Drought, Xeric & Dry Soil Plants
Showing 73–80 of 133 results
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Lilium lancifolium Tiger lily Z 3-7
Late summer, orange, recurved blossoms with black spots
Late summer, nodding orange, recurved blossoms with black spots. Fun fact – its “seeds” are small bulbils that grow where each leaf meets the stem. The bulbils drop and in 2 years create a new plant.
Can not ship to: Delaware and Maryland.
Size: 2-5' x 12"
Care: Sun to part shade in moist to moist well-drained soil
Native: AsiaReferred to in Chinese literature as long ago as the 10th century, growing it in rows as a vegetable and claimed it brought the painted dragon to life. William Kerr sent the Tiger lily from Canton China to Kew in England in 1804. A Tiger lily in Wonderland’s looking glass garden told Alice “We can talk…when there is anybody worth talking to.”
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Limonium latifolium syn. Limonium platyphyllum Sea lavender, Statice latifolia Z 4-8
Tough as nails, grow anywhere, deer resistant plant that blooms all summer into fall!
OUT OF STOCK
Airy lavender blue panicles from mid-summer to fall. Leathery foliage turns reddish in fall.
Size: 24-30” x 24”
Care: sun to part shade in well-drained to moist soil
Native: Russia, Bulgaria & RomaniaLimonium is Greek meaning “meadow” and latifolium means “wide leaf”. Cultivated in gardens since 1700’s. Formerly used to repel moths and cure canker sores.
Deer resistant. Excellent cut or dried flowers -
Linum perenne ‘Lewisii’ Perennial flax, Prairie flax Z 4-8
Sky blue flowers closing by afternoon all summer
Sky blue flowers closing by afternoon all summer
Size: 24" x 12"
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil.
Native: Wisconsin west and southLinum is Greek for “flax,”, a different species grown for centuries as the source of linen cloth. This variety was named for Meriwether Lewis who found this plant on July 9, 1806 near Great Falls, Montana. Western Indians used the seeds in cooking; Navajo for heartburn; Okanagon as a shampoo; Sioux ate the leaves, cured poor circulation, fever, cramp and ingredient in a mixture for smoking.
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Lupinus perennis Sun-dial lupin, Old maid’s bonnet, wild pea Z. 4-9
Many flowered blue, pea flowered raceme May-June
OUT OF STOCK
Many flowered blue, pea flowered raceme May-June
Size: 1-2' x 12"
Care: full sun in well drained soil. A legume, so it enriches the soil by adding nitrogen.
Native: Maine to FL, Ontario to MN to Louisiana.
Wildlife Value: Attracts both hummingbirds and butterflies. The only food for larvae of endangered species, Karner Blue butterfly.Lupinus is Latin from Lupus meaning “wolf.” Likely sent from its native Virginia to England by Tradescant the Younger in 1637. Certainly collected by Michaux, late 1700’s. Grown by Jefferson. The Cherokee used this to stop bleeding. The Menominee fattened their horses with this Lupin and made them spirited. They rubbed the plant on themselves to give power to control the horses.
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Malva sylvestris ‘Zebrina’ Striped mallow Z 5-8
Miniature saucers of hollyhock-like flowers all striped
OUT OF STOCK
According to the books a perennial, but here it acts like an annual that reseeds prolifically.
Miniature saucers of hollyhock-like flowers all striped in shades of white, pink and lavender, two-toned purple and rose smother the 3-4′ stalks endlessly from June to October.Size: 36-48" x 24"
Care: Sun, moist well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: Europe‘Zebrina’ cultivated in Charlemagne’s empire as long ago as 800 A.D. American garden cultivation since 1800’s.
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Melampodium leucanthum Blackfoot daisy Z 5-10
No fail low mounds of up to 50 small white daisies spring-fall, atop narrow, hairy, grey-green leaves
OUT OF STOCK
No fail low mounds of up to 50 small white daisies spring-fall, atop narrow, hairy, grey-green leaves
Size: 6-10” x 12-20”
Care: sun to part-shade in well-drained soil. Its tap root reaches down for moisture and hair on foliage protects if from desiccating winds and sun - xeric plant
Native: Colorado, Oklahoma, TX &AZ (no wonder it likes well drained soil) but perfectly happy as far north as 20° below zero in winter.
Wildlife Value: birds eat seeds –pollen and nectar attract bees and butterflies. Deer resistantBotany professor John Riddell found this in Texas, Described in Flora of North America, 1842.
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Monarda fistulosa Wild bergamont Z 3-9
Whorls of hooded lavender tubes in July - August
Whorls of hooded lavender tubes in July – August
Size: 3-4' x 2' spreading
Care: Sun to part shade any soil.
Native: central U.S., Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Checkered white, Tiger swallowtail, Giant swallowtail and Melissa blue butterflies relish Wild bergamot’s nectar. Supports over 70 bee species.Used medicinally by many Native tribes- Blackfoot, Cherokee, Chippewa, Choctaw, Crow, Dakota and Flathead. Cherokee: to cure colic, flatulence, nosebleed, measles, flu, hysteria and to induce restful sleep. Blackfoot called it “Single-young-Man.” Teton Dakotas boiled the leaves and flowers for medicine to cure abdominal pain. Ho-Chunk boiled the leaves to make a medicine for pimples. Choctaws cured chest pain in children. The Flathead cured colds and sore teeth with Wild Bergamot. HoChunk inhaled fumes in a sweat bath to cure colds. Oneidas made a tea. For the Sioux it was nourishment and a panacea: tea, stomach ache, fever, indigestion, sore throats, fainting, whooping cough, wounds, sore eyes, ulcers, and snakebites. First documented by French explorers before 1635. Plant exported to Europe by Tradescant the Younger in 1637. Grown by Washington at Mount Vernon. Today it is a flavor in Earl Grey tea.
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Nepeta racemosa syn. N. mussinii Persian Catmint Z 4-8
Lavender-blue flowers encircle spikes from April through October, non-stop.
Lavender-blue flowers encircle spikes from April through October, non-stop. Starts blooming with the earliest tulips – a treasure.
Size: 18" x 18"
Care: Full sun to part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Cut back to make it bushier and for more flowers. Drought tolerant. Deer resistant.
Native: Caucasus
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesFrom the Caucasus to England in 1804. William Robinson called this “an old plant, flourishing in ordinary garden soil … used for edgings to borders, a purpose for which its compact growth suits it well.” Also a favorite of Gertrude Jekyll who popularized mixed perennial borders in the early 1900’s.
