Seven attractive and tough, but little-used, native trees

By G. Owen Yost

There are at least seven trees that do very well here in North Texas but are rarely planted. Instead, most of us have planted just three or four "classic" species (another way of saying they're boring and common). Planting the kinds of trees that everyone else plants is precipitously close to a "monoculture," when just a few species dominate. It's like the American elms that used to be all over the Midwest, where I grew up. When the Dutch elm beetle found them, most of the elms died an ugly death. And landowners found themselves paying huge sums to have the dead trees cut down and hauled away. The beetle infestation left a barren landscape, since very few other kinds of trees were around to fill the voids.

To avoid the same mistake here, I suggest using trees that are native to this area. Seven species are at the top of this list.

Soapberry
The western soapberry is one of my favorite trees for this area, and one of the hardest to find for sale. It turns a brilliant pumpkin-orange in the fall and stays that color longer than most other trees. It's amazingly durable, since over the centuries it's grown accustomed to our harsh climate and poor soil. It doesn't get huge ? just 30 or 35 feet when mature. It's relatively pest-free, replants easily and doesn't need special soil or fertilizer. Maybe it's not seen in stores much because of its odd name ? the berries were used long ago as a substitute for lye-based soap.

Texas ash
This is a spectacular tree for brilliant color each autumn. In the trade it's known as a "torch." The Texas ash turns a dramatic bright yellow, with a medium-yellow leaf center. Be extremely careful to choose a fraxinus texensis, since the green ash and the Pennsylvania ash are unspectacular here, and the heavily planted velvet ash and the Arizona ash are trees you should avoid like the plague due to weak wood, short life and insect problems. In North Texas' hot, dry, sunny environment and in our extremely poor soil, Texas ash does very well.

Chinquapin oak
This native tree resists drought very well. It's not as temperamental as the more-common post oak and is slender in shape ? not as spreading as a lot of other oaks. The dark-green glossy leaves give it a very lush appearance, though I've seen it withstand a Texas summer and ask for more. Since it grows comparatively quickly and can get quite large, it's a good one to plant if the tall trees on your property are looking bad.

Mexican buckeye
Contrary to its common name, the Mexican buckeye is not a true buckeye ? its seeds just look the same. Nor does it grow only in Mexico; it does extraordinarily well here (actually, much of Texas used to be Mexico anyway). In the spring it's covered with dark pink blooms that appear to be similar to a redbud tree. Like a redbud, it's fairly small. Sometimes, I'll interplant it with redbuds to extend their aggregate bloom season, and make use of the Mexican buckeye's preferences for dry conditions and our poor soil.

Persimmon
This is another tree that's not huge (an "understory" tree). You've probably seen it along country roads around here. In the fall, the fruit appears, and the leaves turn a brilliant yellow (resist the urge to eat the persimmons right away; they don't become sweet until after the first frost). There are actually two species native to this area: the Texas persimmon (diospyros texana) and the common persimmon (diospyros virginiana). Both do best in masses or groves.

Wax myrtle
This one's often thought of as a large shrub but is more appropriate as a small tree of 6 to 10 feet. It's evergreen, so it'll be green when everything around it is brown and leafless. It can take full sun but is more often used in part-shade situations, like on the edge of a clearing or close to a house ? but at least 6 feet away. An added bonus is that the olive-green leaves give off a wonderful aroma when crushed. So I like to use it near a walkway of some sort.

Bald cypress
The most common of these seven trees has the botanic name of taxodium distichum. By "common" I mean that I know of 10 or 12 around here. Throughout the winter they have a nice rust-red hue, they take poor drainage, and they're fast-growing. Plus they adapt well to poor soil. The leaf actually looks like a pine needle, or a light green feather. Be sure to give it plenty of room and a fairly sunny location, since it can get big.

Choose one of these little-used trees. You'll have an incredibly dependable and drought-tolerant tree, and it'll need very little fertilizer, bug spray or soil amendment. An excellent time to plant it is right now because the more time a plant's roots are given to grow before the summer's heat, the better off it is.

Owen Yost is an area landscape architect specializing in designing low-maintenance landscapes while incorporating native plants with hardscape. He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Keep Denton Beautiful and the Native Plant Society of Texas. His Denton office is at 4516 Coyote Point; call 940-382-2099 or 940-383-9655 or e-mail him at Yost87@charter.net