A new free mobile app from Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (TPWF) is helping Texans of all experience levels grow drought-tolerant native plants that will help pollinators thrive.
Wild Thumb guides users through an easy-to-follow, step-by-step process of selecting, planting, and caring for native plants. Whether you’re growing plants in a patio pot, designing and creating a colorful native flower bed, or transforming a section of your backyard into a pocket prairie, Wild Thumb provides personalized recommendations, design tools, and timely reminders for watering and pruning, as well as freeze alerts.
Wild Thumb draws from a proprietary database of commonly available native plants, organized by Texas ecoregions and tailored with key details such as sunlight and watering needs, soil moisture tolerance, and bloom times. The app also provides a map of local nurseries that sell native plants as well as helpful tips and guidance.
“Wild Thumb takes the guesswork out of native gardening so that anyone in Texas—no matter where they live or how much space they have—can be part of the pollinator solution,” said Julie Shaddox, TPWF’s Director of Development & Conservation Programs. “Most people don’t realize that many of our native pollinators, including the American bumblebee, are in decline. By planting even a few native plants, Texans can make a tangible difference in restoring the critical habitat these species depend on.”
Future updates to the app will add more plant species, highlight specific pollinators each plant attracts, and more educational content about prairie ecosystems.
The app is part of TPWF’s Pollinators & Prairies program, which launched in 2024 to increase healthy prairie habitat and pollinator populations, encourage Texans to plant native grasses and wildflowers, and to fund critical research on native bees and other vital pollinators. More information on the program can be found at www.pollinatorsandprairies.org.
The app was funded by H-E-B, the presenting sponsor of Pollinators & Prairies, as part of its Our Texas, Our Future commitment, and contributing sponsor Phillips 66. The app was developed in collaboration with Outside studio, with assistance from the Native Plant Society of Texas and professional botanists.
Wild Thumb is available for smartphones and iPad and can be downloaded for free in the App Store and Google Play, just in time for the spring gardening season.
About TPWF’s Pollinators & Prairies Program:
The Wild Thumb app is a new initiative of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s Pollinators & Prairies program, which launched in 2024 to help conserve Texas’ vital native pollinators and iconic grasslands. The program works with conservation partners to increase healthy prairie habitat and pollinator populations, encourages Texans to plant native grasses and wildflowers, and funds critical research to guide management strategies for native bees and other essential pollinators. Pollinators & Prairies is generously supported by presenting sponsor H-E-B Our Texas, Our Future and contributing sponsor Phillips 66. Conservation and research partners include the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Native Plant Society of Texas, Native Prairies Association of Texas, Tarleton State University, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Wildlife Association, and WHF. Learn more at PollinatorsandPrairies.org
About Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation:
Since 1991, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation has worked to advance Texas’ proud outdoor traditions and conserve and enhance our state’s lands, waters and wildlife. Our vision is for all Texans to have access to the wild things and wild places of our state, both now and for generations to come. For more information, please visit www.tpwf.org.
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Printable PDF of Press Release HERE.
