Now that we seem to be entering a period of drought, as so often happens here in western New York in July, I thought it might be worth talking about drought-tolerant plants for the garden.
While I don’t tend to coddle plants, I will give them at least a minimum amount of water when nature isn’t providing it. I also have an irrigation system that I employ when the no rain situation starts stretching out into weeks. However, several years back, I started putting in more perennials that can handle extended dry spells. Some of these may not be familiar to you, but I can recommend them highly as being useful for the water-wise gardener.
Some of the better-known plants include any of the sedums, yarrow, daylilies (I really believe that it’s impossible to kill a daylily), bearded iris, lavender and many perennial herbs such as oregano and thyme. Lesser known perennials include agastache, yucca, coreopsis and penstemon. Penstemon, or beardtongue, is a real workhorse of a plant and one I won’t be without. They come in a fascinating range of colors and sizes, from tiny Penstemon pinifolia to the popular cultivar “Husker Red”, which tops out at about 2 feet high and is loaded with pinkish-purple flowers atop dark burgundy foliage. I also have a lovely cultivar named “Schooley’s Coral” that puts out long wands of watermelon-colored flowers that the hummingbirds seem to adore.
It can also be fun to experiment with annuals, although generally speaking, their normally short life span means that they’re shallow-rooted and therefore pretty intolerant of dry conditions. However, there’s one that seems to do quite well for me here, and it’s now in its third year! Phygelius, or cape fuschia, is a really pretty South African native that comes in pale peach, pale yellow and deep rose (at least, that’s all that I’ve ever been able to find around here). The one that’s in its third season here is called “Cherry Ripe”; a deep shade of rose-red. I think I’ve got it in sort of a micro-climate that’s allowing it to survive the winters – it faces full south, gets all-day sun, and is in a sheltered corner. It’s a lovely plant with stalks about a foot high that put you in mind of foxglove, with dangling bells of flowers. This area, however, is also something of a hot box, quite dry normally, so I guess it gets conditions similar to its native land. Lucky me!
Now that we seem to be entering a period of drought, as so often happens here in western New York in July, I thought it might be worth talking about drought-tolerant plants for the garden.
While I don’t tend to coddle plants, I will give them at least a minimum amount of water when nature isn’t providing it. I also have an irrigation system that I employ when the no rain situation starts stretching out into weeks. However, several years back, I started putting in more perennials that can handle extended dry spells. Some of these may not be familiar to you, but I can recommend them highly as being useful for the water-wise gardener.
Some of the better-known plants include any of the sedums, yarrow, daylilies (I really believe that it’s impossible to kill a daylily), bearded iris, lavender and many perennial herbs such as oregano and thyme. Lesser known perennials include agastache, yucca, coreopsis and penstemon. Penstemon, or beardtongue, is a real workhorse of a plant and one I won’t be without. They come in a fascinating range of colors and sizes, from tiny Penstemon pinifolia to the popular cultivar “Husker Red”, which tops out at about 2 feet high and is loaded with pinkish-purple flowers atop dark burgundy foliage. I also have a lovely cultivar named “Schooley’s Coral” that puts out long wands of watermelon-colored flowers that the hummingbirds seem to adore.
It can also be fun to experiment with annuals, although generally speaking, their normally short life span means that they’re shallow-rooted and therefore pretty intolerant of dry conditions. However, there’s one that seems to do quite well for me here, and it’s now in its third year! Phygelius, or cape fuschia, is a really pretty South African native that comes in pale peach, pale yellow and deep rose (at least, that’s all that I’ve ever been able to find around here). The one that’s in its third season here is called “Cherry Ripe”; a deep shade of rose-red. I think I’ve got it in sort of a micro-climate that’s allowing it to survive the winters – it faces full south, gets all-day sun, and is in a sheltered corner. It’s a lovely plant with stalks about a foot high that put you in mind of foxglove, with dangling bells of flowers. This area, however, is also something of a hot box, quite dry normally, so I guess it gets conditions similar to its native land. Lucky me!
Remember, these plants will only be drought-tolerant once they’re firmly established in your garden for a year or more. If you just planted some of these back in May, you’d best be out watering them every day until we get some meaningful rain or you’ll likely lose them. But beginning next year, they should be able to shrug of drought quite handily. An excellent source for water-wise gardening tips and plants is the High Country Gardens catalog. Since it’s starting to sound as if we’ll be seeing more weather like this in years to come, smart gardeners will look more closely at drought-tolerant plants.
