Plants that get by on no water once established
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Diane Lynch
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With another drought of historic proportions upon us, we must conserve. Fortunately there are many plants that can get by without water after they’re established. Granted, they’ll need water for the first year or two but after that they’ll make it on their own. Fall is the best time to establish new plantings as we cross our fingers for a rainy winter.
Salvia leucantha blooms for months and months, requires no supplemental water once established, and is a hummingbird favorite. Photo: PlantMasterRhamnus alaternus, Italian buckthorn, a Mediterranean native well adapted to California, comes in both green, which will grow to 10-20’, and variegated, which will reach only 6-8’ and makes a lovely backdrop to a dark background. If you plant the variegated cultivar be sure to remove any green shoots that appear so they don’t take over. I love the interest of variegated foliage and the fact that it’s often slower growing, cutting maintenance.
If you have a big space to fill consider a Ceanothus or California lilac, a bee magnet. With colors from white to intense blues and sized from quite small to 20’ tall and wide, consult your Sunset Western Garden Book or other resource to choose the species best suited to your garden.
Use Pigeon Point coyote bush on hillsides or as lawn replacement. No water required on the coast, and monthly in hot-summer areas. Photo: PlantMasterArtemisia ‘Powis Castle’ has beautiful, fluffy, gray-green foliage and will grow to a 6’ mound, making a beautiful backdrop for bright colors. Baccharis pilularis ‘Pigeon Point’ is a native coyote brush that makes a great groundcover for banks and flat areas. Near the coast it needs no water at all; inland a drink once a month will keep it going. It can grow to a small hedge, 3’ high by 9’ wide.
If you aspire to help the monarch butterfly, plant a clump of milkweed. Asclepias fascicularis is one of several milkweeds that nurture the caterpillars (who will not eat other plants) into their next stage as a chrysalis—this lifecycle is stunningly beautiful to witness. If you buy plants from a nursery make sure they’re labeled as having no neonicotinoids used in the growing process—the systemic poison will kill the caterpillars.
Many California native plants, including poppies, require little or no water once established. Photo: PlantMasterLast but not least, Toyon, Heteromeles arbutifolia, is a fantastic habitat plant. Often a handsome shrub that grows to about 8’, it can grow into a small tree. Mine has grown to almost 20’ and attracts many species of birds, who come for the bugs and red berries that ripen in winter. Common names include Christmas berry and California holly, which sparked the name of Hollywood.