Most perennial failures in central Texas are not the plant's fault. They're a slot mismatch — the right plant in the wrong exposure, where it never had a chance. Cenizo planted in afternoon shade. Cedar sage planted in full west sun. Inland sea oats planted where the irrigation never reaches. The plants are honest. The plan was wrong.
This article organizes our perennial palette by the only variable that matters most after water: how much sun the slot gets, and when. Read your exposures first; then pick from the right list.
Read the exposure first.
Four slots cover most residential properties in San Antonio:
Full sun, south or west. Six-plus hours of direct sun, with the worst of it being afternoon. This is the brutal slot — direct July sun off a stucco wall or a concrete driveway. Surface temperatures hit 140°F. Plants here have to be honest desert and prairie species or they'll cook by August.
Full sun, north or east. Six-plus hours of direct sun, but the worst hours land in the morning when the air is still cool. This is a much kinder slot. A lot more of the palette works here.
Dappled shade. Filtered light through a high tree canopy — usually live oak, cedar elm, or pecan. The ground sees moving sun patches all day but rarely sustained direct sun. Soil stays cooler and holds moisture longer.
Deep shade. North of a building or under dense canopy where the ground almost never sees direct sun. Few flowering plants live here happily. The list is short but real.
For more on how we map exposure on a property, see reading the land.
Full sun, south or west — the brutal slot.
Cenizo (Leucophyllum frutescens) — 4–6 ft shrub-perennial, silver leaves, purple flowers that bloom in waves after humidity or rain. Very drought tolerant. Hates wet feet — never plant in a low spot or where irrigation pools. Light shearing in February.
Blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum) — 12 in mound, white daisy flowers spring through fall. Honey scent. Needs sharp drainage and full sun — dies fast in clay that holds water. Long-lived in the right slot, short-lived in the wrong one.
Four-nerve daisy (Tetraneuris scaposa) — 6–10 in clump, yellow daisy flowers nearly year-round in mild winters. Native to caliche uplands. Sharp drainage required.
Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana) — 12–18 in shrub-perennial, evergreen, dense yellow daisies in spring and again after summer rain. Fragrant foliage. Wants the hottest, driest spot on the property.
Autumn sage (Salvia greggii) — 2–3 ft, blooms spring through hard frost. Tolerates west sun better than most salvias. Hummingbird plant. Shear hard in late February.
Full sun, north or east — the kind slot.
Salvia greggii cultivars — the full color range opens up here: red, coral, pink, white, lavender, and the bicolors. Same care as above; the morning-sun exposure lets the lighter colors hold without bleaching.
Gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) — 2–3 ft grass, pink flowering haze in October. Plant in fives or sevens for impact. Cut to 4 in in late February.
Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) — 3–4 ft, purple and white velvet flower spikes from late summer through frost. Reliable. Cut to ground after first hard freeze.
Turk's cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) — 3–5 ft, red lantern-shaped flowers summer through fall. Tougher than it looks. Takes full morning sun or dappled shade equally well — a useful bridge plant when an exposure varies across a bed.
Mistflower (Conoclinium greggii) — 18–24 in, blue puffball flowers in fall that draw queen butterflies in clouds. Spreads by runners — give it room or edge it. Cut to ground in late winter.
Dappled shade — under the canopy.
Turk's cap — counted again because dappled shade is where it looks its best. Larger leaves, more vigorous, same long red bloom.
Inland sea oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) — 2–3 ft grass, bamboo-like leaves and flat dangling seedheads that turn copper in fall. Spreads gently by seed. The signature grass of Hill Country shade.
Cedar sage (Salvia roemeriana) — 12–18 in, red flowers in spring, semi-evergreen rosette in winter. Native to cedar brakes — perfectly adapted to live oak shade with limestone underneath. Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center sells it at their spring sale.
Plateau wood violet (Viola lovelliana) — 4–6 in, purple flowers in spring. Endemic to the Edwards Plateau. Hard to source but worth it. Spreads slowly to form a real shade groundcover.
Heartleaf skullcap (Scutellaria ovata) — 12–18 in, blue-purple flower spikes in spring. Spreads by underground runners. Goes summer-dormant in heat and returns in fall rain.
Deep shade — the short list.
Dwarf palmetto (Sabal minor) — 3–6 ft, evergreen fan palm. The Hill Country shade workhorse. Slow but permanent. Native to bottomland forests across south Texas. Wants moist soil in shade.
Inland sea oats — works in deep shade as well as dappled, though it flowers less heavily.
Mountain pea (Lathyrus polymorphus) — 12–18 in, pink pea flowers in spring. Cool-season perennial. Goes dormant in summer heat and returns in fall.
Deep shade is honest. Don't try to flower it heavily — design around foliage, texture, and the few species that actually live there.
When to cut back.
Late February is the universal cut-back window for warm-season perennials and ornamental grasses in San Antonio. Cut Salvia greggii, flame acanthus, mistflower, Turk's cap, Mexican bush sage, and the muhlies hard — down to 4–6 inches. Old wood protects the crown through any late freeze, and birds work the seed heads through winter.
Cool-season plants — cedar sage, plateau wood violet, mountain pea — get a light tidy after they bloom, not a hard cut. They're going dormant in summer; don't fight their cycle.
What this buys you.
A garden organized by exposure stops fighting itself. Each plant lives in the slot it wants, blooms when it's supposed to, and feeds the pollinators it co-evolved with. Maintenance drops to one hard cut a year and a spring compost topdress. Irrigation drops to seasonal supplement instead of weekly survival.
For the wider palette these perennials sit inside, see the native palette for San Antonio & the Hill Country.