Our gardens are all stressed these days

by limited rainfall, rising temperatures, and a generally hotter and more arid climate. The effects of even one season of substantially below-average rainfall can have devastating effects on the long-term health of our trees and shrubs, for when the water table falls, these larger plants are often left with dry roots.

Watering more frequently isn’t always the solution. Even if you live in an area without water usage restrictions, compensating for dry conditions by irrigating more heavily or often can “train” plant roots to remain near the surface, thirsty for that water, instead of burrowing down into the soil to find deeper sources of moisture.

So what to do? Well, we recommend the following steps:

1. Conserve what water you have in the soil by mulching heavily, using drip irrigation systems instead of overhead or hand-held hoses, and harvesting “free” water from rain barrels, gray water, etc., to use on your container plants wherever possible.

2. If you are thinking of converting some lawn to plantings or abandoning some thirsty plants after this season, do it now. One thing about the drought is that we’re all in this together, and people won’t think twice about your decision to let part of the garden go! You’ll also have longer to build the soil without growing plants in it all season.

3. Look at your landscape and see if you can identify a spot in which to grow a rain garden. This is a planting grown where rainfall naturally occurs or water drains. By growing plants in this area, you will encourage the water to drain deeply into the soil, reaching the water table and improving the overall water level of the community.

4.  Gradually replace thirsty, higher maintenance plants with “drought tolerant” varieties. It’s much easier to match the plant to the environment than to try to manipulate the climate to fit your plants!

If you think “drought tolerant” means cactus growing in a scree of sharp pebbles, you are in for a pleasant surprise. But bear in mind two things about drought tolerance:

1. All plants, no matter how drought tolerant they are when they grow up, need adequate water and reasonably good soil the first year or two in your garden. At Park, we call it “pampering” — it’s not how you intend to treat the plant its whole life, but it makes a huge difference those first seasons! Without this good start in life, your plants simply can’t reach their potential, because they won’t have the vigor needed to send down a taproot, branch beautifully, or set masses of blooms.

   Iceplant stores water in its succulent leaves, so it can withstand very dry soil.

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2. Not all drought tolerant plants are created equal. Some like dry soil and hot conditions. Others would prefer a more moderate environment, but have the ability to withstand extreme heat and drought for short periods. Others like one or more dry seasons — such as Daffodils thriving in dry summer weather and Elephant Ear needing excellent soil drainage during winter — but don’t necessarily like year-round arid conditions. Read about each variety you want to add to your garden!

3. Remember that wind will dry plants out, too. If you live in a windy area, you will find that your plants need more water than you might expect.

4. We tend to say “heat tolerant” and “drought tolerant” as if they’re the same thing, but some plants can grow in dry shade, while others (think Canna, Hibiscus, and other tropicals) love extreme heat but need to stay hydrated to bloom their best. Then there are a few that can strike a balance: they will need more water to survive high temperatures in direct sunlight, less if grown in a bit of shade or dappled light.

Here’s a quick list of some perennials, bulbs, shrubs, and trees you can plant out this fall for a less thirsty garden for years to come!

Drought Tolerant Perennials

Achillea (Yarrow)

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias)

Calamint

Chocolate Flower (Berlandiera)

Coreopsis

Daylily

Gaura

Iceplant

Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)

Salvia

Scabiosa

Sedum (Stonecrop)

Drought Tolerant Bulbs

Allium

Crocus

Daffodil

Lycoris (Magic Lily, Spider Lily)

Siberian Iris

Drought Tolerant Shrubs and Trees

Arborvitae (Thuja)

Arkansas Blue Star (Amsonia)

Baptisia

Blue Mist Shrub (Caryopteris)

Butterfly Bush (Buddleia)

Ginkgo

Ninebark (Physocarpus)

Russian Sage (Perovskia)

Viburnum

The post Your Garden Can Survive the Drought appeared first on Official Blog of Park Seed.