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One of the most common questions we get from DIY gardeners and landscape design clients alike…”Can you recommend blooming plants for the shadier areas of my yard?” Great question! Most blooming plants want lots of sun, but there are still some great options for shade. Here are 10 of our fav shade bloomers that we have in stock and ready to plant right now!

1. Gregg’s Mist Flower

Do you have shady spots in your yard where you like to hang out and cool off? Would you like to enjoy the company of dozens of butterflies in those chill spots? Then plant a bunch of native Gregg’s Mist Flower! It can handle full sun, but it loves morning sun and afternoon shade.

2. Shady Salvias, like ‘Black & Bloom’ and ‘Plum Crazy’

We have quite a wide selection of salvias this spring, including gorgeous varieties that prefer more shade, like Plum Crazy (pictured), the darker purple Black & Bloom, and even the native Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea) which like dappled light under tree canopies.

3. Celosia

The problem with doing a general web search for gardening tips is that the info rarely applies to our area specifically. Celosia is a good example – most gardening sites will recommend full sun, but they don’t mean South Texas full sun! In our area, Celosia makes a bright and fun addition to shadier spots in the garden with blooms through spring into early summer.

4. Blue Plumbago

We like to call Plumbago the South Texas Hydrangea. We can’t grow Hydrangeas very well in our area (wish we could!), but Plumbago thrives here and gives you a similar effect in the landscape with TONS of big, gorgeous blue blooms. Think part sun/part shade spots. There’s also a white version if blue’s not for you.

5. Begonias!

Begonias might be our fav annual flowers for shade. They’re awesome in the ground or in pots, and can even be brought indoors. And there are tons of varieties to choose from with different foliage and different blooms.

6. Firespike

Here’s one we don’t see too often – Firespike! Excellent 4-6′ tall and wide shrub that hummingbirds and butterflies adore. We wouldn’t recommend it for deep shade, but it’ll be happy and bloom in some shade.

7. Blue Daze

It’s a bit tricky to find a low-growing, heat-loving, drought-tolerant plant that can bloom in the shade, but Blue Daze checks all those boxes. This Texas Superstar thrives in our area and makes an excellent groundcover. Great in pots too!

8. Turk’s Cap

Texas Native Turk’s Cap is one of the most versatile and easy landscape plants there is. You can plant it almost anywhere, including deep shade, and it will bloom like crazy. Plus, it’s a magnet for hummingbirds. Did you know that Turk’s Cap is part of the mallow family and that the fruit and all parts of the plant are edible?

9. Texas Betony

Texas Betony is another native that hummingbirds and butterflies adore. And it’s an excellent shade bloomer. We don’t see it super often, so it’s a treat to have some in the garden center right now.

10. Shrimp Plant!

How could we talk about shade bloomers without mentioning the South Texas classic, Shrimp Plant! It comes in different colors, hummingbirds love it, and grows to about 4′ tall and wide.

Recent rains + lots of sunshine + a cool front coming this weekend = AMAZING time to garden! We’re all busy planting, re-designing, fertilizing, and getting ready for holidays and weekends outside with family and friends. Here are our top tips for making the most of a very important month in the garden.

1. Feed Your Plants, Trees, and Lawns Too

Feeding your plants this month is a must. This includes lawns, trees, and most plants. Everything is actively growing, which means they’ll need more food to continue looking their best. Medina Growin Green is a great multi-purpose food for landscape plants, shrubs, trees, veggies, lawns, you name it! For blooming perennials, annual flowers, and veggies we really like using a good organic granular food like Medina Growin Green, Plant Tone by Espoma, or Rose Glo in combination with Medina Hasta Gro liquid. Feed with the granular on the 1st of each month, then follow up with liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th. Add these reminders to your calendar and you can’t go wrong!

Yes, you can still fertilize your lawn, even though our lawn watering is limited. Using a good organic lawn food, like our go-to Medina Growin Green, promotes root growth and long-term health, which makes lawns more tolerant of less water. Ideally you’d want to water the fertilizer in, but you don’t have to. Medina Growin Green is gentle and won’t burn your lawn. You can apply it now and water it in slowly over a few weeks. If you have trees in your yard, keep in mind that fertilizer and water need to be applied at the drip line, aka where rainwater naturally drips off the outer edge of the canopy. Therefore, if you apply fertilizer to your lawn and water it in for the trees, your lawn will get the benefit too. You can also try to time your lawn fertilizing with a light rain. We typically don’t recommend waiting for rain to fertilize since a heavy rain would wash most of the fertilizer granules away. But, given the watering limitations, taking advantage of a light rain is a good solution.

