Drought Resistant Plants

Clusters of dark red to red-orange daisy-like flowers with yellow fading to red 'eyes' are produced throughout the growing season, and potentially year-round under warm tropical conditions, on this vigorous and easy small to medium-sized vine. The Sao Paulo Mexican Love Vine, a somewhat rare selection of Senecio confusus, is a naturally evergreen, twining herbaceous tropical vine that can be grown as a die-back perennial in areas with mild winters, like zones 9-10 and even into 8B, if provided with a breathable insulative protective mulch for winter. It is vigorous enough to be grown as an annual in colder climates and can also be maintained as a container plant that is overwintered indoors. The Mexican Love Vine, a.k.a Mexican Flame Vine, is a heat and sunloving free-flowering tropical suitable for small to medium-sized trellises, fences, and can even be allowed to spill from hanging baskets. The flowers attract a variety of butterfly species and seem to be especially popular with migrating Monarchs as well as bees and hummingbirds. Provide a full to partly sunny site in any average to well-drained, fertile, average moist soil. Item# 612

Each golden yellow petal is heavily splashed with burgundy and surround the tall brown central cone of each daisy-like flower. Finely textured blue-gray foliage on a plant that becomes more dense with age. Blooms from late spring through summer. This is a tough and hardy, perennial US Native. Great for smaller pollinators. Item# 9141.

Thin flat scalloped stems turn deep red to near purple-red when the plants are grown where they receive high light and produce long-lasting decorative white berries along the leaf edges that follow the small inconspicuous flowers. The Red Mistletoe Cactus or Red Rhipsalis, Pseudorhipsalis ramulosa, is an easy to grow vigorous tropical cactus whose weeping stems can create an amazing specimen hanging basket plant. A component of tropical forests with an epiphytic-like growth habit, it naturally receives filtered sunlight and will have the most intense color where it receives high indirect light to cool sunlight, like early morning or very late evening or filtered sunlight. Provide a well-drained soil and average moisture for optimum growth and vigor. Item# 11825

Clusters of deep red, 1" long tubular blooms are borne in whorls around the arching green stems. Dainty deep green foliage adorns the arching green stems. Red Rocket is excellent for hummingbirds and flowers continuously throughout the warmer months and possibly year round in tropical settings. Item# 973

A wonderfully colorful fall suprise, the Red Spider Lily produces neatly rounded clusters of deep red spidery flowers atop sturdy 12-18" high stems in late summer and early fall before the blue-green narrow straplike foliage emerges for winter. The nectar rich flowers attract larger butterflies and the large yellow Sulphur butterflies seem to be especially attracted to them. This heirloom pass-a-long multiplies readily to create a dense clump of offsets that can be divided in summer. Each pot contains 3 medium to large flowering size bulbs that can be planted anytime of year from containers. Work them into garden and landscapes but they can also be allowed to naturalize in the lawn. Item# 9338

Red Spread Lantana produces clusters flowers that open orange and then darken to deep rich red on a mounding to spreading plant. Lantanas are excellent free flowering perennials that love the heat and the sun. Use Red Spread as a ground cover or allow it spill from large containers. Great for butterflies and other pollinators. Item# 10104

A multitude of upward facing, sleepy, scarlet blooms are born among the soft, dark green foliage from late spring to frost. A hardy and long-lived, spreading to upright perennial, Turk's Cap is an easy to grow heirloom that will flower in sun or light shade. An excellent nectar plant for hummingbirds as well as butterflies. Caterpillar host: Glassy Winged Skipper. Resistant to browsing by deer and moderately drought resistant once well-established. The ripe fruits are readily consumed by birds and other wildlife, along with the occasional curious human. Item# 691.

The strikingly variegated new growth is broadly edged in creamy white to light greenish-yellow and each narrow leaf is centered by a contrasting line of deep green creating a nice contrast with the mature, often solid colored, deep green foliage. From a distance it has an overall light yellow to chartreuse cast to the plant. The Roman Candle™ Variegated Japanese Yew, a selection of Podocarpus macrophyllus, is a naturally upright to rounded, large evergreen shrub to small tree that can be maintained as a hedge, specimen accent plant, screen, or it can be trained into a single or multi-trunked small tree. Japanese Yew has long been a favorite in the gardens and landscapes of the Southeastern US with its virtually pest free, low-maintenance, adaptable, deer resistant, heat tolerant demeanor. It is also used widely in the art of bonsai as well as for container specimens. Provide a full to partly sunny site in an average to well-drained, fertile soil with average moisture. Item# 12750

