Food-Gardening Lessons From A Wartime Victory Garden

Tough, Water Saving Container Plants

Lantana Camara Pinata
Lantana camara ‘Piñata’ is one of several heat and drought tolerant ornamentals for summer long color.

Water-needy container plants often require twice-daily watering in summer’s heat, so it saves time and water to plant tougher, more water-efficient ornamentals. My top five water saving container plants for effortless color are lantana (Lantana camera), narrowleaf zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia), Dichondra Silver Falls™, moss rose (Portulaca), and cigar plant (Cuphea ignea). (All of these beauties also attract pollinators!) Once established, they shine in the heat and can manage with less water. Two more tips towards less container watering: Plant in larger containers that give roots more room to grow, and use a water-holding growing medium like Black Gold® Waterhold Cocoblend.

Water saving container plants

About JESSIE KEITH

Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

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