Water-Wise Plant List

Forget the cacti. Drought-stricken landscaping clients have a plethora of eye-catching, water-wise plants from which to choose.

Lauren Spiers

Published April 21, 2004

With extended drought conditions affecting many areas of the United States, more landscaping clients are looking for ways to keep their gardens green when water is scarce. And as interest in water-wise landscaping continues to increase, more growers are carrying and promoting drought-tolerant plants that won’t look dull in the dry summer heat. Try using some of these ground covers, perennials, trees and shrubs, suggested by Monrovia Growers, Azusa, Calif., on your clients’ landscapes to help them save water and still have outdoor living spaces they can enjoy.

Water-Wise Plant List

Groundcovers & Ornamental Grasses

  • Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Huntington Carpet’ (Huntington Carpet Rosemary)
  • Arctostaphylos uva-ursi ‘Massachusetts’ (Massachusetts Kinnikinick)
  • Cortaderia selloana ‘Pumila’ (Ivory Feathers® Dwarf Pampas Grass)
  • Festuca cinerea ‘Elijah Blue’ (Elijah Blue Fescue)

Perennials

  • Achillea – All cultivars (Yarrow)
  • Aspidistra elatior (Cast-Iron Plant)
  • Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (Dwarf Plumbago)
  • Convolvulus mauritanicus (Ground Morning Glory)
  • Coreopsis – All cultivars (Coreopsis)
  • Fallopia japonica ‘Variegata’ (Variegated Fallopia, Fleece Flower)
  • Limonium perezii (Sea Lavender)
  • Moraea – All cultivars (Fortnight Lily, African Iris)
  • Perovskia atriplicifolia (Russian Sage)
  • Phormium – All cultivars (New Zealand Flax)
  • Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ (Goldsturm Black Eyed Susan)
  • Sedum spurium ‘Bronze Carpet’ (Bronze Carpet Stonecrop)

Trees

  • Albizia julibrissin ‘Rosea’ (Mimosa Tree)
  • Arbutus x ‘Marina’ (Marina Strawberry Tree)
  • Cassia – All cultivars (Cassia)
  • Cersis canadensis (Redbud)
  • Chilopsis linearis ‘Burgundy’ (Burgundy Desert Willow)
  • Cordyline indivisa (Blue Dracaena Palm)
  • Eucalyptus cinerea (Silver Dollar Tree)
  • Ficus carica – All cultivars (Fruiting Fig)
  • Fraxinus oxycarpa ‘Raywood’ (Raywood Ash)
  • Koelreuteria paniculata (Golden Rain Tree)
  • Lagerstroemia indica – All Cultivars (Crepe Myrtle)
  • Laurus nobilis – All cultivars (Laurel, Sweet Bay)
  • Quercus – All cultivars (Oak)
  • Pistacia chinensis (Chinese Pistachio)
  • Rhus typhina ‘Laciniata’ (Laceleaf Staghorn Sumac)
  • Tabebuia impetiginosa (Pink Trumpet Tree)

Shrubs

  • Alygoyne huegelii ‘Santa Cruz’ (Lilac Hibiscus)
  • Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ (Compact Strawberry Bush)
  • Callistemon – All cultivars (Bottlebrush)
  • Caragana arborescens (Siberian Peashrub)
  • Cassis splendida ‘Golden Wonder’ (Golden Wonder Senna)
  • Ceanothus – All cultivars (California Lilac)
  • Cistus – All cultivars (Rock Rose)
  • Cotoneaster – All cultivars (Cotoneaster)
  • Dodonaea viscose ‘Purpurea’ (Purple Hopseed Bush)
  • Elaeagnus x ebbingei ‘Gilt Edge’ (Gilt Edge Silverberry)
  • Feijoa sellowiana – All cultivars (Pineapple Guava)
  • Grevillea – All cultivars (Grevillea)
  • Lantana camara – All cultivars (Bush Lantana)
  • Lavandula latifolia (English Spike Lavender)
  • Mahonia repens (Creeping Mahonia)
  • Punica – All cultivars (Pomegranate)
  • Raphiolepis umbellate ‘Minor’ (Dwarf Yedda Hawthorne)
  • Salvia – All cultivars (Sage)
  • Strelitzia – All cultivars (Bird of Paradise)
  • Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum’ (Azure Bush Germander)
  • Xylosma congestum – All cultivars (Xylosma)
  • Yucca filimentosa ‘Ivory Tower’ (Ivory Tower Yucca)

Source: www.monrovia.com

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