Care Tips for Drought-Deciduous Native Plants

As the rains terminate and June gloom turn over by , thing start to dry up in the garden , and many of your pet drought - deciduous native plants , such as ‘ Bee ’s Bliss ’ salvia ( Salvia‘Bee ’s Bliss ’ , Zones 7–9 ) , seashore sunflower ( Encelia californica , Zones 10–11 ) , or ‘ De La Mina ’ vervain ( Verbena lilacina‘De La Mina ’ , Zones 7–10 ) start look pretty dead . California native plants are either evergreen , drouth deciduous , or winter deciduous . Most citizenry are familiar with plant that are wintertime deciduous ( trees that turn a loss their leaves in winter , for example ) , but drought - deciduous flora can sometimes be puzzling for the nurseryman . Here are some point and tricks for dealing with drouth - deciduous native plant .

Give them some moisture

drouth - deciduous natives drop off their leaves in the dry time of year , usually late June through October , in order of magnitude to protect themselves from the spicy , juiceless weather . One way to keep them a bit less brown is to deeply water once every two week .

Plant an evergreen backdrop

If you have lots of deciduous natives in your garden , implant some unattackable , bright evergreen shrubs for dividing line . Some of my preferred evergreen natives for the summer months are coyote bush ( Baccharis pilularis , Zones 8–10 ) , manzanita ( Arctostaphylosspp . and cvs . , Zones 2–9 ) and lemonade berry ( genus Rhus integrifolia , Zones 8–10 ) . Both madrona and lemonade berry have the bonus of ruby flavour to the bark , twigs , or leaves .

Do some judicious pruning

Summer is the abeyant catamenia for drought - deciduous plants , so another bare way to improve their esthetical is to do some summer pruning . sage in particular search much tidier in the hot month with a squeamish light pruning . aboriginal salvias do n’t like a toilsome pruning ( unlike their tropic cousin ) , so only cut back the spent flower heads to the first hardening of leaves . ‘ De La Mina ’ vervain can be deadheaded and cut a snatch further back , and with a fiddling supererogatory water will continue unripened and bloom for most of the year . Native milkweed ( Asclepias tuberosaand cvs . , Zones 3–9 ) can be cut down to the ground once they go dormant , and most regrow from the roots , rather than the stems .

Be patient

My last baksheesh is more of a mental monitor : Although drouth - deciduous natives may appear a scrap tired in the summer month , they do help make a lovely sensory faculty of seasonality , and anticipation , as they bust forth new immature leaves every winter and adorable peak in springiness — making them a worthful plus despite their ill at ease stage in summer .

— Rachel Young is the former director of horticulture and garden operations at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada , California .

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