Drought Tolerant Plants

To lessen the frequency of watering, you’ll need to:

• Incorporate organic matter like peat moss, manure, and compost into the planting bed; this will create a more fertile soil, and the organic matter will hold onto moisture, making it available to plants for an extended period after rain or watering.
• Cover the soil with 5–10 cm (2–4”) of mulch such as bark chips, cedar mulch, or cocoa bean mulch to minimize moisture loss through evaporation.
• For the first year, your xeriscape plants will need supplemental watering during dry periods.
• After 5–7 days without water, use a trowel to check the soil. If it is dry four inches down, water thoroughly.
• In subsequent years, you can let your plants go for 10–14 days between deep watering.
• Water in the morning before 10 am or in the evening after 6 pm; this will prevent the water from evaporating during the hottest hours of the day.

• Honey-locust – A shade tree that can withstand drier summers and a wide range of soil conditions.
• Turkish hazel – An excellent choice for drier sites; it has a broad, pyramidal shape, and dark green foliage that turns yellow in October.
• Larger shrubs like the Russian olive, Five-leaf Aralia, Sea buckthorn, and sumac are also suitable choices.
• For smaller shrubs, try bayberry, honeysuckle, butterfly bush, or caryopteris.

• Junipers – These evergreens grow naturally in many dry environments ranging from rock outcrops to sand dunes.
• Yuccas – These evergreens do best if they aren’t watered once established, as they grow a long taproot and will be able to find all the water they need on their own.

Perennials can be divided into two categories: moderately drought-tolerant and very drought-tolerant. Moderately drought-tolerant perennials include:

• Artemisia
• Red valerian
• False indigo
• Daylilies
• Lavender
• Red-hot poker
• Russian sage
• Thyme
• Marguerite daisy
• Sea lavender
• Wall cress
• Basket-of-gold
• Rock rose
• Creeping baby’s breath

Very drought-tolerant perennials include:

• Prickly pear cactus
• Sedum
• Hens & chicks (sempervivum)
• Purple and yellow ice plant
• Donkey-tail spurge

For continuous summer colour, plant these annuals:

• Portulaca
• Celosia
• Amaranth
• Gomphrena
• Sunflower
• Zinnia
• Gazania
• Dusty miller

• Sea thrift
• Butterfly weed
• Gloriosa daisy
• Liatris
• Blanket flower
• Sea holly
• Purple coneflower
• Thread-leaved coreopsis
• Yarrow
• Bachelor’s button

Perennial ground covers are a practical solution if you are interested in replacing your lawn grass:

• Goutweed will cover a large area very quickly; however, proceed with caution as it is virtually unstoppable.
• Lamb’s ears, creeping phlox, and snow-in-summer are suitable for small areas.
• Ornamental grasses are deep-rooted and suitable for xeriscaping. Suitable choices include mosquito grass, lyme grass, fescue, blue oat grass, ornamental fountain grass, and feather grass to name a few.
• Bluestem and switch grass (panicum) are beautiful North American natives that get by on very little water.