drought – Black Gold

Tough, Easy, Ever-Blooming Garden Flowers

Black and Blue salvia (left), Twisted Red celosia (top right), and French marigolds (bottom right)

If you want reliable, carefree, long-blooming flowers that still perform through hot, dry summers, they are not difficult to find. The best are longtime garden favorites as well as exciting new varieties, which are bred for even greater beauty, easier care, and higher disease resistance. It’s always nice to mix old-favorites with the newest and coolest plants available. If it’s easy and ever-blooming, it’s welcome in my garden.

For the last several years, we have experienced extra hot, dry periods in August and September, where I live in Bloomington, Indiana, so I almost always look for drought and heat tolerant annual flowers. Here are some that I have found to be the best for both containers and garden beds.

Salvias

Van Houttei scarlet sage is taller than most and has burgundy-red flowers. (Image by Jessie Keith)

Big, sun-loving salvias always have a place in my garden, and my favorites tolerate tough conditions and still look beautiful. Of all the purple salvias, and there are many of them, there is one that I like the best, Black and Blue salvia (Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’, USDA Hardiness Zones 8-10 ). It reaches around 3 feet tall but can be cut back easily, and produces intense indigo-blue flowers with black bases (calyces) all summer long. Plant it in a large container or well-drained flower bed where you can see it through a window and watch hummingbirds visit its flowers. When passing by, rub one of its fragrant, anise-scented leaves between your fingers. Some years ‘Black and Blue’ has reseeded in my garden, with a few new plants coming up in the spring.

This year I will be adding Amante salvia (Salvia ‘Amante’, Zones 8-10) to my garden for its bright fuchsia flowers with very dark calyces. ‘Amante’ can grow to 4 feet, so I will put mine at the back of a daylily bed, which loses color at the end of June. A final, bold, tough salvia that I am getting for the first time this year is the old-fashioned Van Houttei red salvia (Salvia spendens ‘Van Houttei’, Zones 9-11). ‘Van Houttei has spikes of burgundy-red, tubular flowers and is beloved by hummingbirds. Another 4 footer, it will be in the back of a flower bed with some afternoon shade to keep it looking its best. Like most red salvia, it should be deadheaded on occasion.

African and French Marigolds

Good companion plants to these tall salvias would be 2-foot African marigolds (Tagetes erecta) planted around the base. I suggest 2019 All America Selections Winner Big Duck Orange, which has large, fluffy, tangerine-orange flowers that bloom all summer long and even up until frost.

Marigolds are traditional garden flowers because they are so effortless to grow, tolerant of the worst summer weather, and they come in many heights and amazing shades of orange, yellow, red. The two most common types at garden centers are tall African marigolds and shorter, bushier French marigolds (Tagetes patula), which are generally 8 to 12 inches high. French marigolds grow well in pots and garden edges Those in the Disco Series, which reach 10 inches and have extra-large, single flowers of gold, orange, and orange-red, are extra pretty. Plant Disco Mix to get all of the colors in one packet.

Marigolds do require some deadheading to keep in top shape, and they require full sun and average soil with good drainage. They’re good flowers to plant around the vegetable garden as well because they help ward off harmful pests, particularly tomato root-knot nematodes, which damage tomato roots. (Click here to learn more about companion planting with marigolds.)

Celosias

Flamingo Feather spike celosia is a resilient, long bloomer.

Celosias love sun and heat! Spike celosia (Celosia spicata) is a very long-blooming choice with flowers of pink, white, or burgundy. It looks great even on the hottest days and tolerates drought very well. ‘Flamingo Feather’ is a long-standing variety that reaches 2.5 feet and bears spikes of pinkish flowers until fall.

Classic plume celosia (Celosia cristata var. plumosa) and cockscomb celosia (Celosia cristata var. cristata) have beautiful flowers that come in two distinct shapes, upright fluffy plumes and those that resemble cockscombs. The flowers come in red, orange, yellow, deep rose, pink, and white and vary in height from 6 inches to 3 feet, depending on the variety. A long-time favorite plume celosia is the classic, award-winning ‘New Look‘ with its glowing red, 18″ plumes and purplish leaves. The scarlet ‘Twisted Red’ is a high-performing cockscomb type from Proven Winners that blooms continuously and reaches 18 inches.

