Eastern Red Cedar

Madrone

Rocky limestone soil in well-drained east- or north-facing sites, shaded by oaks or junipers. Madrone is evergreen, with white flowers in spring. It may be Texas’ loveliest tree, with peeling […]

Barreta

Sun or partial shade. Evergreen. A slender small tree native in Northern Mexico and around Rio Grande City in Texas. Crushed leaves are fragrant.

Limoncillo

Partial shade or morning sun. Evergreen. A small tree or large shrub related to citrus, with glossy trifoliate foliage, white flowers, and unusual lobed seedpods (for a citrus) which explode […]

Ligustrum

Sun or shade. Included here as an example of aggressive non-native species to avoid in south-central Texas; the \”disgustrums\” include several privet species used by homebuilders as instant evergreen hedges. […]

Crape Myrtle

Full sun (crape myrtles will not bloom well in the shade around your live oaks.) Deciduous. Crape myrtle is a lovely ornamental with muscular trunks, colorful peeling bark, and a […]

Texas Redbud

Partial shade. The traffic-stopping sight of redbud in bloom is one of the earliest signs of spring; pink flowers smother the bare branches for a couple of weeks before the […]

Peach

Sun or partial shade. Deciduous (bare in winter) with flowers appearing in early spring, before the leaves. Peach makes a lovely small ornamental tree in south-central Texas, and as one […]

Oklahoma Redbud

Partial shade; best if protected from afternoon summer sun. ‘Oklahoma’ is a popular selection of Texas redbud, with cool wine-red or magenta-colored flowers covering the bare branches in early springtime. […]

Vitex

Sun/partial shade; deciduous, with high heat and drought tolerance.\n\nVitex spreads aggressively by seed, especially around limestone outcrops, dry creekbeds and riparian areas in Bexar County and south-central Texas. Since it […]