Drought, Xeric & Dry Soil Plants
Showing 129–133 of 133 results
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Tunica saxifraga syn. Petrorhagia saxifraga Tunic flower Z 4-8
pixie, palest of pink blossoms
Free blooming pixie, palest of pink blossoms from June through October on wiry stems form a 4″ tall mound. Perfect for rock gardens, front of borders or groundcover.
Size: 4" x 8"
Care: sun in well-drained soil. Drought tolerant.
Native: Pyrenees and AlpsTunica is Latin meaning “tunic” or “coat” referring to overlapping bracts beneath the flower. Near the turn of the century William Robinson described the Tunic flower as having ” elegant little rosy flowers … a neat plant for the rock garden and fringes of borders and thrives like a weed between the stones in a rough stone wall.” “Suggestive of a miniature gypsophila.” H.H. Thomas, 1915. Cultivated in the U.S. since the 1800’s.
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Verbascum nigrum Dark mullein Z 4-9
Canary yellow flowers cover erect 3' spikes
Canary yellow flowers cover erect 3′ spikes from June through October.
Size: 36" x 24"
Care: Sun in moist well-drained to well-drained soil - self-seeder. Cut flower stalk off to prevent reseeding & for reblooming. Drought tolerant.
Native: Europe to SiberiaVerbascum was named by the Roman Pliny who said they attracted moths, calling them Moth mulleins. Cultivated in gardens as long ago as Medieval times. Favorite plant in Elizabethan cottage gardens in the 1500’s. Described by Parkinson in 1629 as: “a stalke whereon stand many golden flowers with the like purple threads in the middle.”
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Verbena hastata Blue vervain, Simpler’s joy Z 3-9
Bright purplish-blue candelabra-like spikes from July to September
Bright purplish-blue candelabra-like spikes from July to September
Size: 2-4’ x 2’
Care: sun to part shade in moist or moist well-drained soil
Native: eastern 2/3rds of No. America, Wisconsin native
Wildlife Value: Cardinals & Sparrows eat the seeds. Food for larvae of Buckeye butterfly.Native Americans used plant as remedy for coughs, colds and fever. Mahuna Indians of So. California used the root to cure complicated stomach fevers. Sioux fed the seeds to their horses to give them energy. The Sioux also used it as an insect repellant. Pressed specimen in Emily Dickinson’s herbarium.
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Yucca filamentosa Adam’s Needle, Silk grass Z 5-9
tall stalks bearing alabaster bells
Six foot tall stalks bearing alabaster bells tower over clumps of swordlike leaves with margins of curly threads in July and August.
Size: 30" leaves - 5' flower x 5'
Care: full sun, moist well-drained to well-drained soil. Drought tolerant
Native: New Jersey to Florida
Wildlife Value: It’s only pollinator is the Yucca moth and the Yucca is the only food source for the Yucca moth in a mutually beneficial relationship.
Awards: England's Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit; Cary Award Distinctive Plants for New England and Elisabeth Carey Miller Botanical Garden Great Plant Pick.In 1596 Gerard named the genus Yucca from the incorrectly identified plant, the Iucca. Filimentosa is from the Latin filum meaning “thread” because of the threads on the leaf margins. Colonists cut the leaves of Y. filamentosa to make thread. Indians used the root as an ingredient in bread, to make suds for cleaning and the leaf fibers to make clothes. For the Cherokee it cured diabetes and skin sores, induced sleep in people and drugged fish for an easier catch. Tradescant the Younger collected this in Virginia before 1640. Both Gerard and Parkinson grew Yucca filamentosa in their personal gardens. Jefferson planted it in 1794 and called it “beargrass.”
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Zauschneria garetii syn Epilobium canum ssp. garrettii Hummingbird trumpet, California fuchsia, Garrett’s Firechalice Z 5-9
Fiery orange trumpets float above a loose mat of green foliage, evergreen in warm climates. Blooms July-first frost
Fiery orange trumpets float above a loose mat of green foliage, evergreen in warm climates. Blooms July-first frost
Size: 4-6” x 15-18”
Care: Sun to shade in well-drained soil. Prefers afternoon shade in hot climates
Native: CA, UT, WY, ID, AZ
Wildlife Value: Attracts hummingbirds, birds and butterflies, Deer and rabbit resistantNamed for Johann Baptista Josef Zauschner (1737-1799) botanist and professor of medicine at the University of Prague. Beautiful planted with Nepeta, Agastache and Perovskia atriplicifolia. Published by Aven Nelson (1859-1952) Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 20(7): 36–37. 1907. Collected by A. O. Garrett (1870-1948), August 28, 1906 in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Salt Lake City, UT.