In sunlight, celosia blooms are iridescent. They need full sun, well-drained soil, and attract butterflies. Plant them in containers or flower borders

Supertunias

Supertunia^® Vista^® Bubblegum is a very high performer. (Image thanks to Proven Winners)

Good breeding has transformed the ordinary Petunia into something fantastic, the Supertunia®. The petunias in this series are drought-tolerant, heavy blooming, self-cleaning (no deadheading), and unbelievable. There are many types in a wide array of sizes and colors.

Supertunia Vista® varieties mound to 2 feet and trail or spread to 4 feet, making them perfect container or front-of-the-border flowers. Supertunia Vista® Bubblegum is a best-seller due to its high vigor and prolific bubblegum-pink flowers. Supertunia® Black Cherry has gorgeous deep-red flowers that fade into an almost black center.

Last year Proven Winners sent me Supertunia^® Mini Vista^™ Violet Star plants to try, which have small purple-and-white-striped flowers, as well as some colorful Calibrachoa Superbells^® varieties. The plants looked similar until the heat hit. All my other Superbells started looking stressed in the hot summer weather, but Mini Vista^™ Violet Star was gorgeous all season. All of the Mini Vistas have small flowers, like Calibrachoa, but are heat and drought-resistant, so they will be my choice from now on.

Profusion Zinnias

Zinnia ‘Profusion Red’ is a 2017 AAS Winner.

Zinnias are a real mainstay of the hot, dry, sunny garden. There are zinnias of many heights and habits, but I grow only one type, those in the Profusion series. They were a real breakthrough when they were first introduced in the early 1990s because compact, spreading Profusion zinnias are everblooming, tough as nails, and very disease resistant. Depending on the variety, the plants become covered with cherry, gold, fire (bright orange-red), apricot, or white flowers all summer. Garden centers sell them or you can grow your own from seed. Seeds for the Profusion AAS Mix contains three award-winners, Profusion Orange, Cherry, Red, and White.

Planting and Caring for Annuals

‘Twisted Red’ celosia is a great cockscomb type from Proven Winners.

At planting time, be sure that you site your plants in the best location for their growing needs, and prepare their soil for planting. When planting in the garden, amend the soil with Black Gold Garden Soil, which has added fertilizer that feeds plants for up to 6 months. Mix it in uniformly with the ground soil at planting time. Then mulch to help keep weeds at bay and help hold in soil moisture.

When planting in containers, Black Gold All Purpose Potting Mix is a great choice for potted flowers. Whether planting in pots or beds, I always add a quality, time-released fertilizer formulated for garden flowers, like Proven Winner Premium Continuous-Release Plant Food, which is formulated for flowers.

Being heat- and drought-tolerant does not mean plant and forget. When watering garden plants, keep the soil moist, but not wet, until the plants are established, and then water them as needed as weather conditions become dry. After 1-2 weeks with no rain, everything will need to be watered. Containers dry out faster than the garden, especially when the plants are mature, so check them daily for water during the high heat of summer.

Overcoming Problems With Ornamental Grasses

In-ground, grasses are perfect for planting in dry stream beds and among wildflowers. (Photo by Maureen Gilmer)

When landscape grasses take on full autumn color in the western states, they are always the focal point of the late season. It is the driest part of the year when their life cycle peaks after flowers pollinate, seeds form and are finally released into the wind to repopulate the land. These annual reproductive structures are why ornamental grasses own the fall garden when few other plants bloom. Even in the early winter, the standing flower stalks offer attractive interest through the snow.

It’s the less desirable grass habits that are less understood. These influence selection, placement, and other issues you won’t hear about elsewhere. Here are some tips to help you select and design grasses into your landscaping, so they don’t become problems later on.