Yes it fruits but it's fine textured evergreen foliage is fantastic! The bright pink new growth of spring matures to a dusty blue-green with hints of pink in summer, followed by deep purplish-blue in fall which deepens through winter. Clusters of 3/8" edible blue fruit that ripen in May-June, follow the light pink bell-shaped flowers of early spring. Rosa's Blush is grown mainly for its compact habit and beautifully colored, fine textured, ever-changing foliage as the berries ripen a few at the time over a long period. Pick the blue-black fruit once fully soft for the best flavor and like most blueberries a cross pollinator is required for the best fruit set. Item# 9206.

Deep rose pink, fuzzy tubular flowers are produced in spikes atop the tall stems of this vigorous and free flowering hummingbird magnet! Rosebud Sage is a vigorous and hardy Salvia that begins flowering in early summer and continues into fall on a plant that can easily reach 6' x 6' so allow for plenty of room. A native of Mexico it is a die-back perennial into zone 7 if give protection and a winter mulch. Provide a moderately fertile, well-drained, average moist soil in a full to mostly sunny location for the best results. Item# 11143

Spikes of 1" long deep rosy pink tubular flowers emerge from dark purplish pink calyces beginning in spring and continuing until fall. Rosie Posie Agastache develops into a dense rounded mass of fragrant foliage that is topped by the long-lasting dispaly of colorful flower spikes. The tubular flowers attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinators. The neat habit of this Agastache lends it to use as a container plant as well as in gardens and landscapes. Provide a well-drained soil in full to mostly sunny conditions for optimum vigor and flowering. Image courtesy of Walter's Gardens, Inc. Item# 11910

Clusters of bright golden yellow upward facing daisies are produced atop sturdy stems emerging from the rosettes of rounded low growing deep green foliage in early(8B) to late spring or early summer(3) depending on your cold hardiness zone. Roundleaf Golden Groundsel, Packera obovata, is very similar to the cutleaf Golden Groundsel, Packera aurea, but is more tolerant of full sun as well as light shade and drier growing conditions. This stoloniferous native perennial develops into an evergreen to semi-evergreen mat of low rich green foliage and its flowers attract many early season pollinators, especially bees. Use Roundleaf Golden Groundsel as a groundcover in informal and naturalistic garden settings as well as in roadside plantings, meadows, and prairies. It is native to much of the central and eastern US.   Item# 12249

The dark colored nearly black spikes and calyxes provide a dark contrast to the brilliant glowing red two-lipped tubular flowers that are sure to draw hummingbirds for miles from spring to fall! Royal Bumble Salvia, a selection or hybrid of the native Littleleaf Sage, S. microphylla, is a 2015 Royal Horticulture Society Award of Garden Merit winner with excellent vigor and amazing flower power all on a compact well-branched plant. Considered by some to be the best red Salvia x jamensis/S. microphylla hybrid on the planet! Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a fertile well-draining soil for optimum vigor and flower power. In areas that experience hard freezes plant this Salvia out between early spring to midsummer to ensure winter survival. Item# 12476

A compact hydrangea sporting large flower heads of rich purple to shades of magenta florets depending on soil ph. Royal Purple Big Leaf Hydrangea is still considered to be one of the darkest colored varieties around. It's compact habit lends it to confined spaces, smaller gardens and even container culture. Provide a humus-rich, moist, well-drained soil and grow it where it gets mid-day shade. Item# 629

The dense 18" high flowers spikes are composed deep violet-purple pea-shaped flowers are held well above an among the blue-green foliage on this vigorous Baptisia hybrid. Royal Purple Prairieblues™ Baptisia or False Indigo, is a complex hybrid developed by Dr. Jim Ault of the Chicago Botanic Gardens and Chicagoland Grows that exhibits a strong resemblence to the Wild Blue Indigo, Baptisia australis, including sharing this parent's vigor on this clump-forming herbaceous perennial. The Prairieblues™ Baptisias were selected not only for their unique colors but also for their extra large flower spikes, durability, and vigor. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year with some plants producing over a 100 spikes on mature plants. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Chicagoland Grows®, all rights reserved.  Item# 12463

An old favorite and an excellent performer Royal Red Butterfly Bush produces a continuous wave of rich reddish-purple spikes of flowers that are adored by butterflies, bees, and other beneficials. The flowers are richly fragrant with an aroma reminiscent of honey. Royal Red is vigorous and fast growing quickly developing into a medium-sized deciduous shrub that flowers from late spring until frost. Item#  630.

