Guide · Texas
Texas Native Plant Calendar: What to Plant, Sow and Prune by Season
A season-by-season calendar for Texas native gardens: when to plant shrubs and trees, sow bluebonnets, seed buffalograss, and cut back flame acanthus, beautyberry, autumn sage and more.
By The Native Garden Guide team · Updated September 22, 2026
Timing decides whether a lot of native gardening jobs work. Prune agarita in winter and you cut off next February’s bloom. Sow bluebonnets in spring and they miss the cold season they need before flowering. Mow them too early and next year’s seed ends up in the mower bag.
This calendar collects the timing from the plant guides on this site in one place. Texas is big, so treat the months as a guide: frost dates in the Panhandle and the Rio Grande Valley are weeks apart. Where a job depends on your last frost, it says so. Print this page and keep it by the back door.
At a glance
| Season | Plant | Sow | Prune and cut back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall (Sep to Nov) | Trees, shrubs, perennials, cedar sedge plugs | Bluebonnets (Oct to Nov), cedar sedge, Maximilian sunflower | Agarita (finish shaping by fall) |
| Winter (Dec to Feb) | Container trees and shrubs in mild spells | Maximilian sunflower (outdoors) | Flame acanthus, American beautyberry, desert willow, cedar sedge, blackfoot daisy, Texas sage |
| Spring (Mar to May) | Buffalograss plugs and seed, frogfruit plugs | Scarlet sage, Texas sage seed, buffalograss | Autumn sage and coral honeysuckle after their spring bloom |
| Summer (Jun to Aug) | Water new plantings, don’t add many | Buffalograss until late July | Maximilian sunflower (by half, early summer), mealy blue sage after a long bloom |
Fall: the main planting season
Fall is the best time to plant most natives in Texas. Texas A&M AgriLife has promoted fall planting for years, because roots keep growing through a Texas winter whenever the soil stays above about 40°F. A shrub planted in October has a mild winter to settle in instead of going straight into August heat.
Plant: trees, shrubs and perennials from containers. This is the moment for the hedge you’ve been meaning to replace (see native alternatives to ligustrum and nandina). Cedar sedge plugs also go in now, since it is a cool-season sedge.
Sow: bluebonnets in October or November, and early October gives the longest head start. Scarify the hard seed first by nicking it or rubbing it with sandpaper. Sow Maximilian sunflower outdoors in fall or winter and let the cold break its dormancy. Direct-sow cedar sedge seed in fall.
Prune: finish any shaping on agarita by fall. It sets next February’s flower buds on this year’s wood.
Leave alone: Maximilian sunflower seed heads, which feed finches into winter. Enjoy the pink fall plumes of gulf muhly.
Winter: the pruning season
Many Texas natives flower on new growth, so late winter, before new leaves appear, is when to cut them back.
- Flame acanthus: cut back hard around February. In colder areas the frost may have done it already; just remove the dead stems.
- American beautyberry: cut back to about 12 inches right before spring growth starts for the heaviest berry crop.
- Desert willow: cut mature trees back by about a third each winter to keep them covered in flowers.
- Cedar sedge: cut back dead stems in February. Leave them standing until then as winter shelter for insects.
- Blackfoot daisy: cut older, woody plants back by about half in late winter.
- Texas sage: light shaping only, late winter. Don’t shear it into balls.
- Passionflower and Maximilian sunflower: cut the dead stems down in late winter.
Watch for: agarita flowering in February, one of the few nectar sources for bees that early, and Mexican plum, one of the earliest native trees to bloom.
Spring: warm-season planting and bloom
Plant and sow once the soil warms: Buffalograss goes in from spring through late July. Seed needs soil above roughly 55°F, so an April planting usually beats March. Plugs go in after your last spring frost. Frogfruit plugs also go in in spring or early summer. Direct-sow scarlet sage and Texas sage seed after the last frost.
Prune after bloom:
- Autumn sage: shear by a third to a half after the big spring flush to bring on more flowers through summer and fall.
- Coral honeysuckle: trim lightly right after the spring bloom. It flowers on new growth, so trimming in early spring cuts off flowers.
Don’t mow yet: wait until bluebonnet seed pods have matured, six to eight weeks after flowering, when the pods turn yellow to tan or brown. Mow sooner and next year’s seed goes into the mower bag.
Summer: water and wait
Summer is the worst time to plant in most of Texas. Spend it keeping first-year plants alive: most guides on this site call for about a weekly deep watering through the first summer, then little or none.
- Maximilian sunflower: cut stems back by about half in early summer for shorter, sturdier plants that still bloom in fall.
- Mealy blue sage: after a long bloom run, cut back to about half height for a second flush.
- Autumn sage: take 4 to 6 inch cuttings from non-flowering stems in late spring or summer. They typically root in about three weeks.
- Desert willow: semi-hardwood cuttings can be taken in late summer.
In bloom: flame acanthus, Turk’s cap and desert willow carry the garden through the heat and keep hummingbirds fed.
Before you plant anything
Match the plant to the spot first; timing only helps a plant that suits the site. The clay soil guide, the shade guide and the Texas plant lists will point you to the right species. Then come back here for when to do the work.
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