Xeriscape Zone: Xeriscaping

This unassuming eye sees variety - flair. Not Xeriscape.

A motorist might glance at wild grasses on a road median or catch a glimpse of a far-off slope, scattered with thriving plants.

This unassuming eye sees ordinary grasses, not Xeriscape.

"When people say Xeriscape, homeowners think of rocks, gravel and a cactus - that’s only a small component of Xeriscaping, but it’s not what I think of in the gardens I create," clarified Jeff Powers, co-owner, Earthscape, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Conscientious planting does not translate to installing a dirtbed, he pointed out. Climate-specific landscape doesn’t mean reinventing a desert, and water-conserving varieties aren’t limited to cacti and dusty hedges. The Xeriscape concept is contrary to these misinterpretations, and more contractors and clients are embracing its environmental advantages.

"They can be very colorful, aromatic, dynamic and have a lot of color and pattern activity," Powers described. "There is a dialogue that forms between the site and the plants, and a relationship that forms between the site and the homeowner who lives there, and that part of it makes it ever-changing."

Slowly, Xeriscape’s overall image is changing as well.

TAKING STEPS. Xeriscape is not foreign to the Southwest, having originated in Denver, Colo., in the early 1980s. Since then, communities facing water use restrictions began emphasizing drought-tolerant planting. Xeriscaping involves water conservation through creative, appropriate landscaping and water management, including recommendations for plants, irrigation, soil preparation and maintenance.

"You design the landscaping so that it survives best in the condition that you’re dealing with, whether it’s temperature, insects, pests or runoff issues. It’s climate-appropriate landscape," defined Vickie Driver, water resources specialist, San Diego County Water Authority, San Diego, Calif. "It also has more benefits than water conservation. If you use appropriate plant materials for your landscape, they are much more likely to be able to resist local insect and plant diseases, so they are healthier. They will need less maintenance and less fertilizer."

To accomplish a landscape that achieves environmental and aesthetic harmony, attentive installation measures are a necessary prerequisite, Driver stressed.

In its strictest sense, Xeriscape requires implementing seven installation and maintenance commandments (see Step by Step at right).

These steps provide an installation outline for contractors, said Paul Littlepage, owner, Littlepage Landscaping, San Clemente, Calif. For example, contractors who skip proper soil preparation will suffer plant loss, he added, noting that many landscape companies are discouraged by the method’s requirements.

No cheating, Littlepage warned, "or it will show. A lot of landscapers don’t want to do Xeriscape because they can’t slam it into the ground like they can another job," he said. "You have to be careful, using proper soil amendments and post-installation control with watering, mulching the ground and keeping the bugs off plants."

These demands can boost landscape prices 10 to 15 percent for the client, but long-term maintenance and water savings justify the investment. A customer with conscientious plantings can realize an 80-percent water savings, Littlepage added.

This is why more southwest municipalities are supporting low water use landscape installation, and some of them, such as Denver, Colo., offer water bill credits to homeowners who install Xeriscape. Other cities, such as Phoenix, Ariz., distribute a low water use plant list that suggests climate-appropriate trees, shrubs and grasses. (Visit this article at www.lawnandlandscape.com for a list of Xeriscape plants.)

To meet the surging interest in low water use planting, nurseries are offering a wider selection of native plants, Littlepage observed. He noticed a local grower’s fattening catalogue, where pages dedicated to native plants and grasses have increased from four to 26 pages in the last five years.

An extended palate allows contractors more creative liscense to bend Xeriscape’s desert-scape preconceptions.

"We show people how they can have water-efficient plantings, and at the same time, have an ever-green, flowering landscape," Jewett said. He calls this a "mini-oasis," concentrating lush plants in visible areas near the clients’ homes, and filling in remaining areas with low water use grasses.

GROUND RULES. Customers’ expectations for their property are often unrealistic when choosing climate-appropriate plants, Littlepage said. "Most people who want Xeriscape are not really familiar with it," he noted. "It is a different look, and although you can get close to a lush, green look with certain plants, overall, the plant material tends to be a little less brilliant."

Grass might not be green year-round, and flowering plants might not radiate color immediately. Attractive, mature Xeriscape landscapes take time, he stressed.

"It’s a dance in a way," Littlepage compared. Wind indicates a need for stronger plants, while a prime ocean view calls for low-growing groundcover. Hillsides require deep-rooted plants to stabilize the earth, and drainage areas signal a danger zone, he said.

Then, there are weather concerns.

"There are certain times of the year where we can’t do drought-tolerant landscaping, because the plants don’t transplant well," Littlepage said, adding that high temperatures are not ideal conditions for planting, as roots can easily dry out before they adapt to the soil.

Communicating these plant needs with customers is crucial, Littlepage reminded. Just as maintenance sustains health in traditional plantings, low-maintenance does not mean no maintenance. Ironically, clients tend to over-water Xeriscape plants.

"I try to set up a watering schedule for customers," he said. "The drip irrigation system will do the watering and that’s all you need during certain periods. I usually break down the calendar to spring, summer, fall and winter. You might not have to water at all in the winter, and it’s hard for people to get used to that."

Most customers have little difficulty adjusting to the sparse mowing schedule, which requires cutting once a month or every other week for a manicured look with native California Buffalo grass, Powers noted.

Nevertheless, Littlepage checks on installations to examine for signs of stress. "If they show signs of stress, why? Lack of water? Too much water? Fertilizer?" he listed, adding that clients can take a relaxed approach to caring for their properties if the materials were installed correctly.