Grass Litter

When this Pennisetum sheds flower parts and seeds, it goes right into the pool. (Photo by Maureen Gilmer)

After pollination, grasses shed their flower parts. When the seed is released, they shed their hulls. A lot of fine litter is dispersed over a long period. If the grasses are located upwind from a swimming pool or water feature, the litter is blown directly into the water. This can make it challenging to keep pumps and equipment clear and the water quality sparkling.

Therefore, know the direction of your prevailing winds and storm winds before you decide where to plant grasses. Limit planting areas downwind or away from the pool. However, it’s common for wind direction to change with the seasons, so if you plant them poolside, planting them downwind is not foolproof. Cutting the seedheads back may be necessary.

Invasive Grasses

Native deer grass (*Muhlenbergia rigens*) is quite long-lived and fairly trouble-free.

The reason you hear so much bad press about fountain grass (Pennisetum species and varieties) is that they love our climate and sprout anywhere there is enough moisture to grow. There are many ornamental species with weedy tendencies. Some garden favorites are hardy perennials, like foxtail fountain grass (Pennisetum alopecuroides), but in milder western climates tender perennial forms, like purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum‘), will survive several seasons, too. Perennial forms don’t die back and are long-lived. Pennisetum such as these are displacing less aggressive native species in low, moist areas.

The same applies to your yard. If the seeds fall near irrigation heads, they sprout into weeds. It may have been open ground, but now it’s become a longterm weed problem. Such introductions are hard to stop and take a few seasons of dedicated handwork to clean out.

Runner Grasses

Runner grasses spread, unlike stayput bunch grasses. The common southern lawngrass, Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), is the poster child for a host of aggressive runner grasses that spread fast and invade perennials and well-behaved bunchgrasses. Another ornamental grass to add to the equation is Japanese bloodgrass (Imperata cylindrica), with its red-tipped blades and fast-spreading runners that will quickly overtake moister beds. The problem is the worst when runner grasses overtake bunch grasses. They creep unseen beneath a garden grass, and then once well rooted, the runner grass becomes nearly inextricable. If the bunchgrass is large and broad, the two grasses will forever be bound together, foliage plaited into a nest, and there’s no separation once established. Prevention is everything. Beware adding these, or any aggressive runner grass, to your yard or garden.

Short-Lived Grasses

This fine-textured Mexican hair grass in full flower and nodding in the breeze. (Photo by Maureen Gilmer)

Grasses are ephemeral plants by nature, adapted to range fires in the wild, grazing, floods, and landslides. Those that evolved with a long life span prove that they have adapted to climate change, since well before the Pleistocene, and are still super adapted for the future. The most long-lived, resilient grasses to grow in arid gardens are native deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) and its kin (Muhlenbergia group). But, more short-lived species, such as the windswept Mexican hair grass (Nassella tenuissima) or purple fountain grass, die out in just a few years.

Clump Splitting

These newly planted blue fescues have not suffered crown split yet.

Early in the life span of blue fescue (Festuca glauca varieties), the mounds of icy blue needles are perfect hemispheres. Like many other grasses, fescues grow too tall and heavy then split down the middle, allowing light to reach the root crown at the center of the clump. The direct sun sears those formerly shaded crown stems, causing premature aging while the rest of the plant is perfect. Replacement is often required if the plants are depended upon to create full geometric domes. This is a natural process for fescues, so they are best planted with other species that take up the slack visually if they decide to split.

Midwinter Decline

In warm-winter climates, grasses are cut back midwinter, in colder ones, late winter. (Photo by Maureen Gilmer)

As dramatic as sweeping monocultures of grasses are, they are best used with ever-beautiful support plants due to an unattractive period in midwinter, even if not fully dormant. The grasses are routinely cut back to just a few inches to simulate a cold event. This removes dead and dormant growth as well as detritus inside the clump to make way for the renewal of foliage. To avoid the barren ground, it’s wise to choose other evergreen plants to carry this composition until green grass shoots start up again in spring. Renewal is part of grass biology, so cutting back is regenerative and makes them healthier overall.