Homeowners can also collect free effluent water at the Oso Wastewater Treatment Plant to use to water lawns. Apply for a quick and easy residential permit from the City of Corpus Christi here.

2. Watering Wands Win!

Hand watering with a watering wand that has a cutoff valve is the most efficient and best way to water, especially for new plantings. Watering plants low to the ground keeps water from escaping via wind and evaporation and keeps water off the leaves which can invite fungal issues. Watering slowly (by turning down the pressure on your watering wand or kinking your hose) ensures that more water gets down to the roots instead of running off the surface.

Keep in mind that hand watering and drip irrigation are allowed during current watering restrictions. You can hand water any day before 10am or after 6pm, and you can supplement with drip irrigation once every other week. We carry the pro watering wands that we use here at Gill’s as well as moisture meters, timers, and soaker hoses.

For any new plantings, including turfgrass, you can apply for a temporary exemption to watering restrictions and use sprinklers and irrigation systems in order to help get plants, lawns, and trees established. We can help you file for the exemption if you like – it’s a straightforward process.

3. Plant Blooming Perennials for Pollinators

April is time to add some blooming perennials to attract pollinators like butterflies, bees, and birds to your garden. You support pollinators (and the planet!) and in return they help you have more blooms, better production on your veggies, and a more vibrant landscape! Remember – April is when we start seeing hummingbirds! We’ve just seen our first hummingbirds of the season here at Gill’s this week! Add a few of their favorites like this native Salvia greggii, native Flame Acanthus, or firebush and make your backyard a preferred stop.

4. Plant Your Warm Weather Veggies

It’s time to plant hot peppers, squash, zucchini, basil, beans, and more! When starting veggies, the trick is to get the soil as active and alive as possible. Amend your existing soil with Nature’s Blend Compost (about 1 bag per 12 sq. ft.), then add a little Bio Tone starter fertilizer with mycorrhizal fungi and a good handful of worm castings when you plant each plant. Then follow our trusted fertilizer schedule – Plant Tone on the 1st of the month and liquid Hasta Gro on the 15th! Remember that veggies use a lot of energy and need these regular feedings to produce. Plus, strong, vigorous veggie plants are less susceptible to pest damage.

5. Mulch! Not Just for Good Looks…

We all know that fresh mulch is like a fresh coat of paint for your garden – instant makeover! But did you know that applying a proper 3” layer of natural mulch keeps underlying soil temps more than 20 degrees cooler?! A good mulch layer keeps weeds at bay, and as it breaks down over time, it add nutrients to your soil. And perhaps most importantly right now, a good mulch layer retains moisture, which means big water savings.

6. Get Ready for Guests

Get outside and enjoy the gorgeous weather and prep for gathering with family and friends! For the quickest and easiest impact outdoors, think hanging baskets full of Impatiens, Vinca, Purslane, Geraniums and more overflowing with color. Some pops of color plus fresh mulch in your beds and you’re ready to host! For indoors, our favorite flower arrangements are those cut fresh from the garden and landscape.

Check out our April Garden Guide for more tips!

The weather this week has been magical! Such a joy to be outside in the garden. Everything is bursting with new growth and blooms and wonderful fragrance. We had to make a list of 10 of our fav plants that make sense…and scents!

1. Buddleia aka Butterfly Bush

Buddleia aka Buddleja flower plumes have a soft grape-ish scent that butterflies flock to, hence their common name, butterfly bush. Grow Buddleia in full sun to partial shade. Different varieties range from 2′ to 6′ tall mature height.

2. Gardenia

Gardenias are the fragrant beauty of the South. You could describe the bloom’s scent as sweet, floral, and fresh. So gorgeous! In our area, they’re great in containers because they like well-drained acidic soil.

3. Almond Verbena

No wonder these almond-scented blooms are used to make perfumes. They smell absolutely heavenly! Humans are not the only ones who adore this large shrub/small tree. Almond Verbena is a magnet for pollinators too, especially bees and butterflies.

4. Citronella Geranium

This one might be controversial…some people can’t stand the scent of citronella geraniums while some people love it. Whether you like the scent or not, it does work well for repelling mosquitos. To maximize their mosquito repelling properties, the plants need to be disturbed to release more of their scent. Brushing them gently with a broom works great.

