Heartleaf Skullcap
Scutellaria ovataHeartleaf Skullcap is a perennial native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 2 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants shade and low water, and handles clay soil. Blooms blue and violet in Apr–Jun. Evergreen — it holds its leaves through winter. Deer rarely browse it. Good for hummingbirds.
Will it grow in your yard?
Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Heartleaf Skullcap against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.
From our guide
Village of the HillsLow spreading perennial with silvery heart-shaped leaves and spikes of blue-violet flowers in spring.
Why it works here
One of the best plants for dry shade under live oaks — the silver foliage lights up a dark bed.
Watch out
Goes dormant in summer heat and disappears entirely. Do not dig the spot assuming it died.
The facts
7 sources- Type
- Perennial
- Sun
- Shade (under 3 hrs)
- Water
- Low
- Height
- 2 ft
- Spread
- 2 ft
- Bloom
- Apr–Jun · blue, violet
- Foliage
- Evergreen
- Soil
- Takes clay · recorded on clay, limestone, loam, moist, rocky, shallow
- Deer
- High — deer rarely browse it. Aromatic mint family
- Wildlife
- Supports hummingbirds
Where it grows
Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:
646 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).
Can you buy it?
In the Village of the Hills guide, but not on the grower stock lists we read yet. Ask a native-plant nursery.