Red yucca. An evergreen with tough, narrow, swordshaped, grey-green foliage that emerges from the crown in a rosette pattern. The common name ‘Red Yucca’ is misleading. While it is similar to the true, white yucca, it is not a yucca, but rather a Hesperaloe, Hesperaloe parviflora. Arching long spikes of Red Yucca bloom stalks stay upright and maintain their color throughout the summer. Tube-shaped florets attract bees and hummingbirds. It grows best in full sun in loose, well-drained gravely soil. Plants are drought tolerant, heat and cold tolerant and adapted to USDA zones 5 – 9.
The Red Yucca ‘Straight Up Red Texas Yucca’ cultivar produces a summer-long red-pink flowers on upright flower spikes.
‘Yellow Flowering Texas’ is an uncommon butter-yellow flowered form of Texas Red Yucca.
‘Coral Glow’, a new Hesperaloe cultivar, is a cross between yellow and red flowered varieties that has six-foot-long coral colored spikes. The cultivar is a High Country Gardens exclusive.
Esperanza. A Texas Superstar release ‘Gold Star’ (Tecoma stans) is a perennial native to South Texas. however, when grown in USDA zone 7 it performs as an herbaceous annual, true to its specific epitaph, as Tecoma means tender shrub and stans translates erect. It is an erect and tender shrub. The name ‘esperanza’ translates from the Spanish as ‘hope’. It is a beautiful flowering shrub. Esperanza is but one of the many plants listed as a Texas Su
Esperanza is but one of the many plants listed as a Texas Superstar. Plant material in the Texas Superstar program has been selected for high performance in Texas. The decision as to which plants should be highlighted is based upon observations made at replicated plots and demonstration trials across the state. A complete list of plants that have been accepted into the
A complete list of plants that have been accepted into the Texas Superstar® program can be found on their website, texassuperstar.com. Plants on the website have been organized by growth habit: 25 annuals entered alphabetically from Angelonia to Zinnia; 20 perennials, Texas Gold Columbine to Butterfly Vine; 9 tropicals grown as herbaceous perennials, Brazilian Red Hots Alternanthera to Thyrallis; 8 woody shrubs, Blue Angel Althea™ to Texas Lilac Vitex; 6 trees, Basham’s Party Pink Crepe Myrtle to Chinese Pistache; and 18 specialty plants from Balsamic Blooms Basil to Waterlilies.
Cultural information is provided with each entry to give the consumer guidance regarding proper plant care. It is worth the time to browse the Superstar website texassuperstar.com.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers
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