5. Lemongrass

Lemongrass is great in a kitchen garden – you can continually harvest shoots and leaves for cooking and tea-making, it smells amazing, and it’s so easy to grow! We also like using it elsewhere in the landscape the same way you might use other ornamental grasses. Much like other grasses, it’s cold hardy and doesn’t require much water. Plus the scent can help keep repel mosquitos.

6. Plumeria

Plumerias are back at Gill’s! Depending on the variety, the bloom scents range from soft, fruity, peachy to spicy/peppery. Plumerias are such a fun plant to grow and share. They can be cut and propagated easily, just be patient for new roots to grow.

7. Roses!

Have you stopped and smelled the roses lately?? We can’t help it! We have so many lovely scented roses that are bursting with blooms right now, like Julia Child, South Africa, the ‘Bloomable’ and ‘Livin Easy’ series, Intrigue, and one of our all time favs, Belinda’s Dream (pictured). Right now is prime time to plant and enjoy.

8. Copper Canyon Daisy

Have you ever brushed against a Copper Canyon Daisy and stirred up the refreshing, clean scent of desert rain? If you’re looking for an extremely drought-tolerant and gorgeous yellow-blooming shrub for full sun that smells incredible, you just found it!

9. Star Jasmine

Star Jasmine vines are blooming on fences and trellises all over town right now – one of our very favorite scents of spring! Not only does it smell so sweet and fresh, it’s a cold hardy, evergreen, and summer tough vine. It’s a Corpus Christi classic for many reasons!

10. Rosemary

Here’s another herb that’s wonderful for cooking and as a landscape plant. There are tons of different varieties with different structure and growth habits: some upright, some crawling, and some spilling. They’re all edible and they all smell great. Try using sturdy rosemary stems as BBQ skewers. Strip most of the leaves off, skewer your fav foods, and leave some of the rosemary leaves at the end to burn and add some delicious smoky flavor.

Time for hummingbirds in South Texas! We’re lucky to see a few pretty much year-round, but mid-late April and September are when we typically see big migration surges. If you want to attract and enjoy hummingbirds, feeders can help, but plants are key. Did you know that most plants which are pollinated by hummingbirds have evolved over time to replenish nectar at night while hummingbirds are least active? That means hummingbirds can feed on the same flower over and over again without depleting the nectar! Here are 10 of our favorite plants for attracting and feeding hummingbirds – plant these now!

1. Firebush (Hamelia)

Firebush’s long tubular blooms are made for hummingbird beaks. And with so many blooms, hummingbirds will hang around and browse for a good while. Give it some space! Firebush grows 6-8 feet tall and wide and it grows fast. It loves sun, thrives with little water, and comes back quickly after a freeze. Give it a hard pruning in February and it’ll be back at full size by summer.

2. Native Turk’s Cap

Hummingbirds have been stopping to visit native Turk’s Cap in Texas for a loooooong time. Not only is it a hummingbird favorite, but its one of the most versatile landscape plants there is. Drought tolerant, grows in sun or shade, grows in clay or sand, withstands hot summers, withstands freezes, attracts and supports pollinators…Turk’s Cap can do it all.

3. Native Flame Acanthus

Here’s another top performer for hummingbirds and for South Texas landscapes. Native Flame Acanthus (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii) is excellent for full sun, clay or sandy soil, grows 3-5 feet tall and wide, is very drought tolerant, and produces tons of blooms for hummingbirds.

4. Native Wild Olive

It’s not uncommon to see an established wild olive tree absolutely covered in hummingbirds. Again, these are not red, tubular blooms, but hummingbirds find them anyway.

5. Native Tangerine Beauty Crossvine

We saw our first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird of the season here at Gill’s just the other day on our native Bignonia aka Tangerine Beauty crossvine trellis. If you haven’t seen it in person, you need to stop by! Plant crossvine in full sun to partial shade and expect fast growth! If the hummingbirds don’t find it this spring, they certainly will this fall.

6. Duranta erecta

These blooms are not like the others – they’re purple and white and they’re not tubular. Nonetheless, hummingbirds make frequent stops for Duranta. These small trees typically grow to 12-15′ tall with a spread of about 10′ here in South Texas. Lots of room for lots of blooms!

