Drought Resistant Perennials - 6 Plants You Won't Have To Water!

Welcome to the Simple Garden Life podcast, a program dedicated to keeping the yard
of gardening simple, fun and always rewarding. Now Here are your hosts,
Jim and Mary Competiti. Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of Simple Garden
Life. I am your host, Jim Competit along with my wife Mary and
Mary. Today we are talking about drought resistant plants, which for us is
actually extremely important because where we live now on our new farm, everything we
do is from water. We collect through the rain, which is which is
big because we don't have a well well and sometimes it's minimal because you know,
we have had very little rain this year. And having plants that can
be drought resistant and still look beautiful, it's very important to us and it
really can happen, and that's what we're going to cover today. We have
six of probably some of the best drought resistant plants around and some of them
are even deer resistant, which is also a big thing for us, but
we'll get into that in just a second. We want to remind everybody that
you can sign up for Simple garden Life by going to Simple garden life dot
com. You can also follow us on all the major apps for our podcast
anywhere and everywhere. We will come to you whether you like it or not.
Right Mary, that's all right, all right, So let's get into
what we're talking about with drought resistant perennials. For us, we talk about
flower beds and how to keep them weed free. We've done a lot of
podcast on this, and for us, it's really packing your beds full of
plants. But you don't want to pack that full of plants that you're going
to have to need a lot of watering and constant maintenance. And that is
where drought resistant plants really come to play. Right. You know, one
of the biggest complaints about gardening, especially with flower beds, that I have
to water them all the time, and during the midsummertime months, you know,
sometimes you have to water them twice a day for them to look good.
But the drought resistant plants are totally different than that. Yeah, And
just because drought resistant plants require less moisture to survive, it doesn't mean that
they can't still add a lot of beauty and collar your landscape. I mean
not only that they can have vibrant collars and they can be magnets for pollinators.
I mean some of our drought resistant plants we talk about today are huge
for bringing in butterflies and bees and hummingbirds, all the things that can really
add a lot more to your landscape. Yeah. And I don't know about
you, but I can sit there and watch bees and hunting birds for hours
in the morning or the afternoon and watching them pollinate everything. They're just magnificent
to watch. It really is amazing. All right, Mary, So let's
get right into it right now. Let's talk about these plants that we're going
to cover today. And I think number one on the list might be my
favorite. Yeah, I was gonna say it's my favorite too. Maybe that's
why it's number one on the probably, but blanket flower as a perennial,
blanket flower is probably one of the most biggest perennial plants. I guess it's
a better way to say it. That is going to bloom, not continually,
but a lot of time throughout the course of the year, especially if
you practice that simple word of taking off the old blooms and allowing it to
regenerate, right dead hanging, taking off the blooms, whatever you want to
call it. But this blanket flower has great color, it's got rich red
orange yellow blooms that last almost all season long. Yeah, and they are
incredible. We talked about pollinators. They will bring them in bees, you
know, butterflies, hummingbirds, more, they will really bring it. It's
I guess the bloom for me is like I always call it, like a
red or an orange day. Yeah, absolutely it is, and boy prolific.
We have several here. They're a great plant to also be able to
divide each year or every couple of years, so you can get more and
more and more. But they come in they're mound like as they grow,
the blooms. I'm not talking one or two or three. I mean I
think ours right now probably has thirty or forty on it, and that was
just two weeks ago. When they were dying off. You cut them back
and they're right back again. I think that's the key. You know,
Even though that they're drought resistant, you still have to what we call deadhead
or remove the blossoms, remove the blooms, the dead dying blooms, so
that way the plant can produce enough energy to produce more blooms. Absolutely absolutely,
we don't even have to. You know, blanket flowers a low maintenance
plant. Not only does it not require water unless it was an absolute extreme
drought situation or just plant it's just or when you're first establishing them. But
not only that, they're they're deer resistant, and once established, they can
go tremendous amounts of times without water. You know, you can plant them
from transplants, you can plant them from divisions. They're they're a little difficult
to grow from seed, but wow, once you get them started. We've
had them forever and one of our absolute favorite plants now and this is one
of those plants that can actually do very well in full sun even with very
little water. That's actually a great point all almost all of these plants today
except for maybe one that I can think of right now as we cover them,
our full sun plants. And that's just something that's extra when you're talking
about trying to conserve water. I mean to have a plant that can handle
that sunshine and not have to worry. And I think that's something as before
we get to this next plant, I really want to kind of talk to
our listeners about is we know this and we watch it sometimes, but people
tend sometimes to overwater just to say they're watering plants. I shouldn't say just
to say they're watching watering plants, but just because they want to think that
the plants are going to need that, you know, and they don't.
