistant to Oak wilt, but best for areas west of IH-35, Central Texas.
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