This small mounding, deciduous shrub grows three feet tall and four feet wide. In late summer and fall, it develops silvery green, lacy foliage and small, rose purple blooms at the end of terminal branches. It produces the most prolific flower display of all the Dalea species. Its blooms attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. The black dalea grows fuller and denser in full sun and reflected heat in the hottest spot in the landscape. It prefers any soil type as long as it is well draining. This fast grower is drought tolerant, but becomes fuller and produces more blooms with supplemental irrigation.
It is a low-maintenance shrub that is hardy to fifteen degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Prune in late winter to encourage new growth and to help maintain its rounded, dense shape. Protect newly planted shrubs with chicken wire, because rabbits like to feed on them. Use for erosion control on rocky slopes, in parking lot medians, or in combination with other native vegetation. Also use it as a low-water-need, transitional shrub and for revegetation of disturbed areas. The variety “Sierra Negra” produces masses of purple blooms and is cold hardy to zero degrees. The plant is native throughout the deserts of Central Texas, Southern Oklahoma, and Southern New Mexico, and into Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon, Mexico.