The more you water plants sometimes the more those roots come to the surface and
they become shallow. Sometimes it's okay to allow your plants to go a long
time, especially with these plants where you never really need to water them.
Right, Your plants, if you really look at them, will actually tell
you when they need water. Great point. Those will start to wild a
little bit, they'll start to feel droopy or look droopy. So if you
see that, definitely water them. But if you water them every day,
you're not letting the plants grow the roots that they need to develop. Absolutely,
that's a great point. All right. So we've talked about blanket flower.
Now let's get to number two on the list, which is another one
of my favorites. Maybe not as much as blanket flower, just because of
that amazing bloom time, but cone flower, which you know they're named for
that distinct shape. That center of flowers kind of comes up surrounded by those
purple petals. They kind of grow in that downward angle but that seed head
in the middle and the flower it's just really pretty. And it's a mid
summer bloomer, which you know, you have all this spring color and then
here comes coneflower that can really provide the bees, the butterflies and all those
pollinators more ability to have nectar and all the things they need, and it
really beautifies your landscape. It really does. And the best thing I think
about cuneflower is that it can grow on about just any about any location,
whether the soil is acidic or sandy or great Kuneflower is one of those flowers
that just keeps coming back and thrives in almost every location. It really does.
And you know, their bloom time is a little bit longer than a
typical perennial. It doesn't come back. You may not be able to get
multiple bloom sets from them, but you know, we've had our coune flowers
that can last a month. And then you have that seed head, which
we allow to stay because it's great you know, feed for the birds everything
else. But is a really really great plant, easy to propagate, easy
to make divisions from. Again, they're a self seeder, so you can
grow them from seed. But I really like using the transplants, getting a
larger plant and then being able to have it from year to year and taking
divisions from it, whether it's the spring or the fall. Well, Nick
can the last I was all season long. You have a cone flower and
it can come in late spring, it could last through the even the early
cold months. Yeah, it's it's amazing how how much it adds to your
landscape. We are big believers in using all of these. In fact,
every six that we have today featured we have on our farm and flower beds
and for good reason, we don't have to water them. We don't have
to worry about them. Not only are most of them and cone flowers another
Greek example, a highly deer resistant plant. You know, people, we
have deer, I think way too many deer. Now we become their friends.
We wake up in the mornings now and look out our bedroom window and
there's seven laying out there. But they but they leave these plants alone.
And it makes a very very big difference when you can plant these and not
have to worry about them. They're going to come back year after year.
You're going to be able to divide them and create more so blanket flower,
cone flower two of our top ones right off the bat, and I know
we're gonna get to our third, but I think, Mary, if I'm
not mistaken, this is where we have our question of the week, and
maybe we can get the question. Maybe we'll take a very quick break,
and then we'll come back and answer the question. Absolutely. So our question
of the week comes from Missy in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania. It has been extremely
dry here this year, with temperatures in the mid nineties for many days.
