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3 Reasons To Use Drought Tolerant or Native Plants

Drought tolerant garden Some examples of drought tolerant native landscapes from The Water Conservation Garden in San DiegoDrought tolerant plants around turf. Scale is important. Drought tolerant plants around turf. Scale is important.Some turf removed and yard is more beautiful. Some turf removed and yard is more beautiful.

A native plant is one occurring naturally, in a given geography, without human involvement.  These are the plants growing on the landscape without the aid of humans.  This means they were not brought there intentionally or sometimes unintentionally.  Unfortunately we know sometimes people bring them by mistake and don’t think about the unintended consequences.  A drought tolerant plant does not have to been a native plant.  Drought tolerant plants are plants having adapted to tolerate drought better than most.  A drought tolerant plant will survive in your landscape with less than normal amounts of rainfall.  Not all drought tolerant plants are native and not all native plants are drought tolerant.

Drought Tolerant Means Less Water

Because drought tolerant plants by definition have adapted to dryer climates and have lower water requirements they naturally use less water.  A native plant may be drought tolerant but just because it is a native plant does not mean it is drought tolerant.  Most native plants, once established, need minimal supplemental irrigation.  However, I do recommend researching the water requirement to ensure you have the right native for your geography.

Lower Maintenance With Drought Tolerant and Native Plants

You can look forward to using less water with most native plants and because these plants have adapted to the local environment you will spend less time fertilizing, pruning and caring for them in general.  Most likely you will be able to spend a little time with them once every few months and still have a vibrant beautiful garden.  Drought tolerant plants tend to be more disease and pest resistant while needing little to no fertilizer.  This should free up time to do more creative activities in your gardens.

Beauty

Drought tolerant native landscapes do not have to mean rocks and cacti or succulents.  Well designed drought tolerant native landscapes can look attractive all twelve months of the year.  There are so many varieties of plants to choose from you can be assured to have color in your garden no matter the season.  You can check out over 5000 drought tolerant garden designs on Houzz.  The Denver Botanical Garden has some great examples as well.
 

Still Need To Consider Right Plant Right Place

Choosing the “right plant for the right place” is one of the most important considerations for all types of landscaping.  Just planting native and drought tolerant plants will not solve all your landscape issues.  Ignoring the right plant right place guideline may lead to increased maintenance, unhealthy looking plants and costly failure of expensive landscapes even using drought tolerant native plants.  Careful planning and completing a thorough evaluation of your landscape are the first steps in applying this concept.  With some extra effort in the planning stages you can ensure a beautiful, healthy, low water use, easy to maintain landscape.  That really does sound like paradise.

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Richard Restuccia

Richard Restuccia is a water management evangelist. He believes passionately in water efficiency and sees the financial and social benefits far too often to keep a secret. Richard is a spokesperson at industry events and on the Hill to provide direction and insight on landscape water management best practices. Richard puts his words into action through service on various boards and committees. Currently he serves on the Irrigation Association’s Board of Directors. As a board member, Richard serves in a variety of capacities, including government/public affairs. He is the liaison between the board and its marketing committee on the best ways to promote water efficiency and educate industry professionals on new technologies, products and services. Richard is also a regular contributor to Lawn & Landscape Magazine.

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COMMENTS (9)

  1. Tuesday, 11:16 Alan Harris

    My favorite line: “Not all drought tolerant plants are native and not all native plants are drought tolerant.”

  2. Tuesday, 1:30 Richard

    Alan I am guessing you have heard those words used interchangeably?

  3. Tuesday, 2:33 Bob Brzuszek

    Well written article Richard. A related topic may be how to retrofit a water dependent landscape.

  4. Tuesday, 4:10 Richard Restuccia

    Bob, thank you for the suggestion. Often we see this need. We have touched on it in a few articles but a specific focus would be useful. Thanks!

  5. […] is xeriscaping you ask? It’s a way of landscaping that focuses on water conservation through the use of native, drought-tolerant plants. The term comes from the Greek word “xeros,” which means dry, and the xeriscape […]

  6. Thursday, 6:13 social media site

    This is very fascinating, You are a very professional blogger. I have joined your rss feed and sit up for in quest of more of your wonderful post.

  7. […] 3 Reasons to Use Drought Tolerant or Native Plants […]

  8. […] option is to remove the turf completely and replace it with clusters of low-water-use shrubs like Abelia, Phormium, Coleonema, Nandina’s […]

  9. Monday, 3:14 Alleviating the Impact of California’s Water Reduction Mandate

    […] Use Drought Tolerant or Native Plants: Choosing the ‘right’ plant for the ‘right’ place is one of the most important considerations. […]

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