Native Plants and Flowers That Thrive in San Antonio

It’s hard to go wrong with native plants and flowers that thrive in San Antonio. It’s not only environmentally smart but can save you some head and back aches since they’re easy to maintain. The city’s humid, subtropical climate produces long summers and short winters and delivers more than 30 inches of rainfall each year. 

So, you’ll want to consider plants acclimated to this type of environment to get the best bang for your buck. Here’s a guide to help you pick plants and flowers that will thrive around your home for years to come. 

Hill Country Penstemon 

Source

This bright, beautiful flower reaches up to two feet tall, with brilliant red petals sure to catch the eye of anyone passing by. Since this plant is native to the San Antonio-New Braunfels region, it doesn’t take much watering to survive.  A bonus from this plant? It attracts hummingbirds and butterflies — a feature that could make your yard more entertaining than the one next door.

Texas Mock Orange

Source

If you’re looking for a beautiful ornamental shrub bursting with a gentle fragrance, the Texas Mock Orange is it. Its white-petaled flowers bloom in the spring. This plant will reach about 1-3 feet high and is deer resistant, so you can enjoy its beauty without a Bambi rummaging around it for food. 

Woods’ Rose 

Source 

The Rosa woodsii, more commonly known as Woods’ rose, is another eye-catcher. Since this plant is native to South-Central Texas, it does great in the long summer months. This plant also attracts bees gathering pollen since it produces nectar. This will keep them coming back for more, which helps sustain a healthy environment, keeping our food supply abundant.

Agarita

Source

It’s the plant that feels like Christmas. This grayish shrub blooms with clusters of yellow flowers that become red fruit that resemble holly. The berries are edible — great for birds and small mammals and for local jelly-makers. The blooming period for this shrub is February to April. Since it’s a perennial, you won’t have to work to keep it thriving year after year. 

Texas Wisteria 

Photo credit: Noel C. Hankamer on Visualhunt / CC BY-NC-SA 

The Texas wisteria is a beautiful native vine that will make your yard stand out. Its large purple flowers resemble lilacs. They hang like grapes, reaching down about 6-9 inches. The entire vine expands about 30 feet and will need strong support to grow upward. It grows best in well-drained soil that receives plenty of sunlight.

Oxblood Lillies

Source

This flower beams with bright blood-orange petals. It’s an excellent native flower to plant if you want to really make your yard pop. This flower loves plenty of sun, but it also does quite well in the shade and doesn’t need much water. 

These are only a handful of the native plants and flowers that thrive in San Antonio. In addition to being low maintenance, they’ve built up defense systems against local pests. Some of these plants are threatened by invasive species which overcrowd the land and rob the native wildlife of food they need to survive. By choosing these plants, you’re also cutting down on the chemical fertilizers and pesticides that hurt the environment. So go native and keep Texas strong!

Looking for more information about lawn care and landscaping in the San Antonio area? See our San Antonio, TX lawn care page.