7. Native Salvia greggii

If you plant Texas native Salvia greggii, you might have hummingbirds on it before you finish filling up the hole. This is true for so many of the different red salvias like Roman Red, native Salvia coccinea, Hot Lips, and more. They even love the blue salvias like native Henry Duelberg and Mystic Spires.

8. Pentas

We grow pentas as annual flowers here in South Texas, and the timing for planting them aligns perfectly with the April and September hummingbird migration. They come in many colors, but hummingbirds prefer the red variety.

9. Native Red Yucca

If you’re looking for low-maintenance, Red Yucca wins. Once established, you can pretty much leave them alone and they’ll thrive and bloom and look beautiful through the heat of summer and through freezes. And they’ll be frequented by hummingbirds!

10. Firecracker Plant (Russelia)

If you’re looking for a summer-tough, fast-growing, shaggy, wild-looking plant that attracts tons of hummingbirds…you found it! Firecracker Plant gets 3-5′ tall and wide and is a tried and true favorite here in South Texas – reliable and drought-tolerant.

These are just 10 of our favs, but we have a whole universe of other plants for hummingbirds, as well as feeders and nectar. Come see us or get in touch if you have any hummingbirds questions.

Yay for May! Everything’s growing and blooming and we hope you are too! May is Mental Health Awareness Month, which is a good time to think about the peace of mind that gardening brings us. Gardeners know that all the research is true – gardening is good for you! Here are our Top 7 Must Do’s this May to keep you and your garden feelin’ good.

1. Join Us for Garden Talks and Events!

We’ve got a big May planned here at Gill’s, and we’re kicking it off this Saturday, May 3rd with a fun cyanotype printing event with the TAMUCC Student Art Association. Stop by and create your own cyanotype prints using leaves and flowers! Then next weekend we’re inviting kids to come pot up a flower for Mom for Mother’s Day. Sure to be lots of fun and lots to learn and discuss! Click here for more info and tickets!

2. Plant Blooming Perennials and Trees

It’s time to plant lots of different blooming perennials and blooming trees. Get them established in May so they are rooted and acclimated to withstand warmer temps this Summer. Staples like Esperanza, many varieties of Salvia, Lantana, and tons more are all blooming beautifully right now. And blooming trees like Vitex, Retama, and Wild Olive are looking great right now. Crape Myrtles will start blooming soon too. Added bonus: blooming perennials and trees attract lots of butterflies and hummingbirds!

3. Plant and Harvest Veggies

Warm weather veggie time! Plant all kinds of peppers, zucchini, squash, melons, and okra this month for continued harvesting into the Summer months. If you planted tomatoes, cucumbers, and other early Spring veggies, you’ll be harvesting now or very soon. Be sure to harvest often! It keeps birds & insects from finding them first. If you do have insect issues in your veggie garden, our go-to organic control is Spinosad – safe for food but takes care of bugs. Remember to keep watering your veggies as the weather warms up to maintain depth moisture.

4. Mulch for Many Reasons!

5. Transition Your Lawn to Summer

Feed with Natural Fertilizers: Medina Growin Green or Milorganite. Yes, you can still fertilize your lawn, even though our lawn watering is limited. Using a good organic lawn food, like our go-to Medina Growin Green, promotes root growth and long-term health, which makes lawns more tolerant of less water. Ideally you’d want to water the fertilizer in, but you don’t have to. Medina Growin Green is gentle and won’t burn your lawn. You can apply it now and water it in slowly over a few weeks. If you have trees in your yard, keep in mind that fertilizer and water need to be applied at the drip line, aka where rainwater naturally drips off the outer edge of the canopy. Therefore, if you apply fertilizer to your lawn and water it in for the trees, your lawn will get the benefit too. You can also try to time your lawn fertilizing with a light rain. We typically don’t recommend waiting for rain to fertilize since a heavy rain would wash most of the fertilizer granules away. But, given the watering limitations, taking advantage of a light rain is a good solution.

Watering: Homeowners can collect free effluent water at the Oso Wastewater Treatment Plant to use to water lawns, which is a great option. Apply for a quick and easy residential permit from the City of Corpus Christi here. If you do so, keep in mind that 1,000 gallons can water 1,621 sq ft of lawn at a nice 1” depth or 3,225 sq ft of lawn at ½” depth.

When mowing, the proper height for St. Augustine lawns is around 3 inches. For Bermuda lawns, keep mowed to around 2-2.5 inches. Buzzing lawns shorter than that will cause lawn stress, and stressed lawns are more susceptible to pests, weeds, and disease.

