Edible plants well-adapted to central Texas
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
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
EDIBLE MEDIUM-SIZED TREES
Anacua Ehretia anacua – Size: 36-72ft
photo & description
Chickasaw Plum Prunus angustifolia – Size: 15-25ft
Mexican Plum Prunus mexicana – Size: 15-38ft
Moringa Moringa oleifera – Size: 18-45ft
Red Mulberry Morus rubra – Size: 50-70ft (Prune to desired size)
Jujube Ziziphus jujuba – Size: up to 40ft
‘Lang’
‘Li’
Texas Persimmon Diospyros
texana – Size: 12-36ft
photo & description
EDIBLE SMALL TREES
Apple, Blanco Crab – Size: 12ft
Apple Malus domestica – Size: 10-20ft
‘Anna’
‘Dorsett Golden’
‘Fuji’
‘Granny Smith’
‘Pink Lady’
Apricot Prunus armeniaca – Size:10-20ft
‘Moorpark’
Fig Ficus carica – Size: 15-30ft
‘Alma’
‘Celeste’
‘Green Ischau’
‘LSU Gold’
‘Texas Blue Giant’
‘Texas Everbearing’ aka ‘Brown Turkey’
Jujube Ziziphus jujuba – Size: up to 40ft
‘Li’
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’
‘July Elberta’
‘June Gold’
‘Tex King’
Pear Pyrus communis – Size: up to 25ft
‘Keiffer’
‘Leconte’
‘Warren’
Plum Prunus salicina – Size: 8-15ft
‘Nubiana’
‘Santa Rosa’
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’
‘Desertnyi’
‘King Red’
‘Russian # 26’
‘Salavatski’
‘Surh-anor’ aka ‘Pecos’
‘Sweet’
‘Texas Red’ aka ‘Russian #18’
EDIBLE SHRUBS:
Agarita Mahonia trifoliolata – Size: 6ft x 6ft
photo & description
Black Chokeberry Aronia melanocarpa – Size: 3-6ft
Bay Laurel Laurel nobilis – Size:
10-25ft
photo & description
Elderberry Sambucus nigra – Size: 10ft x 5ft
photo & description
Elderberry, Common Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis – Size: 10ft X 5ft
Goji Berry Lycium barbarum – Size: 3-9ft x 2-4ft
Pineapple Guava Acca Sellowiana – Size: 5-25ft
EDIBLE VINES:
Malabar spinach Basella alba
Blackberry “Arapaho” Rubus fruiticosus ‘Arapaho’ – Size: 6-10ft/ year (Thornless)
photo & description
Blackberry “Nachez” Rubus fruiticosus ‘Nachez’ – Size: 6-10ft/ year (Thornless)
Blackberry ‘Ouatchita’ Rubus fruiticosus ‘Ouatchita’ – Size: 6-10ft/ year (Thornless)
Passionflower, Incarnata
passiflora incarnata –
Size: 20ft
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