Louisiana native azalea. (Photo by Allen Owings. Click on photo for downloadable image.)

News Release Distributed 03/09/12

Many home gardeners have an interest in native plants. We are fortunate in Louisiana to have a vast abundance of native plants for home landscape use. These include our native wildflower, the native Louisiana iris, our state flower, the Southern magnolia, and our state tree, the magnificent bald cypress.

Most additions to our landscapes are made during spring. Garden centers typically have the best inventory in late winter through early summer. Also, many special plant sales and garden shows are held around the state. These are great events to find lesser-known plants, native plants and those not commonly found in retail garden centers.

Many great evergreen and semi-evergreen shrubs that are native for use in Louisiana include (with mature size and light requirement):

– Leucothoe (Leucothoe axillaris); 3’-6’; partial shade, shade.

– Dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor); 2’-8’; partial shade, shade.

– Dwarf yaupon (Ilex vomitoria Nana); 2’-4’; sun, partial shade.

– Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida); 2’-6’+ partial shade, shade.

– Florida anise (Illicium floridanum); 6’-8’; sun, partial shade.

– Groundsel bush (Baccharis halimifolia); 12’; sun, partial shade.

– Inkberry/gallberry (Ilex glabra); 7’-10’; sun, partial shade.

Some excellent deciduous (that lose foliage during winter) shrubs for Louisiana include (with mature size and light requirement):

– French mulberry/beautyberry (Callicarpa americana); 3’-8’; sun, partial shade.

– Honeysuckle azaleas (Rhododendron canescens); 8’-16’; sun, partial shade.

– Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum); 6’-15’; sun, partial shade.

– Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia); 6’-8’+ shade, partial shade.

– Spicebush (Lindera benzoin); 3’-10’; sun, shade.

– Strawberry bush/Wahoo (Euonymus americanus); 4’-8’; partial shade, shade.

– Virginia willow (Itea virginica); 3’-4’; partial shade, shade.

– Winterberry (Ilex verticillata); 6’-10’; sun, partial shade.

– Red buckeye (Aesculus pavia); 6’-12’; partial shade.

Now is a great time to plant native shrubs. You can also include trees in your native plant landscape designs. Excellent choices are Southern live oak, redbud, silverbell, several species of pines, nuttall oak, willow oak, Southern red oak, green ash, river birch, mayhaw, parsley hawthorn, red maple and many others.

Visit LaHouse in Baton Rouge to see sustainable landscape practices in action. The home and landscape resource center is near the intersection of Burbank Drive and Nicholson Drive (Louisiana Highway 30) in Baton Rouge, across the street from the LSU baseball stadium. For more information, go to www.lsuagcenter.com/lahouse or www.lsuagcenter.com/lyn.

Rick Bogren