Drought-Tolerant Plant Care & Its Importance
Drought tolerant plants are low maintenance, they save water and are a great addition to any garden. Go ahead and plant them without thinking too much!
As a plant collector, you must become acquainted with the proper methods of caring for your plants. It is important to know the right care technique to grow them healthily and propagate them right.
Knowing their different characteristics of a plant can play a bigger part in understanding the right care. It is because every variety of plant has different care guidelines.
Some plants may need to bathe in water daily; others need direct sunlight, and some drought-tolerant just need minimal light exposure. So, before adding a specific plant to your collection at home or in your garden, getting to know them well is a must.
The appropriate information will help the plant to grow and bloom beautifully. We can call ourselves successful plant parents when we witness them grow and propagate them well, which means we apply the exact plant care guidelines they need.
Growing up with them as a plant parent gives you an overwhelming feeling and can count as one of your achievements.
According To The Research
When it comes to water shortages, plants are at risk. A plant’s development, productivity, growth, and eventual survival will all be affected by drought.
Plants do, however, have some natural drought defenses. To prevent or withstand dehydration, they may have various structural modifications. When they notice that water is getting short, several internal protectors are also engaged to help them reduce water loss.
There are these plant genes that control every one of these defense mechanisms. Humanity has the potential to create drought-resistant GM crops thanks to our understanding of these genes and how they function in plant drought resistance.
Characteristics Of Drought-Tolerant Plants
The drought-tolerant plants can endure in hot climates where water may be in short supply, just like in the desert. While still having an attractive appearance and serving their intended purpose in their surroundings, these plants don’t require a lot of water to survive and grow beautifully.
These plants can have leaves that are tiny or split. They could have a waxy or hairy texture. The characteristics of these leaves help plants retain moisture and reduce water loss. There might be no leaves at all, or there might be prickly leaves.
Many drought-tolerant plants also have longer roots than usual, which aid them in getting to subsurface water reserves.
Some species, especially perennials, trees, and shrubs, will change the depth of their roots to bind soil and rocks together as a source of nutrients.
Another characteristic of drought-tolerant plants is the development of silver or grey-green leaves due to sunlight reflection.
Why Should You Choose Drought-Tolerant Plants?
Aside from the health benefits, there are multiple reasons why you should choose drought-tolerant plants for your home and garden. Here are a few examples:
1. Less Water
These plants have adapted to dryer environments and have lower water needs. Thus they naturally consume less water which is great if you are a busy person who forgets to water their plants.
Also, without additional water, it can tolerate a few weeks to a month of drought. So you won’t have to wait in your office or hotel room worrying about returning to a dying plant if you take a two-week vacation right when a deficit starts.
Plants that can withstand drought won’t perish as soon as a dry spell occurs. Additionally, it decreases your water bill and avoids water shortages which is a good way if you are saving money.
2. Low Maintenance
You can expect to use less water, and because these plants have adapted to their surroundings, you can expect to spend less time and money on fertilizing, pruning, and taking care of them. Spending just a little time with them each month will be enough to maintain a lovely garden or plants in your home.
Additionally, you promote biodiversity, save the ecosystem from contaminated runoff, and draw in threatened species at the same time. Plants that can withstand drought are more likely to be disease and pest free, allowing you to fertilize them less frequently.
3. Great For Landscaping
Drought-tolerant plants sometimes mean something other than cacti, succulents, and rocks when landscaping. Landscapes that are drought-tolerant and well-planned can be beautiful all year round.
You may have a lot of color in your landscape even while employing drought-tolerant plants. Colorful plants that don’t need a lot of water, including lantana, verbena, and Agastache, will add attractiveness.
Types Of Drought-Tolerant Plants
You can choose from different types of plant varieties that are drought tolerant.
Trees
Trees are excellent examples for showing that drought tolerance does not necessarily require sacrificing aesthetics.