I think that's true for a lot of places. I was going to say,
it's very hot right now everywhere I want to plant in my new flower
bed that gets full sun. But I'm not sure what could tolerate the heat
and dry conditions. What do you suggest? Oh, I've got a lot
of suggestions. I bet you do too. But let's take a quick break
and then we'll come back and answer that question, and then we'll also get
to our other four plants that are drought resistant perennials that are perfect for your
landscape. All right, and we are back, and Mary, that question
of the week was a good one. I mean, we're talking about flower
beds and being dry and what can we plan. I mean, that's a
great question. Yeah, this question comes from Missy and Wellsboro, Pennsylvania,
which actually she's just east of us. She asked, it has been extremely
dry here this year with temperatures in the mid nineties for many days. She
wants to plant and a new flower, but it gets full sun. But
she isn't sure what could tolerate the heat and dry conditions. What plants do
you suggest? Well, Missy, the first two that we've talked about already,
blanket flour and cone flower perfect examples of what you want to be putting
in. But I want to I just want to take a quick second.
You made a really good point Mary before the break about once they're established.
So just because the plant is drought resistant or drought tolerant, doesn't mean you
can sit in the ground, go inside and never worried about it. Again,
right when you pick up that plant from the store and you look at
it and so it's drought resistant, it doesn't mean that brand new plant that
you're putting the ground doesn't need water. Now. They need to establish their
roots and they need to get involved in the soil before they become truly,
you know, worry free, and that can take anywhere from three to six
weeks when they first established. Sometimes it can take a couple of months,
depending on how hot your summer is. But Mary said also that your plants
are going to let you know, you know, when you see them wilting
down and you just put them in the soil. Yes, you want to
give them water, but you do want to water deeply more than every single
day. So when you water, make sure you're watering enough water that that
water is getting down in the soil. And if you put your water on
your plants and it just runs right off, put a little on, Wait
a little bit, put a little on, Wait a little bit, let
it soak in. The more soil or the more moisture that gets in that
soil, the better it's going to absorb water in the future, and it's
better going to be. But once you've established them, then you're going to
be fine. And I'll mention something else about water in real quick. It's
one of the worst ways you can water is actually putting like a soaker hose
over top of the plant, where it just drenches the leaves, the foliage
just and it never gets down to the roots or the soil. So really
aim the water down by the base of the plant so it can get to
the soil and soak down into the roof. Yeah, I think by soakerhose
you're talking about like just sprain, just to sprain over the top. And
yeah, you really you really do want to get down to the ground,
like you said, and get that water to get to the soil lever where
it can go in. So all right, MESSI. We've talked about too
that you can plant. Here's another great one which is black eyed Susan.
You know, they're native to North America. They're they're almost in the prairies.
They're used to this. It's a wildflower, but but it's able to
sustain itself in dry climates with ease. What a beautiful, beautiful bloom black
eyed Susans have. Yeah, this is one of my favorite drought resistant perennials.
They get a beautiful they have a nice dark core when they have and
yes, that dark core with that yellow just sets them off that I don't
know, it's like almost like a sun a sunburst. Really, it's just
unbelievable the blooms they can do and how prolific their blooms can be. This
plant handles you know, dry conditions and poor soil with ease and still produces
a large number of flowers right. And the pollinators love it, especially butterflies.
Oh, butterflies will flock to that. Bees will flock to that.
Black eyed Susan is just another one of those plants. Again, easy to
divide in the fall or the spring, easy to you know, to grow
by transplants. And here's the great thing we always tell people when you're looking
at perennials like this, even if you don't have somebody that can split them
for you right now, when you go to a lot of nurseries in the
middle of summer, this is what they're highlighting. And they might have smaller
plants that are far less expensive than these twenty to thirty dollars pots that you
might find some small ones for gosh, seven ten dollars. Buy those,
because if you put them in right now, within a year, you're gonna
be able to divide those into three or four more plants. Great, great
money value for you, and you can really start to fill your beds.
