Red Flowers for the Central Texas Landscape

Lisa's Landscape & Design ♦ 08/25/2014 ♦ Leave a comment

Red is my favorite color (along with green), and to me it is a neutral when it comes to going with just about anything. Red flowers in Central Texas are pretty rare compared to yellow, purple and orange, but they are worth seeking out if you love them as I do and I’ve compiled a list of my favorites for you. 

Firebush

Hamelia patens jacq.

So maybe it’s not technically completely red, it is a red centered flower that makes an impact in the landscape. This Texas native shrub which is also known as a “Hummingbird Bush” for good reason, is a very large shrub growing to 12+feet at maturity.

This shrub is a sun to part sun plant that dies back over the winter (deciduous) and makes a quick come back in spring. It blooms profusely from spring to the first freeze. It is a pollinator magnet and it’s a lovely addition to any landscape. 

 

Rock Penstemon 

Penstemon baccharifolius 

Rock Penstemon is one of my favorite penstemon not only for its vibrant color but because of its flowing nature. This Texas native is a sun to part shade, evergreen that flowers from spring to fall. It loves the sun and can take part shade and is minimally deer resistant. This beauty grows to about 2’ x 2’  and makes a great landscape or potted plant. 

Ocotillo

Fouquieria splendens Engelm. 

This funky dude is a terribly underrated and underused plant in my opinion. As a Texas native shrub that has long green stems that leaf out after a rain. The beautiful red blooms come out from spring to early summer and the rest of the year it’s just a cool plant that makes a great specimen in the landscape. Growing to 15+’ t and 6’ w, it’s a cool sun to part shade plant to try. 

Standing Cypress

Ipomopsis rubra 

this stunning native wildflower can make a great landscape plant with a few notes. The Standing Cypress is a biannual plant that flowers after the second year and reseed for new plant babies in the future years. This is also a great opportunity to spread the love by collecting seeds and giving them away, or spreading them throughout the landscape. 
This red stunner grows to about 3’ and is a huge attraction for hummingbirds.

Coral Bean, Firemans Cap

Erythrina x bidwillii

This full to part sun stunner grows to 12′ x 10′ and boasts incredibly large blooms that can be a foot long. It is a deciduous perennial and takes super low water. The main maintenance is cutting all the dead stems back after the winter, but the maintenance is well worth the effort. Huge hummingbird attraction and a show stopper for sure!  Deer resistant.

Blaze Rose

Rosa blaze

Blaze is a beautiful low maintenance rose that blooms profusely all summer long. Evergreen and drought tolerant with few if any pest issues and tons of flowers that are great for cutting. Blaze is a climber so give it room to grow on a trellis or fence and never cut this rose back to the ground below 3′. Climbers can die if cut too low so I typically only cut back dead wood and make space for new growth each year. Otherwise it is very low to no maintenance and super disease resistant and low water . Compost your rose beds each spring and enjoy! Zones 4-9 and full sun. (Here is a list of low water, low maintenance roses for Texas)

Red Turks Cap

Malvaviscus arboretums var. drummondii

This is one of those special breeds that thrive in full sun to deep shade. This makes designing so much easier when you can use the same plant throughout your space effectively. I love this plant not only for its color and versatility, but also for the fact that entire plant is edible above the ground. Birds also love the fruit and butterflies and hummingbirds love the nectar. 
This deciduous, perennial shrub grows to 3’+x 3’+ and blooms from spring to the first freeze. They are deer resistant and tolerant dry to moist soil.

Rio Grande Globe Amaranth 

Gomphrena haageana

I just love these funky little Dr Seuss flower balls. They are a native Texas perennial with some pretty awesome characteristics. it is a sun loving plant that grows to about 2’ and attracts beneficial insects such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. 

Home Run Rose

Rosa ‘WEKcisbako’

Home Run Rose is really hard to find in Austin, but I actually found mine at Lowes. If you cannot find it, ask your local nursery to get it because it is one of the best roses of all time in my opinion. No disease issues, hardly no maintenance, open red roses from spring to fall. Evergreen, super drought tolerant and little maintenance. I compost my roses each spring and do nothing else but enjoy. Great for zones 4-9, 4×4′, full sun.

