Wild Thumb: TX native plants

Pollinators and Prairies

About this app

Growing a few native plants or a whole pocket prairie is easy with engaging, step-by-step support from Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation's Pollinators & Prairies Program. The mission to restore thriving pollinator & prairie habitats in Texas starts here!

What does the app offer?
- A curated database of native plant recommendations based on your local climate & weather conditions
- In-app interactive landscape design
- Step-by-step preparation and planting instructions from plant selection to soil preparation to water & pruning
- Watering, upcoming freeze conditions, pruning & other caretaking reminders
- Curated seed mix recommendations for planting a pocket prairie
- Pocket prairie prep & caretaking instructions
- Info about the pollinator species your new plants are likely to attract
- Tips & supplemental info from the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation, Texas Native Plant Society, and other trusted sources

Why plant natives?
- Native plants are low-maintenance and easy to care for once established
- Native plants require much less water than non-native plants
- Native plants support thriving pollinator populations that contribute to local food & wildlife systems
- Native plants are hardier & more resilient than non-natives
- Native plants are naturally beautiful!

Getting started
This app is made for people living in Texas, U.S. It's free to use, thanks to our sponsors H-E-B Our Texas, Our Future and Phillips 66. We'll walk you through the process of learning to grow native plants, beginning with asking questions about your available space, light conditions, and soil moisture. Once you've designed your space, Wild Thumb will guide you through planting, caring for, and tracking your growing progress. Happy native gardening!

Ratings and reviews

Really promising application but difficult to use. Just downloaded (latest version as far as I know) on S22 and the app flickers (hurts my eyes, and I'm not particularly flicker sensitive) and sometimes closes. I am still waiting on the verification email, and there seems to be no option to re-send it. I hope it improves so I can update this review!

Love the opportunity to build pocket gardens with native Texas plants. Why cannot load on computer as well as the phone? O.K. I've uninstalled on my phone and removed the app in an attempt to upload to my computer. Will try again tomorrow. Thanks, R Weck

Constantly shuts down. I can have it open for 10 seconds, max. I have a Samsung Galaxy S25 and I am not experiencing problems like this with other apps.

What’s new

Recent digital pruning and weeding to improve the Wild Thumb experience:
- Export your Project with two designed cards
- Introduce glossary terms to learn about special words in-depth
- New filters introduced on plants browse during Project creation
- Performance improvements and under-the-hood bug fixes

Happy planting!