Low Desert Perennials

Year-round Blossoms

• While perennials often go dormant during the winter months, many desert perennials provide color to the landscape during the entire year. The desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata) is native to Mexico and the Southwest U.S. It is a mound-shaped evergreen, which grows to about 1 foot wide by 1 foot high. Its foliage is medium textured and silvery-gray. The desert marigold’s yellow daisy-like flowers bloom year-round. Other desert perennials also bloom year-round, such as the Angelita daisy (Hymenoxys acaulis) and the blackfoot daisy (Melampodium leucanthum).

Evergreens

• Some desert perennials are evergreen, and some are not. The paperflower (Psilostrophe cooperi) is an evergreen with medium-textured, gray-green foliage. Its yellow flowers bloom from spring to fall. It is a rounded shaped plant, which grows to about 1 foot high and 2 feet wide. Its flowers typically appear after monsoon rains. While its flowers provide summer color, its foliage remains for the winter. Some of the other desert evergreen perennials include the globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), with its spring blooming flowers, which come in white, pink, orange and lavender, and the autumn sage (Salvia greggii), which blooms in the spring and fall.

Deciduous

• The Mexican hat (Ratbida columnaris) is a deciduous perennials desert plant with bright green, fine-textured foliage. At maturity, the shrub gets about 2 feet high and 1 foot wide. Its brilliant cone-shaped flowers are good as cut flowers for floral arrangements. They bloom from spring to fall. A deciduous plant loses its leaves annually.

Semi-evergreen

• The prairie zinnia (Zinnia grandiflora) is a semi-evergreen native to Mexico and the Southwest U.S. It is a fast-growing shrub, which grows to about 1 foot high by 1 foot wide at maturity. It has a spreading form and light green, fine-textured foliage. From summer to fall its yellowish flowers bloom, attracting butterflies. Included among the semi-evergreen desert perennials are the gaura (Gaura lindheimeri), Purple Ruellia (Ruellia brittoniana) and more. A semi-evergreen sheds some of its leaves annually yet retains some foliage.