List of Evergreen Shrubs in Texas

Texas is home to many varieties of native evergreen shrubs. They provide a wide range of colorful blooms in the spring and summer. In the winter, evergreen shrubs have attractive foliage and berries that attract wildlife. Evergreen shrubs are ideal for creating dense privacy hedges that require little maintenance. They can add the finishing touch to any landscape.

Yaupon holly is a perennial evergreen shrub that's native to Texas. It's a highly adaptable shrub, able to grow in almost any type of soil. Yaupon typically grows 10 to 20 feet tall and 8 to 12 feet wide. The female shrubs produce red berries that birds will eat in late winter. Birds take advantage of the dense growth and build their nests inside the shrub. In April and May, the yaupon blooms with small, white flowers. This evergreen shrub is available in dwarf, weeping and columnar varieties.

Texas soil is acidic, and azaleas thrive in this type of soil. Evergreen azaleas have two sets of leaves. In the spring, one set of leaves unfolds and then in the fall drops off the shrub. The second set of leaves begins growing in early summer and falls off the shrub in spring. Summer leaves are a dark green, feel like leather, and are thicker and smaller than spring leaves. Depending on the variety, azaleas can bloom in the spring, summer or fall. Evergreen azalea shrubs bloom in a wide variety of colors including shades of pink, red, orange and purple. These evergreen shrubs do best in partial shade and well-drained soil.

Texas mountain laurel is a slow growing evergreen shrub with small clusters of lavender flowers that smell like grape Kool Aid when it blooms in the spring. Let this shrub grow naturally with an occasional, light pruning to get a dense shrub. Texas mountain laurel grows 15 to 35 feet tall and 10 feet wide. It's a hardy heat and drought tolerant evergreen shrub that thrives in the limestone soil of central and south Texas.

The native habitat of the agarita is the rocky, limestone soil found in coastal south Texas. This evergreen shrub begins to bloom from February to April with clusters of fragrant, yellow cup-shaped flowers. Agarita grows 3 to 6 feet tall, and has a spread of about 6 feet. The rigid branches are blue-gray to gray-green in color, and form dense thickets. The tips of the holly-like leaves are needle-sharp, which serves as protective cover for birds and small mammals. From May to July the agarita produces red berries that are a favorite food of local songbirds.