Edible Species

Edible plants well-adapted to central Texas

Plum, Methley

Plum, Methley

A small patch of land is all the space you need to create your luscious food oasis! While growing food for yourself, you’ll also be nurturing wildlife and helping to restore balance to the ecosystem.

Our Edibles line is based on the concept of a “Forest Garden“: a diverse and resilient woodland that mimics a natural forest, but is composed primarily of plants that produce an edible or otherwise useful crop for humans. For much more information on edible forest gardens, click here.  Our Edibles line is a natural extension of our past efforts, and incorporates the methods we’ve developed at Hill Country Natives over the past decade, to produce plants with robust root systems.

Species notable for their absence in our inventory include Pecans and Citrus.  Since Hill Country Natives is focused on an area notorious for its shallow, rocky soil, we have chosen not to grow Pecans, which demand deeper soil to grow well.  Similarly, the Hill Country weather is too variable, and often too cold, to be hospitable to most Citrus.  We will be pursuing some varieties of Citrus that offer promise in our area.

Species and varieties that we grow have been carefully chosen for the Central Texas environment, particularly with regard to the number of chill hours required (hours below 45 degrees F).  The other critical factor in fruiting success is pollination.  Most Apple, Pear, sweet Cherry and Japanese Plum varieties require cross-pollination from a compatible variety.  Cross-pollination is not essential for Figs, Peaches, Apricots, European Plums and Nectarines, but will often produce more fruit.  More pollination information is available here.

Use this page to “window-shop” for edible plants. A great deal of additional information about fruit and nut trees for Texas is available here. Once you know which edibles you want, visit our Shop page to see what’s actually available right now and place your order. Not every plant on our Edible Species List will be available at any given time, but we’ll do our best to accommodate special requests. If you have questions or want some assistance, email us.

(To browse all Edible Species, simply scroll down this page.)

EDIBLE LARGE TREES   

Forest Garden

Forest Garden

Gingko Gingko biloba – Size: 40-70ft
photo & description

Red Mulberry Morus rubra – Size: 50-70ft
photo & description

Wild Black Cherry  Prunus

serotina – Size: 70-80ft

photo & description

EDIBLE MEDIUM-SIZED TREES  

Anacua Ehretia anacua – Size: 36-72ft
photo & description

 Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia – Size: 15-25ft

photo & description

Mexican Plum Prunus mexicana – Size: 15-38ft

Mexican Plums

Mexican Plums

photo & description

Moringa Moringa oleifera  – Size: 18-45ft

photo & description

Red Mulberry Morus rubra – Size: 50-70ft (Prune to desired size)

Jujubes fruiting in the forest garden.

Jujubes fruiting in the forest garden.

photo & description

Jujube Ziziphus jujuba – Size: up to 40ft

     ‘Lang’

photo & description

     ‘Li’

photo & description

Texas Persimmon Diospyros

The first Asian Persimmon fruit in the forest garden.

The first Asian Persimmon fruit in the forest garden.

texana – Size: 12-36ft 
photo & description

EDIBLE SMALL TREES    

Plum, Methley

Plum, Methley

Apple, Blanco Crab – Size: 12ft

photo & description

Apple Malus domestica – Size: 10-20ft

Anna’

photo & description

‘Dorsett Golden’

photo & description

Our first home grown Granny Smith Apple

Our first home grown Granny Smith Apple

     ‘Fuji’

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Bay Laurel

photo & description

Granny Smith’

photo & description

 ‘Pink Lady’

photo & description

Apricot Prunus armeniaca – Size:10-20ft 

‘Moorpark’

photo & description

Elderberry, Madonna a cultivar with beautiful variegated leaves.

 

Fig Ficus carica – Size: 15-30ft

Figs

Figs

 ‘Alma’

photo & description

‘Celeste’

photo & description

‘Green Ischau’

photo & description

‘LSU Gold’

photo & description

‘Texas Blue Giant’

Green Ischa Figs

Green Ischa Figs

photo & description

‘Texas Everbearing’ aka ‘Brown Turkey’

photo & description

Jujube Ziziphus jujuba – Size: up to 40ft

photo & description

Mexican plums ripening through many beautiful colors.

