Drought, Xeric & Dry Soil Plants
Showing 113–120 of 126 results
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Silene chalcedonica syn. Lychnis chalcedonica Maltese cross, Jerusalem cross Z 4-8
Balls of tomato-red crosses
Balls of tomato-red crosses top 3′ stems in June and July, reblooming if deadhead
Size: 3-4' x 12"
Care: Sun to part shade moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: Western RussiaChalcedonica refers to a place near Constantinople. Louis IX reputedly transported this plant from Jerusalem to France on his return from the Crusades. Liberty Hyde Bailey called this “one of the best of old fashioned flowers.” In both Jefferson’s and Washington’s gardens.
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Silene coronaria syn. Lychnis coronaria Rose campion Z 4-8
Crimson/magenta cymes contrast felted white foliage
Brilliant crimson/magenta cymes contrast felted white foliage from early to midsummer. Really eyecatching.
Size: 36" x 18"
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil
Native: Southeastern Europe
Awards: England's Royal Horticultural Society Award of Merit.Mythology reports that the Rose campion sprang from the bath of Aphrodite. European garden cultivation since the 1300’s. Parkinson in 1629 wrote of the Rose campion: “The single red Rose campion hath divers thick, hoary or woolly long greene leaves, abiding greene all the winter, and in the end of the spring or beginning of summer, shooteth forth (flowers) … of a perfect red crimson colour …” Paradisi in Sole Paradisus Terrestris. Jefferson grew it at Monticello in 1807.
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Silene schafta Schaft’s catchfly, Moss Z 5-7
spectacular late season blooms – bright magenta flowers September to October
OUT OF STOCK
One of the spectacular late season blooms – bright magenta flowers September to October
Size: 6” x Slowly spreading
Care: full sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: RussiaPerfect for dry borders or rock gardens.
Introduced from its native Russia in 1844. In Greek mythology Silene was a companion of Bacchus who was covered with foam. William Robinson, father of the mixed perennial border, described the flowers of this species as being “very neat tufts.” -
Solidago cutleri Cutler’s alpine goldenrod Z 3-9
Golden tufts of flowers on this mounding, compact, bone-hardy goldenrod July-September
Golden tufts of flowers on this mounding, compact, bone-hardy goldenrod July-September
Size: 6-10” x 12”
Care: sun in well-drained to moist well-drained soil
Native: Mountains of New England and NY, north through Nova Scotia
Wildlife Value: attracts butterfliesNamed for New England plant explorer Manasseh Cutler , Rhodora 10(113): 87. 1908 by M.L. Fernald
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Sporobolus heterolepsis Prairie dropseed Zone 3 – 9
Mound of graceful thinnest of grass blades
The description in the Chiltern Seeds catalog cannot be improved: “This is the most elegant and refined of the North American prairie grasses …the finest texture composed of the thinnest of thin, thread-like, glossy green blades,.. in autumn turning deep orange before fading to a light copper for the winter. In late summer the plants bear, on very slender stalks high above the foliage, unbelievably delicate, graceful flower panicles, excellent for cutting.”
Size: 2’ x 2’
Care: Full sun in well-drained soil
Native: from Canada in the north to Texas in the south, Wisconsin nativeSporobolos is Greek from sporo meaning seed and ballein meaning to cast forth because the seed readily falls from the flower (or dropseed, the common name). Ojibwa “Medicine Society” used roots to cure sores & “remove bile.”
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Stachys byzantina Lamb’s ears, Woolly betony Z 4-8
Velvety granite gray leaves, as soft as a lamb's ear
Velvety granite-gray leaves, as soft as a lamb’s ear, bearing spikes with pale lavender flowers all summer.
Size: 12-15" x 12-15"
Care: Full sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Drought tolerant & deer resistant.
Native: IranStachys is Greek meaning, “spike.” Believed to cure almost everything. Italians urged people to: “sell your coat and buy betony.” Cultivated by George Washington at Mount Vernon.
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Syneilesis aconitifolia syn. Senecio aconitifolia Shredded umbrella plant; in China, tu er san Z 4-9
Grown for its excellent foliage in dry shade. I guess “Shredded umbrella” best describes this plant with thin, dissected leaves atop a leafless stem. drooping in a rounded shape, like an umbrella, but it wouldn’t shelter from rain. Pale pink to white flowers in early to mid-summer.
OUT OF STOCK
Grown for its excellent foliage in dry shade. I guess “Shredded umbrella” best describes this plant with thin, dissected leaves atop a leafless stem. drooping in a rounded shape, like an umbrella, but it wouldn’t shelter from rain. Pale pink to white flowers in early to mid-summer.
Size: 3’ x 2’
Care: part shade in moist well-drained to well-drained soil
Native: China, on forest edges on slopes, Korea & Japan
Wildlife Value: Attracts bees, butterflies and birds. Drought tolerant once established. Deer and rabbit resistant.Described in Flora of China in 1833. Chinese used the whole plant for medicine, to relax and activate the tendons, alleviate pain around the waist and legs, and to treat most any injuries.
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Tanacetum niveum Silver tansy, Snow tansy Z 5-9
Profusion of small classic daisies May-July atop fragrant silver foliage
Profusion of small classic daisies May-July atop fragrant silver foliage
Size: 2’ x 3’
Care: sun in moist well drained soilNamed by Carl Heinrich Schultz (1805-1867)