Whether you desire eye-catching displays of spring flowers, fantastic fall colors, or some other aesthetic features, you can choose from a selection of drought-resistant trees below to plant in your garden.
- Leyland Cyprus
- Mugo pine
- Redbud
- Ginkgo biloba
- Shagbark hickory
- Red maple
- Thornless honey locust
- Sumac
- Crape myrtle
- American Sweetgum
- Hawthorn
- Bur oak
- California buckeye
- Common hackberry
- Eastern red cedar
- Eastern redbud
- Golden rain tree
- Maidenhair tree
- Mulga
- Northern catalpa
- Ponderosa pine
Perennials
The perennial plants native to the Mediterranean region are typically tolerant of drought. Silver-leaved plants and herb plants are other prominent members of this group. All three categories apply to lavender.
Although, there are many different options down below to try on.
- Thyme
- Sage
- Sea Lavender
- Black-eyed Susan
- Sea Holly
- Daylily
- Butterfly Weed
- Basket-of-Gold
- False Indigo
- Snow-in-Summer
Shrubs And Hedges
If you’re looking for drought-resistant plants, you can never go wrong with native privacy shrubs and hedges. One outstanding example from eastern North America is the arrowwood viburnum.
This shrub offers visual interest for the majority of the year, from its white spring flowers to its lovely leaves and berries in the fall.
- Forsythia
- Glossy Abelia
- Gray Dogwood
- Japanese Holly
- Juniper
- Lilac
- New Jersey Tea
- Seven-Son Flower
- Smokebush
- John’s wort
Ornamental Grasses
Landscape design makes extensive use of ornamental grasses. Many types of grass can tolerate dry conditions and are deer-resistant in addition. They provide the landscape designer with practical tools for adding contrast to landscaping in terms of plant texture and form.
- Zebra grass
- Mexican feather grass
- Blue oat grass
- Porcupine grass
- Blue fescue
- Liriope (technically a lily)
- Deergrass
- Giant Wild Rye
- Purple Needle Grass
- Sheep Fescue
- Big bluestem
- Elijah blue fescue
- Fountain grass
- Hairgrass
- Leatherleaf Sedge
- Pampas grass
- Switchgrass
Understanding Drought-Tolerant Plant Care
In taking good care of your plants, the best idea is to get to know them well because plants need to be taken care of properly.
Just like in the care guidelines for mother in law tongue plant care, all kinds of indoor plants need care to last the longer. There are varieties of indoor plants that are not drought-tolerant; just because plants are stored indoors does not mean they are drought-tolerant.
If you know your plant well, you can understand and feel what they need and give them the right and proper care. You don’t need to water it every day because this type of plant is drought-tolerant, and most of these plant types retain moisture in their foliage.
So if being forgetful is one of your problems in keeping your collection alive, this will be the best solution to that concern.
Although, always be mindful of the visible appearance of the drought-tolerant plant if it needs your attention. You can always check on the soil of the drought-tolerant plant.
If you are not that expert in knowing if it needs to be sprinkled with water, there are ways to know that your plants need water, and you can browse them on the internet.
If you need a full review to know if your plant is on the right track, research will help you familiarize yourself with the visible appearance of what is happening to your plant.
Upon Considering All The Facts
Did you know that plants have a beneficial impact on everyone’s life? From concentration to memory, plants help us stay focused and remember things we need to accomplish. They also allow us to concentrate better at home and even at the workplace.
If you love collecting flowering plants, it gives you happiness every time you witness them bloom. In health benefits, rest assured that your plants will help you breathe fresh and clean air; if you include indoor plants in your interior designs, they will help purify indoor air.
Some plants aid in the physical, mental, and emotional healing processes. Plants can also reduce stress, help promote environmental friendliness for anyone and build a good relationship with plant parents.
Even though choosing the right plants for your house might be challenging, with a little research and expert guidance, you can locate the ideal drought-tolerant plants. Books on gardening and plants may also be helpful if you want to learn more about the benefits of drought-tolerant plants for your garden or house.