Watch for lawn insects & treat when needed. Grub worms & chinch bugs are easy to control when caught early but there’s no need to treat unless you have them. BioAdvanced 24-Hour Grub Killer or Season-Long Bonide Insect and Grub Control will do the trick for grubs. Diatomaceous Earth, Spinosad, or Cyonara takes care of chinch bugs. Reminder, you can bring us a grass sample any time you suspect a lawn disease or pest. We’ll diagnose (using our microscope if needed) and get you what you need to knock it out.

Consider reducing your lawn space! Does all this lawn stuff sound like a lot of work? It can be! Many of us are reconsidering whether we really even want all that green lawn space. Why not start converting small portions of lawn to planting beds filled with blooming perennials that benefit the environment and use far less water? One way to start would simply be to deepen existing landscape beds to reduce some lawn.

6. Set Your Mosquito Traps!

We are big fans of the simple bucket mosquito trap. Just fill a bucket 3/4 with water, add a good handful of lawn or plant clippings, and toss in a Mosquito Dunk or Mosquito Bits. These dissolve in the water and release bacteria that target mosquito larvae and kill them before they hatch. And they’re organic and not harmful to birds, bees, pets or humans! Set a few of these traps, sprinkle some organic Mosquito Beater granules around walkways and patios, spray organic Cedar Repel on your lawn, and use Skeeter Screen incense sticks near where you’re working or hanging out outside. Remember that using chemical mosquito foggers kills all the good bugs too, some of which also help control mosquitos and other bad bugs.

7. Gifts for Mother’s Day and Graduations

Let us help you find something pretty, useful, or both for the gardening moms and grads in your life. Pottery, birdbaths, wind chimes, quality garden tools, hats, gloves, garden decor, plantable greeting cards, gardening books – lots of options. You can purchase Gill gift cards online here and we’ll gift wrap and mail them to your loved one. Or come find the gift that gardeners love most – plants 🙂

Fresh mulch is like a fresh coat of paint for your garden – beautiful instant makeover! But it’s not just for looks. Natural mulch has so many other critical benefits, especially as we move into warmer summer temperatures. Read to learn more about how mulch keeps plant roots healthier, adds nutrients to the soil, suppresses weeds, prevents plant disease, and very importantly right now, saves water!

Mulch Keeps Plant Roots 20 Degrees Cooler!

Did you know that applying a proper 3” layer of natural mulch, like hardwood, cedar, or pine straw mulch, keeps underlying soil temps more than 20 degrees cooler?! Gill’s Landscape Designer, Kathy Hubner attended a webinar presented by Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories in which they shared amazing results from a mulch study in San Antonio. Soil temperatures were measured at 6″ deep (where plant roots live) on a 105 degree summer day. Bare soil with no mulch, 6″ down was 102 degrees. Soil under grass was 92 degrees. Soil beneath a 3″ layer of mulch was only 76 degrees!! Keeping plant roots cool helps them take up water and nutrients and prevents heat stress on the plant. To achieve a 3″ layer of mulch takes about 1 bag per 12 sq. ft.

Mulch Suppresses Weeds & Builds Healthy Soil!

A 3″ mulch layer also helps suppress weeds by blocking light that weed seeds need in order to sprout, while still allowing good water, oxygen, and nutrient transfer for plants. And speaking of nutrients, natural mulches break down over time and help build healthier, looser soil. For these reasons, mulch can also act as an excellent placeholder for areas that you plan to plant in the future. For example, once you harvest your spring veggies, mulch that area to keep weeds from invading and to keep soil nice and healthy for when you get ready to plant again. Or, if you’re working on your landscape in phases, go ahead and create and mulch new beds, then plant when you’re ready – very few weeds to deal with and easier digging!

Mulch Saves You Water!

The name of the game for summer watering is to maintain depth moisture. This means watering plants slow, low, and deep. Use a watering wand and water at ground level to get water down to the roots – don’t water over the top of your plants! Also, don’t water full blast. Turn down the pressure, water slowly, and use the cycle-soak method which means water once, let it soak in, then water again to get water down deep. A proper mulch layer is your best friend for maintaining this depth moisture due to the cooling/insulating effect we’ve discussed, and because it prevents evaporation. Not only does mulch help the soil retain moisture, it also keeps soil from splashing up onto the plant when you water, which prevents fungal disease. Be sure you spread the mulch evenly and avoid creating the dreaded “mulch volcano” around the trunks or main stems of plants and trees. Mounding mulch up against the trunk can invite disease. Best to mulch around trees and plants then pull mulch away from the trunk to create just a little space.