Mexican plums ripening through many beautiful colors.

Watering the Forest garden. All the birds come by to enjoy the shower.

Bees, working hard to pollinate the abundance of flowers at Hill Country Natives.

Forest Garden, Mid summer 2013

Elderberries

 ‘Li’

photo & description

Loquat Eriobotrya japonica – Size: 20-30ft
photo & description

Olive ‘Arbequina’ Olea europaea – Size: 20 x 12ft
photo & description

Pawpaw Asimina trilobay – Size: 15-30ft
photo & description

Peach Prunus persica – Size: 15ft

     ‘Gold Dust’

photo & description

     ‘July Elberta’

photo & description

     ‘June Gold’

photo & description

     ‘Tex King’

photo & description

Pear Pyrus communis – Size: up to 25ft

     ‘Keiffer’

photo & description

     ‘Leconte’

photo & description

     ‘Warren’

Dwarf Pomegranite trees.

Dwarf Pomegranite trees.

photo & description

Plum Prunus salicina – Size: 8-15ft

photo & description

     ‘Nubiana’

photo & description

     ‘Santa Rosa’

photo & description

Pomegranite in the Forest Garden

Pomegranite in the Forest Garden

Pomegranate Punica granatum -Size: 12-24ft x 6-12ft 

For Pomegranate information and care, go to pdfdownloadfree.net and enter:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/publications/fruit-nut/pomegranates.pdf

     ‘Asperonski krasji’

photo & description

     ‘Desertnyi’

photo & description

     ‘King Red’

photo & description

     ‘Russian # 26’

photo & description

     ‘Salavatski’

photo & description

     ‘Surh-anor’ aka ‘Pecos’

photo & description

     ‘Sweet’

photo & description

  ‘Texas Red’ aka ‘Russian #18’ 

photo & description

EDIBLE SHRUBS:

Our food forest. Here you see nitrogen fixing trees and a variety of edible perennials growing on the fence separating us from our neighbors property. The maypop, passionflower creates a nice visual screen, gorgeous flowers and edible fruit with very little maintenance.

Agarita Mahonia trifoliolata – Size: 6ft x 6ft
photo & description 

 

Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa – Size: 3-6ft

photo & description

Bay Laurel Laurel nobilis – Size:

Ripe Elderberries

Ripe Elderberries

10-25ft
photo & description

Elderberry Sambucus nigra – Size: 10ft x 5ft
photo & description

Elderberry, Common Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis – Size: 10ft X 5ft

photo & description

Goji Berry Lycium barbarum – Size: 3-9ft x 2-4ft

photo & description

Pineapple Guava Acca Sellowiana – Size: 5-25ft

Blanco Crab Apple

Blanco Crab Apple

photo & description

The spring Artichoke seed heads standing gaurd over the other plants.

The spring Artichoke seed heads standing guard.

 

When you plant herbaceous plants, like these veggies, in with your trees you maximize the space and they act as indicators, wilting when soil moisture is low, letting you know it’s time to water. Often, by the time a tree shows stress from lack of moisture it’s too late to bring it back without loosing significant vigor.

 

EDIBLE VINES:

Malabar spinach Basella alba

photo & description

Thornless Blackberries growing on a trellis in the forest garden. This makes them easier to harvest and provides a visual screen.

Blackberry “Arapaho” Rubus fruiticosus ‘Arapaho’ – Size: 6-10ft/ year (Thornless)
photo & description

Blackberry “Nachez” Rubus fruiticosus ‘Nachez’ – Size: 6-10ft/ year (Thornless)

photo & description

Blackberry ‘Ouatchita’ Rubus fruiticosus ‘Ouatchita’ – Size: 6-10ft/ year (Thornless)

photo & description

 

Vines can add many benefits to your landscape. Shade, beauty, organic matter to the soil, habitat, food etc.

Vines can add many benefits to your landscape. Shade, beauty, organic matter to the soil, habitat, food etc.Vitis rotundifolia ‘Black Fry’

 

Passionflower, Incarnata
passiflora incarnata –
Size: 20ft

photo & description

 

Golden Ball Lead Tree, laden with seeds.

Golden Ball Lead Tree, laden with seed

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