Shrub
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
Also called: Wax Mallow, Drummond's Turk's Cap
The go-to native for shade that still wants color. Its whorled red 'fez' flowers feed hummingbirds all summer, followed by edible red fruit the birds love.
Growing & care
Adapts from full sun to deep shade; blooms best with a few hours of light. Dies back in hard winters and returns from the root. Cut to the ground in late winter.
Bloom season
In bloom: May–Nov · Colors: red
Where to buy
Look for turk's cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) at: native Texas nurseries, Prairie Moon Nursery, local garden centers.
Sources
Range, nomenclature, and the USDA symbol above come from the federal plant record for this species. Check it yourself:
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii (MAARD) in the USDA PLANTS Database →
Good for
Plant it with
Natives that pair with turk's cap
Same conditions, same uses — species that share turk's cap's growing requirements and belong in the same bed.
American Beautyberry
Callicarpa americana
Grown for its show-stopping clusters of electric-purple berries in fall — a feast for mockingbirds and dozens of other birds — on a graceful arching shrub..
Scarlet Sage
Salvia coccinea
An easy reseeding sage that blooms scarlet from spring to frost, even in part shade — one of the few hummingbird plants that flowers reliably out of full sun..
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Spikes of the most intense scarlet of any native flower, rising from moist shade in late summer.
Horseherb
Calyptocarpus vialis
A soft, low groundcover that quietly replaces lawn in the shade where turf fails, threading tiny yellow flowers through its foliage for pollinators nearly year-round..
Cedar Sage
Salvia roemeriana
A little scarlet sage made for the dry shade under cedar and oak — one of the few natives that lights up those difficult spots with true red bloom..
Coral Honeysuckle
Lonicera sempervirens
A well-behaved native vine — none of the invasive habit of Japanese honeysuckle — with clusters of coral trumpets that hummingbirds cannot resist..