Daylily 

genus Hemerocallis

Daylilies are incredibly hardy in the central Texas landscape. I have them in a myriad of colors and this red dwarf Daylily is  showstopper in the landscape for obvious reasons. Daylilies can grow up to 3 ‘ but this lovely grows to about 2’. They are not deer resistant, but they live sun to part sun and they are super drought tolerant and low maintenance. 

Paprika Yarrow

”Achillea millefolium’

Yarrow is one of my favorite plants and I am not sure why, lol. It just makes me happy when I see them and I think the foliage and the little clusters of flowers are whimsical in the landscape. Super drought tolerant and little to no maintenance, evergreen, full to part sun and blooms all summer long. 2×2′, zones 3-9. Excellent cut flower and deer resistant.

Texas Betony
Stachys coccinea

Texas Betony is a beautiful native plant that requires little attention for a lot of reward. Though it’s a little lazy, this low water plant is a prolific bloomer, it’s deer resistant and like the sun. 2 x 2, semi evergreen.

Furman’s Red Autumn Sage

Salvia Greggii, Furman’s Red

Salvia Greggii is a super plant for zone 8 and is most commonly found in hot pink. I love this varieties striking red color and is also outstanding planting in mass with its counterparts, pink and coral. This is a great deer resistant plant because of its pungent sage/salvia smell and while it is super drought tolerant and accepting of our horrible heat, it does require some maintenance. After the blooming period it is best to cut back all the spent heads so you can get repeated blooms throughout the season. typically spread to 3×3′, full sun and evergreen. Hardy for zones 5-9.

Red Prince Weigela

Weigela florida “Red Prince”

I love this perennial plant because it is stunning in bloom. Mine has grown to 8′ tall and turned into more of a vine than a shrub but it may vary in size down to 6′ x 6′. It is a woody perennial that goes dormant in the winter but leaves behind its woody structure which is even pretty

without the leaves and flowers. It likes part sun to full sun and is a low water plant though it prefers good drainage so for this plant (as all plants) compost in the spring. Deer resistant.

Tropical Sage / Cedar Sage

Salvia coccinea / Salvia roemeriana

The photo above features a Tropical Sage but I am lumping in the Cedar sage because they both have red flowers but the Cedar Sage is low growing and the Tropical sage can reach to 2’+. . The tropical Sage is a sun/part sun plant and the Cedar Sage is shade/part shade. They are both very striking in the landscape, low water,  little to no maintenance and can take over a bed by seed though they are not invasive and have very shallow roots. Each are deciduous so they sleep in the winter and are some of the first to return in the spring. Profuse blooms reach about 1’x 1′ or so. Hardy to zones 6-9, reseeds readily. Deer resistant.

 

Texas Star, Swamp Hibiscus, Scarlet Rose Mallow

hibiscus coccineus

Yes, this plant is as fabulous as it looks. Star Hibiscus has a huge flower with really interesting Cannabis looking serrated leaves. I actually had a police officer park his car and walk into my yard to check it out. This is not in the same family though this plant also possess many  medicinal qualities. It is a beautiful addition to the garden and likes full to part sun and enjoys wet feet. It makes a great pond plant and will do well in your perennial bed as well. I have them in my pond and in my Xeriscape beds so it is an incredibly versatile plant. Deciduous perennial, deer resistant   5’x 5′.

When designing with red be sure to use the color throughout your landscape or in featured places. in other words, red can over power your eye so if you use a 5′ tall red plant on one side of your bed you could place a 1′ red plant on the other end to balance the color out. You could also use red in the center as a specimen that really pops but when using strong colors symmetry is your friend. Red attracts hummingbirds and is the color of love, so go crazy and try something new this season.

If you’re in the Austin or the surrounding area and you would like help with choosing the right plants for your space, email me to set up a Landscape Consultation or Design at lisalapaso@gmail.com!

Lisa LaPaso

Lisa’s Landscape & Design (“like” me on facebook)

“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”

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