Ornamental grasses are an important cornerstone of today’s arid-zone gardens. Those species adapted to warmer climates without summer rain offer a change in texture as well as wind-blown beauty in containers on porch or patio. They require lots of nutrition, so be sure to use Black Gold Moisture Supreme Container Mix when planting for efficient water-holding potential and water conservation. The best grass for containers and garden at higher elevations or further north are Miscanthus varieties, which ask for a bit more water. (Choose low-seeding or sterile forms, such as giant miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus).)

While shrubs and succulents can be inanimate, the slightest breeze begins the gentle sway of a thousand soft grass blades. The animation of the nodding flower spikes liven up a dying landscape in the dry autumn winds.

Grey and Silver Garden Plants for Arid Gardens

Cascading licorice plant, feathery *Artemisia*, and large-leaved silver plectranthus show textural comparisons. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Raising a pubescent teen can feel like being pecked to death by a duck. But it’s a lot more pleasant when it comes to plants. Here pubescence is “a covering of soft down or hairs on certain plants and insects.” It serves as a protective adaptation of some plants originating in regions with a long, dry season and can add a grey or silver appearance to leaf surfaces.

What is Leaf Pubescence?

The Mediterranean silver sage is covered with an “arachnoid” pubescence, meaning the hairs are cobweb-like.

A leaf contains thousands of tiny pores, called stomata, through which a plant respires. These openings are vulnerable portals for moisture loss. Plants have developed various strategies for reducing water loss, and one of them is pubescence.

A pubescent leaf will feel soft or fuzzy to the touch. This texture is produced by microscopic hairs (trichomes) that can form a protective layer to help plants stand up to brutally dry conditions. The hairs can come in a variety of lengths and textures: Tomentose (dense, soft, white wool), hirsute (rough, stiff hairs), or villous (long, shaggy hairs) to name just a few.

If you’ve ever experienced the hot winds of the desert, you know how quickly it can draw moisture out of your skin. It does the same to plants. Moisture loss increases with wind speed and sun exposure. Pubescent hairs help deflect air from the leaf surface. Even a minor slowing of air can have a significant effect on reducing moisture loss through stomata. Dense pubescence also helps to shade the leaf surface. Each tiny hair casts a microscopic shadow to protect the leaf’s outer layer from direct solar exposure.

Grey and Silver Garden Plants

Cold-hardy, low, spreading lambs ear is ideal for planting around flagstones. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Not all pubescent plants are drought tolerant, so it’s important to know the more moisture-tolerant types, such as silver spurflower (Plectranthus argentatus, USDA Hardiness Zones 10-11) and licorice plant (Helichrysum ‘Silver Mist’, Zones 7-11), which thrive in any climate, provided it’s not too drenched in the summer rain. These are plants from areas with high-intensity sunlight where temperatures remain moderate, such as the South African coastline.

Here are some reliable perennial choices for drier climates and how to use them.

White sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana, Zones 4-9) is a fast-spreading perennial with 1-3 foot stems of fragrant, silver leaves that are suited to herb gardens or spacious sunny borders. It is native across North America and Mexico and is more heat and drought-resistant than some silvery garden artemisias originating from Europe, such as the fine-leaved, bushy Powis Castle silver sage (Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, Zones 6-9), which will grow in practically any garden with full sun and good soil drainage.

The Mexican and North American white sagebrush is a reliable silver native perennial that spreads.

Tender felt bush (Kalanchoe beharensis, Zones 11-12) is a pubescent succulent ‎from Madagascar with foot-long leaves cloaked in fuzzy gray. In California, plant it in the sun on the coast and shaded inland locations. The tropical succulent makes an excellent summer patio specimen and house plant, too. For best-potted performance plant it in Black Gold Cactus Mix.

The popular lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina, Zones 4-8) originates in the arid Mediterranean and is a low, spreading groundcover ideal for planting along the edges of paths and between rocks and flagstones in most well-drained gardens. A visually comparable, non-spreading mint with wooly white leaves is silver sage (Salvia argentea, Zones 5-8), which is at home in any rock garden or sunny, well-drained bed.

