Turks Cap
Turks Cap is one of those ubiquitous plants often seen in both commercial and residential landscape. But what most people don’t realize is that it has super powers, so we’re gonna discuss that today.
Turks Cap is Edible
Yes, it is edible. The flowers, fruit and leaves are all edible and make a delicious addition to salad. The flowers have a lightly sweet melon flavor and can be used to make a soothing tea. The fruit has a similar flavor and can be used to make dried fruit or jelly, and the leaves can be cooked or steamed and eaten like spinach.
3 Beautiful Shades of Color
The Texas Native is red, but there are two hybrids which are pink and white.
All of these plants are super hardy and low water once established. They are beautiful planted as individual specimen plants and planted in mass. The white and pink varieties can be hard to find but worth the trouble, though curiously, I have had a pink morph into white over time.
Pink Turks Cap (Pam Puryear)
Turks Cap ( White lightening)
Red Turks Cap (Native)
They Love Sun to Shade!
As a Landscape Designer, it can be a real challenge finding plants that can work well in landscapes that range from full sun to deep shade. I use this plant in my designs quite often because it’s one of those rare plants that really thrives in both sunlight conditions.
The flowers, fruit and bright green leaves are quite lovely from sun to shade and play beautifully with the filtered light.
A Perfect Xeriscape Plant for Central Texas
You may find these native plants in green belts where birds will drop the seeds and spread them about. This tells you that this plant is easy care, super low water and deer resistant, which makes a huge difference when you’re growing a xeriscape garden where wildlife thrives.
Xersicape doesn’t mean “rock garden”, it means low water landscape. So using rock or mulch has less to do with it than the plants you choose.
Its mature size can vary wildly. I have seen them mature from 3-6’ tall and wide, so it’s best to place them in the back or middle of your beds to allow it to do what it wants.
I hope you have a new found interest for this lovely plant and the reason it is so popular in Central Texas. It is a highly versatile perennial for its ability to grow from sun to shade, it is beautiful in all 3 colors, it is super drought tolerant and deer resistant, and it is very low maintenance once established.
If you’d like help with more native and adapted plants for Central Texas, please contact me at Lisalapaso@gmail.com!
If you’d like more information on edible Texas Natuve plants, check out this great resource.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
”Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
- Posted in: Austin Xeriscape ♦ Central Texas Gardens ♦ Deer Resistant Plants Austin ♦ Gardening ♦ Gardening in Central Texas ♦ Hill Country Modern Landscapes ♦ Landscape and Design ♦ Landscape Consultation ♦ Native Plants ♦ Perennial plants ♦ Xeriscape
- Tagged: cap, Deer, drought, Edible, Pink, Red, resistant, tolerant, Turks, White, Xeriscape