What’s “Native”?
What Does It Mean to Be a Texas Native Plant?
There are many aspects of being “native” that make plants beneficial. Here we’ll discuss just one aspect: location.
Plants Don’t Care About Political Boundaries, and Texas is enormous. Pine forests, deserts, plains, and coasts all provide different growing conditions, making some plants thrive in one area but not another. The climate and conditions of Central Texas are closer to those of New Mexico, Arizona, and Northern Mexico than they are to most parts of East Texas. Plants don’t recognize state lines! So when it comes to gauging what plants will thrive in this area, we argue that it is more important to look at similar climates than to look at “Texas Native” status.
Friendly Natives is located in the Edwards Plateau ecoregion. Typically, when we refer to native plants, we are looking at ones that are native to the same ecoregion. We are blessed with diversity in the Hill Country, and we find that most plants that are native to other ecoregions are ALSO native to ours. Because of this, our specification of Texas Native very often indicates region-specific native status.
More on Texas Ecoregions:
An ecoregion is an area where climate, geology, soils, elevation, rainfall, and natural communities are similar. Plants and wildlife form symbiotic relationships in which specific regional plants support regional wildlife and vice versa.
Texas contains several major ecoregions, including:
Piney Woods
Gulf Prairies and Marshes
Blackland Prairie
Cross Timbers
Rolling Plains
High Plains
South Texas Plains
Trans-Pecos
Edwards Plateau
Each has its own unique combination of environmental conditions.
The Edwards Plateau is characterized by:
Thin, rocky limestone soils
Alkaline conditions
Periodic drought
Hot summers
Flashy rainfall patterns
Significant elevation changes
But- even within this ecoregion, we see tons of variation. Soil type is probably the most inconsistent variable, ranging from heavy clay, to sand, to caliche.
Nearby Ecoregions Can Share Similar Plants
Several nearby regions share similarities with the Edwards Plateau and often contain plants that perform well in the Hill Country, which is why you’ll often find plants from neighboring regions thriving in local landscapes, even if they aren’t technically native to the Edwards Plateau itself.
Conversely, several nearby regions do NOT share similarities with this ecoregion, even though they are technically in Texas.
The Importance of Microclimates
Even within the same yard, growing conditions can vary dramatically. These localized environmental differences are called microclimates, and they can have a huge impact on plant success.
A few examples include:
A south-facing stone wall that reflects heat and creates warmer conditions.
A low spot that collects moisture after rainfall.
A shaded courtyard protected from drying winds.
An exposed hilltop that receives intense sun and experiences colder winter temperatures.
Because of microclimates, one gardener may have excellent success with a plant that struggles just a few miles away. In some cases, enough difference exists within even the same property to allow for a plant to thrive in one location but not another. We actually see this happen a lot! Gardening advice is not one-size-fits-all, and this is largely due to microclimates.
Native Is a Great Starting Point
Native plants offer tremendous benefits. They support pollinators, provide wildlife habitat, and are generally well-adapted to local conditions. But when it comes to what will survive and thrive, “native” to Texas doesn’t tell the whole story. A great question to ask when selecting plants is “if it’s not native to HERE, where IS it native?”
How do we at Friendly Natives define the term “Texas Native”? You’ll find the Texas icon on plants that are native to areas within the Texas boundary. However, we try to note when plants grow naturally just across the border in Mexico or New Mexico, or if it’s technically native to Texas but not naturally found in our ecoregion. Information empowers your decisions so we try let you know what’s what!