June 25, 2024
Drought Tolerant Perennials for Hot & Dry Summers
While many of us love the summer sun and heat, some of our favourite plant varieties can find it too much to handle. Getting the hose out more often can help a great deal, and thankfully most city water restrictions do not apply to gardens or containers. If you’re looking to reduce your water usage without sacrificing your outdoor spaces, drought tolerant perennials are a perfect way to fill your gardens as they can thrive in the hot summer conditions.
Drought tolerant perennials have developed many ways to cope with long periods between rainfalls and waterings. You can check their individual plant tag to see if that particular variety is considered to be drought tolerant, or look for one or more of the following traits to determine whether they can thrive in hot, dry conditions:
Thick, waxy, or succulent foliage can store moisture for those not-so rainy days.
Some examples include Sedum (Stonecrop), Sempervivum (Hen & Chicks), Delosperma (Ice Plant), and the incredible Winter Hardy Opuntia—yes, you can grow perennial cactus in Canada!
Hairy or fuzzy leaves easily catch and collect the morning dew.
Check out Stachys (Lamb’s Ear), Alchemilla (Lady’s Mantle), Echinops (Globe Thistle), Eryngium (Sea Holly), and Papaver (Poppy).
Fine, narrow, or lacy foliage that allows more water to drip through its canopy to the soil and roots below. Bonus: less surface area on the leaves also means less water will evaporate.
Look for Amsonia (Blue Star), Scabiosa (Pincushion), Coreopsis (Tickseed, specifically Threadleaf or Fernleaf varieties), Liatris (Gayfeather), Achillea (Yarrow), and most Hardy Grasses.
Silver or grey-coloured leaves will reflect more sunlight and retain less heat.
It’s easy to spot examples like Dianthus (Pinks), Artemisia (Silver Mound), Perovskia (Russian Sage), Lamium (Deadnettle), Lavandula (Lavender), Stachys (Lamb’s Ear), and Cerastium (Snow-in-Summer).
And that’s not even a fraction of our favourite drought tolerant perennials! There’s still Echinacea (Coneflower), Campanula (Carpathian Bellflower), Gaillardia (Blanket Flower), Geranium (Cranesbill), Hemerocallis (Daylily), Salvia (Perennial Sage), Thymus (Creeping Thyme), and Rudbeckia (Black Eyed Susan), just to name a few!
So if you’ve been looking for a way to be more water-efficient in the garden, or simply wondering what to put in that one corner of your yard that looks like a desert, go for drought tolerant perennials that will thrive in the summer heat!
A Few Extra Notes:
All newly planted perennials, including relocated and/or divided varieties, will need to be watered deeply and regularly for the first one to two years until they are established, meaning that their root systems have matured and can seek out water deep underground.
Many perennials are drought tolerant to some degree once they are established (at least 1 to 2 years in the ground).
While the perennials listed above can survive on natural rainfalls throughout the seasons, occasional deep watering will be required during any extreme and/or long dry periods; they will appreciate your efforts and pay you back with gorgeous flowers and foliage!
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