12 plants
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..
Cardinal Flower
Lobelia cardinalis
Spikes of the most intense scarlet of any native flower, rising from moist shade in late summer.
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..
Cedar Sedge
Carex planostachys
A fine, arching native sedge that forms a soft green carpet in the dry shade beneath cedars and oaks — one of the very few things that will grow, and hold soil, there..
Coralberry
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
A modest suckering shrub for shade that comes into its own in fall, when the arching branches string themselves with clusters of coral-pink berries the birds strip by spring..
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..
Inland Sea Oats
Chasmanthium latifolium
The rare ornamental grass that thrives in shade, dangling flat, papery seed heads that shift from green to bronze and rustle all winter.
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..
Texas Betony
Stachys coccinea
Soft mounds of felted leaves send up scarlet flower spikes for months, thriving in the part shade where few hummingbird plants will bloom..
Turk's Cap
Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii
The go-to native for shade that still wants color.
Wax Myrtle
Morella cerifera
A fast, dense, aromatic evergreen that makes an ideal privacy screen and fixes its own nitrogen.
Yaupon Holly
Ilex vomitoria
An adaptable evergreen holly that takes sun or deep shade, wet or dry, and covers itself in translucent red berries that hold all winter for the birds.
Choosing for shade for Texas
These 12 species are all native to Texas and suited to this use. Because they belong to the local climate, they'll do the job with far less water and care than the non-native alternatives usually sold for it. Open any plant for full growing details, or use the finder to narrow further by sun, size, and bloom.