If not, if you have a friend that has some black eyed seasons,
you wait till the spring or the fall. You take those divisions and you're
off and running. Yeah, I'm sure they're more than happy to share them
with you. Yeah. I mean, we've talked about it before. Our
old farm, we probably had a little over two thousand plants by the end
of it, and I think almost all of them were from divisions, whether
they were from our own or somebody else give them to us. So it's
a great way to do it. So we've covered three. Now let's get
to that fourth win. And this is not so much a flower but an
ornamental grass. But unlike most ornamental grass is feather reed grass, which is
number four on our list today, is a very controllable grass. I think
I think it's one of our favorites because you don't have to continually dig this
grass up. We joke about it in our own world. We call it
a Judy grass. So we have a member of our family that my sister
in fact, that gave us a start of this grass way back when it's
just a very slow grower. Feathery grass doesn't expand rapidly, but it plumes
early. Those plumes stay all through the summer in the fall, and gosh,
we can go what five eight years not even have to touch that plant,
right. It actually it grows upright. It keeps the beds nice and
tidy. It plumes earlier. Like you said, it grows slowly, so
you can go as many years without meaning divide. Yeah, and if you
want to divide it, which we've done before, you can divide it early
on. You can get extra plants. This name, this goes by a
lot. Feathery grass is probably the most you know, notable. I don't
think too many people call it judy grass, but Carl Forrester is the person
that developed this, and you'll sometimes see it called that as well. On
our website. On this article, we have links to this grass. You
can kind of see what it is and see where you can get it.
But I'll tell you from an ornamental grass standpoint, it's so nice because it's
so neutral. It just goes with all of these other perennial flowers we're talking
about right now that the drought resistant, and it is probably, wow,
it might be the most drought resistant of any of these, and they are
all extremely drought resistant. But this grass can handle the heat. It can
handle, you know, anything you throw at it, and it's going to
stay alive. Right. And this grass is great for layering in your flower
bed as the height in flower beds where you want to have some height in
certain areas, or it can be an anchor for certain corners of your flower
beds. Yeah, and I think so many times people think of grass as
they get so large and they overgrown. You're not going to have to worry
about this with feathery grass. So all right, So let's get to the
next one, which we talked about already with you know other ones. It's
the orange Shasta daisy. But this is the Shasta daisy, which is fantastic,
I mean, another excellent drought resistant perennial. It features a beautiful yellow
center with small, delicate white petals. Everybody knows this the daisy, but
the Shasta davies, that mounded growth just produces a tremendous amount of flowers that
once again your pollinators, you know, your bees, your butterflies, they're
gonna love it. And then that seed head the birds love as well.
Right, And a lot of people ask us what's the difference between a daisy
and a Shasta daisy, And really, a Shasta daisy is a hyberd between
them all. It is, and most people don't realize that you have a
lot of daisies that grow in the wild. This was one that was created
solely to produce more blooms for you know, a period of time. I
would say ours usually blooms. I'd say it's solid three to four weeks,
right along with the cone flower. And again, all these ones were featuring
today are great summer flowering perennials. Everybody concentrates so heavily on that early spring
and then we get to the late fall where you have asters and mums and
all this late fall color. It's that middle of the summer sometimes when beds
struggle, and they struggle for two reasons. The spring plants are fading off.
It's also very dry. Well that's where these plants come in. They
don't need a lot of water, but they provide a lot of collar.
That's absolutely right, you know, Shasta daisies don't need a lot of water
to survive, and they look beautiful in your flower beds. Yep, So
we got one more to cover and it's probably my favorite plant for borders and
edges and just filling in spaces where you never want to have to worry and
you don't want deer to have to worry, and it goes by a lot
of names. We call larrope I mean that is what it is. Lily
turf is another name that's commonly given to it. But it's a small grass.
But unlike most grasses, it actually flowers with a berry. I mean,
it has a very nice, beautiful little berry. Some can be white,
but most of them are usually purple lavenders for style in the fall,
right, you can violet, pink or white. But it starts off and
it's a grass most of the year. And it's a nice small mounting grass.
