Need recommendation for drought-tolerant, low maintenance flowering shrubs

[onetexan]

Hello fellow gardeners,
I have 2 long strips of grass area flanking my property about 4 ft. wide & 60 ft long. I'd like to plant a row of flowering shrubs on each strip. We're in zone 8B so any recommendation of drought-tolerant, low maintenance flowering shrubs which can withstand the hot summers and won't require frequent watering would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you & happy gardening!

[walkingman]

1. Are you in North, Central, East, or South Texas? Big differences.

[onetexan]

5. I'm in Central TX

Austin area

[brokephibroke]

2. Lilacs or rabbit brush

Or look here.

https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/07229.pdf

[onetexan]

8. That's quite a comprehensive list of trees & shrubs

and exactly what i was looking for - plants for xeriscaping. As this is for the CO area i'll do further research to see if the recommended shrubs are suited for zone 8B (central TX). Thanks!

[Xipe Totec]

3. Crown of Thorns

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/crown-of-thorns/growing-crown-of-thorns-outdoors.htm

[onetexan]

6. whoa so pretty!!

thank you! I'll read up on it and take into consideration

[Ptah]

4. Texas Ranger

?w=620

[onetexan]

7. Wow! Quite a sea of lovely purple!

Thank you!

[Major Nikon]

9. Wild roses

They grow well in a variety of soil conditions and are almost impossible to kill. All they really need are plenty of spacing and sunshine. They are also relatively maintenance free. I just take the hedge trimmers to mine once or twice a year to keep them inside their beds. If they ever get too thick you can slash them back almost to the ground and they will come back. You can deadhead them if you want to make them bloom even more, but I usually don’t as they do fine anyway.

I live in North Texas.

[onetexan]

10. Whoa, so there is such a thing as wild roses

I googled and found this: https://www.foragingtexas.com/2008/08/rose.html

What variety do you have? Also, is there a thornless variety? We already have several rose bushes in the flowerbeds below the 2 homes on my property and they're quite lovely, but thornless given these are rental homes and i don't want my tenants' kids being pricked in the case they happen to come near them.

[brokephibroke]

12. These guys

https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=rowo

But be careful as they will need a lot of space and will be tough to control or remove if you put them in the wrong place. I know that from experience.

[Major Nikon]

15. Mine only get about 3' tall

I have them spaced about 3' apart. If I had it to do over again I'd probably give them another foot of spacing, but they aren't bad the way they are.

[Major Nikon]

14. I have no idea what variety I have

I planted them a few years back.

Most commercial roses have a wild rose root stock with something else grafted to them. The reason is because wild roses have more hardy roots that are more disease resistant. Wild roses grow on their own root stock, so there's no worries about killing the grafted rose. I don't really do anything to mine. They aren't bothered by mold, mildew, or pests so I don't ever have to treat them with anything. You can give them some flowering shrub fertilizer in the spring if you want, but I generally don't and they still bloom profusely. Mine are getting ready to burst with flowers probably by next week.

As far as mine goes, they are far from thornless but their thorns aren't big and nasty like most hybrid tea roses are. I usually don't even wear gloves when I'm pruning them back and I wouldn't dare do that with a hybrid tea. You wouldn't want to jump in the middle of them, but just brushing up against them is no big deal. I have them planted in my front flower beds with my entryway sidewalk running through them. I do believe there are thornless versions of wild roses, but I couldn't tell you what those are.

[onetexan]

16. Thanks so much. I'm going to contact the local A&M Extension for a thornless variety

We have a large backyard with quite a bit of space between the trees as well so i'll definitely try wild roses.

[TygrBright]

11. Buddleia. Apache Plume. n/t

[Mollyann]

13. Purple Texas Sage

I agree with Texas Ranger, it can't be beat.

[WhiteTara]

17. Look to your native plants. If you go exotic

you are asking for headaches. Where are you located in Texas? There are some really wonderful natives that will fill your needs.
These might be good places to start your search for plant beauty.
Happy gardening!


http://www.txsmartscape.com/plant-search/index.php

https://npsot.org/wp/

https://www.wildflower.org/collections/collection.php?collection=TX_central

https://www.gardenguides.com/94739-native-plants-texas.html

[onetexan]

18. Thank you for the informative links! I'm north of Austin in Central TX.

My goal is to xeriscape everything & make all the yards on my properties low maintenance & low-watering. We do microclover yards as well. They're awesome!

[northoftheborder]

19. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

has extensive lists of native plants including central Texas and various sun/water situations

https://www.wildflower.org/collections/