Our low-water section here at Gill’s is stocked full of all kinds of tough plants for dry areas, including something very special…Opuntia ficus-indica aka the choice edible Prickly Pear cacti used for making nopales! Here are our tips for growing and preparing them for all kinds of delicious recipes!

There are over 100 species of Prickly Pear cacti known in Mexico as well as the Texas Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii), and almost all of them are edible. This one, Opuntia ficus-indica is one of the most commonly farmed for food due to its tender pads with a great texture for cooking. Our climate is excellent for growing Prickly Pear – they love the heat and they can handle a freeze too. They love full sun, but they can tolerate some shade. If you live in an area with sandy soil, Prickly Pear will thrive with very little soil amendment. They love good drainage. If you have heavy clay soil, it’s a good idea to amend your soil with Premium Blend Expanded Shale and Compost to create better drainage. Another good idea for clay soil is to plant high! Mound up your amended soil a bit when you plant Prickly Pear so water will run off and won’t be able to collect at the base of the plant. A good mulch or rock layer on top will also keep water from splashing up onto the cactus. Water every day for about a week to get roots established, then taper down. Once established, Prickly Pear will thrive with very little water long-term.

Before long, you’ll have buds emerging and new pads growing out from old pads. When selecting pads to harvest, look for the bright green ones that are soft, but not limp. Using a nice sharp knife, cut them off at the base of the pad. A sharp knife and clean cut will allow the wound to heal over quickly without putting much stress on the plant. To prep for cooking, lay the pads flat on a cutting board, trim off the tough outer edge all the way around, then use a peeler or small knife to remove all the bumps and thorns. Gloves help! Keep as much of the dark green skin intact as you can. Many people like to boil and rinse the nopales first to help remove some of the gelatinous liquid inside the flesh. Or, you can skip this step and cook the whole pads on the grill or chop and cook with a little fat in a cast iron pan, uncovered until most of that mucilage is cooked out.

Now if you had a few backyard chickens, you’d have your own steady supply of nopales and egg breakfast tacos!

If you’re looking for a hardy, beautiful, and beneficial plant to add to your garden, Pavonia lasiopetala—commonly known as Rock Rose—is a perfectly pink pick! With its cheerful pink flowers, impressive drought tolerance, and versatility, this native perennial is a gem for local landscapes.

Why Choose Rock Rose?

Rock Rose typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall and wide. Like its native relative Turk’s Cap, it can be grown in lots of different areas in the landscape – very versatile! Its mini-hibiscus-like flowers bloom from spring through fall, and attract lots of hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. We planted Rock Rose in the front raised beds here at Gill’s back in February, and it’s been a show-stopper!

Growing Tips for Our Area

Soil: Rock Rose loves well-drained soils. Excellent for sandy soil, raised beds, and pots. It can do well in heavy clay soil too, just amend your soil well with compost and plant high (on a slight mound).
Sun: Full sun is great, but it can tolerate some shade, especially from afternoon sun.
Water: Once established, it’s very drought-tolerant. Water young plants regularly to help roots develop, then it won’t need much attention.
Pruning: Light trimming after blooming keeps it tidy and encourages more flowers. Cut it back hard in February to refresh its shape.

Medicinal and Historical Uses

While not primarily a medicinal herb, Pavonia has traditionally been used in folk remedies. The mucilaginous leaves (meaning they have a soothing, gel-like texture when crushed) have been used to relieve minor skin irritations or sunburn, similar to aloe. Along with other plants in the mallow family (like Turk’s Cap and Hibiscus), it’s also been used in teas to ease respiratory issues and cough.

Plant it with These Native Friends

Rock Rose plays well with others! Pair it with other heat-loving Texas natives for a stunning and sustainable garden. Try these companions for a rainbow of colors:

Salvia greggii (Autumn Sage) – Hummingbird magnet with long-lasting blooms.
Zexmenia (Wedelia acapulcensis var. hispida) – A sprawling yellow daisy-like flower that thrives in hot, dry areas.
Blackfoot Daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) – Low-growing with sweet white flowers and a delightful fragrance.