Like you said, it doesn't get very tall. It's perfect for bordering
sidewalks, driveways. It's just one of those ones that doesn't need a lot
of water. It's easy to take care of. Yeah, we actually have
an article on this, and I'll link that article on the podcast, article
on Simple Garden Life. But it can grow, as Mary said, six
to eighteen inches. There's different variety, but a great, great border plant,
a great plant to fill an area, even a hillside. The thing
about ropea is it can kind of grow in any situation. It can do
okay in shade, it can do okay. And son we grow it just
almost everywhere around the farm with a lot of success. And you don't really
have to worry about anything to do with that. I mean, we have
split the rope in the middle of a summer drought and had it come back
through the you know, its surface and be fine. So it's going to
be an extremely durable plant. But you know, we really do it.
Check check these six plants out. I mean, you're talking about six plants
that you can put in your bed that can really provide not just the ability
to have a lot of color, but you're not going to have to work
for it. I mean, you're not going to be wasting a lot of
watering at all on these plants, right, and most of these plants are
some of these plants also do very well. Pollinators, the bees, the
butterflies, the birds, they're great to add to your landscape, especially and
when you say that, it's so important for people to understand pollinators when they
eat it most. You know, bees and butterflies, all these things that
come out in early spring. They have damnelions, they have clover that comes
on, they have all this stuff early on this big but in that middle
of the summer before the fall comes out. With a new burst of flame.
When it's dry, a lot of those flowers shrivel up and they're not
around for them, and that is where you're also helping, you know,
keep that pollin eater aspect alive and giving them something to eat. I mean,
it does that for them, and it also puts a tremendous amount of
beating your landscape. I mean, I don't know where we would be without
these plants in our landscape because we fill our beds with these and in that
way we can go right from spring color to summer color and then here comes
our fall color again, so you can't go wrong. No, let's go
ahead and review those once again. The six drop resistant perennials that are great
for your flower beds. Absolutely, let's take a look at them right now
and in a quick review. So the first one that we cover today was
a blanket flower. Oh yeah, beautiful reddish orange blooms. Great plant.
The second one was cone flower, which is going to give you a beautiful
you know, I call it upside down cone, but it's that purple and
again mounted shape which just really can handle the heat. Right. Next one's
black eyed Susans, one of our favorite you know, they have the dark
core with the yellow absolutely yeah, petals that look absolutely gorgeous. And then
feathery grass. And feathery grass is great to put in with all of these.
It kind of provides a little centerpiece and then you can put the colors
around them and it's gonna you know, plume early in the summer. And
of course one of our favorites also, it's Chasta daisies. Yeah, Chestadaisies.
I don't know, there's just something about in that mounting white color you
see, it's just so pretty. And then we end with another border and
grass plant the rope. You know, all six of these can be wonderful
place together or by themselves, and all of them are going to reduce your
watering to near zero because they can all handle it, and they can handle
deer as well. They're just they're they're great plants. And as I said,
that's the reason we've chose these six plants because they really are to us
some of the best droute resistent perennials around, right, and anytime that we
go over any type of guarding subject, you know, you can follow us
on simple gardenlife dot com. That's right, Simple garden Life podcasts. Yeah,
and we put all the links at the end of each article, and
you know, we come to you and just try to give the information.
Has really helped us create a low maintenance landscape that can still be beautiful.
I think so many people think to have this incredibly beautiful landscape that you have
to spend hours upon hours and resources upon resources and water and fertilize. Another
great thing about all these plants that they are very low feeders, so you're
not going to be spending a lot of time out there fertilizing or watering or
doing anything with them. So we hope you enjoyed today's podcast, and especially
on the six perennials, Mary, I think it's time if you're ready for
it, absolutely remember whatever you do, find the fun and gardening and grow
something beautiful. Happy garden everyone, So long. We hope you've enjoyed this
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