The large, very dark velvety red trumpet shaped flowers are easily 6" across and are produced in clusters atop strong sturdy stems in early to mid spring. Royal Velvet Amaryllis is a highly sought after cultivar that is sure to be a stand out in the garden and landscape where hardy or enjoy it as a low maintenance container plant. Provide a full to partly sunny location in a well-drained moderately fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering.These are young starter plants growing in their own soil and containers that should flower within 2-3 years under average growing conditions. Item# 11843

The large, very dark velvety red trumpet shaped flowers are easily 6" across and are produced in clusters atop strong sturdy stems in early to mid spring. Royal Velvet Amaryllis is a highly sought after cultivar that is sure to be a stand out in the garden and landscape where hardy or enjoy it as a low maintenance container plant. Provide a full to partly sunny location in a well-drained moderately fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering.These are young starter plants growing in their own soil and containers that should flower within 2-3 years under average growing conditions. Item# 13053

A breakthrough in Loropetalum breeding producing frilly bright white flowers in spring that absolutely shine against the foil of deep burgundy, purple, to near black foliage. Ruby Snow™ Loropetalum, a.k.a Chinese Witch Hazel, is an exciting new selection with a naturally rounded habit that can be utilized as a large hedge or screen and can even be trained into tree forms and espalier. Chinese Witch Hazel is fast growing and has few pests or disease problems when grown in an average to well-drained, acidic to neutral soil with average fertility in a full sun to partly shaded site. Images courtesy of Star Roses and Plants®, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12748

Spikes of deep red upward facing funnel-shaped flowers are produced non-stop from mid to late spring to fall atop the rich glossy deep green foliage attracting hummingbirds, occasional butterflies, and long-tongued bees. San Antonio Red Hummingbird Bush, a selection of Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii, is a small decidous native shrub from South Texas with excellent flower power. This easy and reliable heirloom has an upright to spreading busny habit rarely exceeding 3-4' in height (3'x3' is fairly typical in our zone 8B gardens) and it revels in the heat and sun of summer and is undaunted by the high humidity and high rainfall of the southeastern US. In the northernmost portion of its hardiness range, zones 7A-8A, the Hummingbird Bush may freeze back to near groundlevel in the hardest winters but readily returns to flowering by mid to late spring. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, fertile, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Small and tough enough for container culture but it also makes a low-maintenance addition the garden and landscape. Caterpillar host: Crimson Patch Item# 10034

From dark colored spikes and calyxes emerge vivid hot fuchsia colored two-lipped tubular flowers that are produced throughout the growing season on a mound forming, heat and sunloving perennial. San Carlos Festival Littleleaf Sage, a Yucca Do selection of Salvia microphylla from the mountains of Tamaulipas, Mexico, has proven to be a top garden performer with excellent season long flower power and reliable cold hardiness. The brightly colored, nectar rich flowers are sure to draw hummingbirds as well as bees and the occassional butterfly. Provide this tough perennial Salvia with a well-drained, fertile soil with average moisture, although, fully established plants are somewhat drought resistant the plants will flower best where they have at least some moisture available during the growing season. In areas that experience hard freezes plant this Salvia out between early spring to midsummer to ensure winter survival. Item# 12477

3-4" wide light pink to purplish pink coneflowers with drooping narrow petals are held high above the foliage on sturdy 18-24" high stems. Flowers begin in May and may continue through August and they attract bees, butterflies, and other garden beneficials. The Sanguin Purple Coneflower is a taprooted, clump-forming native with an easy to get-along-with and tough nature. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 9304

A dwarf form of the popular Mexican Sage bush that grows to only 2'H. Santa Barbara Dwarf Purple Mexican Sage is a durable drought tolerant perennial that puts on amazing show of velvety purple flower spikes beginning in late summer (just in time for the Hummingbirds) and lasting until frost. Item# 9094

Just when you thought you had seen it all and then you encounter this rare form of Confederate Jasmine with its decidedly pink flowers and wonderful fragrance are produced over an extended period in spring! The rich dark green glossy foliage provides the perfect foil for the flowers and its evergreen too! A popular, and durable vine with a twining habit that is able to climb our southern pine species without any assistance. Requires minimal care once established. Item# 3038