Slender False Dragonhead

Physostegia intermedia

native · Central Texas

Slender False Dragonhead is a perennial wildflower native to Central Texas that grows 1–5 ft tall and 5 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and high water, and handles clay soil. Blooms white, pink and purple in May–Jul. Deer rarely browse it. Good for butterflies and hummingbirds.

Wet ground only. A wetland plant: it needs standing water or saturated soil — a pond edge, creek bank or rain garden, not a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources

Type: Perennial wildflower
Sun: Full sun to part shade (4–8 hrs of direct sun)
Water: High
Height: 1–5 ft
Spread: 5 ft
Bloom: May–Jul · white, pink, purple
Foliage: Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil: Takes clay · recorded on clay, loam, moist, sand
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it
Wildlife: Supports butterflies and hummingbirds

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Northern Blackland PrairieFloodplains and Low Terraces

29 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.