Drought-Tolerant Landscape Ideas

Getting Started

• When planning your drought-tolerant garden, consider each plant’s requirements. Situate plants with the same water and light requirements together. This cuts down on future growth and health problems. Even drought-tolerant plants require regular water applications when first planted. Irrigate regularly for the first four to 12 weeks. This allows the root systems to establish themselves in the new site. Place the new plant into the ground at the same level it was growing inside its nursery pot. Planting too deeply causes undue stress on the plant. Apply a layer of mulch around the plants to conserve water. Use a 4- to 6-inch layer of a substance such as pine needles, pine bark or cypress mulch.

Ground Covers

• Drought-tolerant ground covers fill in bare areas of the garden and add greenery or flowers to low areas. Consider each plant’s growth habit and space multiple plants accordingly. Portulaca (Portulaca grandiflora) is a low-growing, flowering succulent that prefers sunny and dry environments. It grows well in poor conditions. Various cultivars bloom in double or single flowers summer throughout autumn. It averages 8 inches tall, with a 12-inch spread. Flower colors include orange, pinks, rose, yellow and white. Lirope muscari quickly spreads as a grasslike ground cover. Foliage is thick, dark green and has an upright and slightly arching habit. Plants grow up to 18 inches tall, with the same spread. It is salt-tolerant and grows in sunny to shady conditions.

Ornamental Grass

• Ornamental grass is usually quite hardy, maintenance-free and drought-tolerant once established. Use the grass as garden fillers. Some types are suitable as specimens, producing flowering plumes. Pampas grass (Cortaderia selloana) forms into large, 12 feet tall and wide clumps. Dwarf cultivars average 4 feet in height. Foliage is green, with an arching habit. It produces long, upright plumes of cream-colored flowers. This adaptable grass performs well in full sun and in well-drained soils. Hairgrass (Muhlenbergia capillaries) is a native that grows up to 3 feet tall and wide. Foliage is thin and hairlike, with pink flower plumes blooming in autumn. The hardy grass grows best in full sun, with well-drained soil.

Native Plants

• Native plants are usually hardier than non-native ornamentals, as the plants are accustomed to growing in a particular environment. The natives thrive on less water and require less maintenance. Blanket flower (Gaillardia pulchella) grows as a flowering annual or perennial, depending on its location. It forms into 2 feet tall and wide clumps. During warm weather, the plant produces orange, red and yellow flowers. It is salt-tolerant and prefers full sun and well-drained soils. Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberose) grows as a flowering annual or perennial and is a preferred plant of the monarch butterfly. Plants grow up to 3 feet tall and 2 feet wide. Flowers are orange to yellow. It grows well in full sun and in well-drained soils.