Felt bush was particularly popular in mid-twentieth century modern homes in Los Angeles. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Another from the Mediterranean is lavender cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus, Zones 6-9). It forms a rounded, silver ball of highly aromatic foliage that makes a beautiful spot of silver that develops buttons of yellow flowers in summer. Use it in knot gardens due to its tolerance to shearing.

One of the brightest of the silver-grey set is shining white senecio (Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’, Zones 8-11) with its glowing, lightly felty leaves. Plant it in containers or sunny borders.

Designing with Grey and Silver Garden Plants

Pubescent foliage plants look elegant with deep burgundy accents, such as succulent, purple aeonium. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Pubescent plants are valuable tools in garden design. First off, they can truly glow under moonlight because the hairs become iridescent. They pop on a cloudy day with reds and other muted colors. Due to interest being in the foliage, they do not visually come and go but retain their fuzzy beauty all season long or nearly year-round in mild climates.

It’s great fun to experiment with contrasts. Play a glossy leaf off a pubescent one in your potting scheme. Play fine-textured needles against large fuzzy leaves. Textural differences make both plants stand out better.

Shining white senecio has some of the most luminescent foliage of all.

The neutrality of gray or silver shades means you can use them with more vivid colors for really striking compositions. Deep burgundy foliage, such as that of purple aeonium (Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkopf’, Zones 9-11), bronze New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax, Zones 8-11), or purple fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’, Zones 9-10) looks outstanding against grey and silver leaves. Burgundy plants create vitality in otherwise subtle, cool-colored gardens in dry climates and have a light value that does not compete with gentle-colored flowers in blues, lavenders, pale pinks, and whites.

With so many silvers and greys out there to choose from, it’s possible to create the coolest perennial gardens within the arid landscape. If you’ve longed for a really elegant tool for eye-catching plantings in your droughty garden, then turn to pubescence to reflect the light. And, if you’re lucky, that other pubescent individual in your life may take notice and put down the Smartphone for a nanosecond to admire the garden fuzz.

Aromatic santolina is known as lavender cotton due to its pubescence. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Little Aloe World: Discover Dwarf Aloes

Dense and colorful, *Aloe juvenna* (foreground) makes a great rockery subject or potted specimen.

While we ogle big fancy aloes blooming in frost-free gardens, their sensitivity to cold winters limits their cultivation elsewhere. The plants in the same genus as Aloe vera, the popular Arabian species used for skin care, rarely survive the winters of sub-tropical zones. For everyone who cannot grow succulents outdoors year round, like we do in coastal California, welcome to my little aloe world.

South African Beauties

A grass aloe (center front) will fill a pot quickly for lots of easy offsets to divide and transplant.

The aloes of southern Africa include some very small species that produce the most exquisite bell-shaped blossoms. They have always reminded me of a lady’s drop earrings because they droop from very thin wiry stems. Even the slightest breeze will send their blooms nodding and swaying. Like the big aloes, they bloom every spring, attracting hummingbirds to porch or patio, and light up a home and sun porch with early spring color.

Most garden aloes hail from the maritime Cape Floristic Region or the east coast of South Africa on the Indian Ocean. These are soft, beautiful, and adaptable. The further inland you go, the larger and stiffer and pricklier the aloe species become, so that big game cannot browse upon them during drought. In the wide, treeless, grasslands of the African veldt the little grass aloes blend into big patches among the grasses.

Collecting Aloes

Most of the tiniest aloes have been collected at the Huntington Desert Garden to view.

I began to learn about little aloes by collecting all that I could find, whether named or not. I purchased small ones from succulent racks (without labels), then tested each in my desert garden. I also started new plants from fallen pieces of rare grass aloes gleaned from working at the botanical garden in Palm Springs. Still, more offsets (also unidentified) were shared from friends’ mature aloes. I had a stone slab front entry walk edged with these tiny aloes, potted and in-ground, which provided the jewel box garden I had dreamed of creating.

Planting Aloes

Grass aloes, which are native to African grasslands, produce delicate bell-shaped flowers.

For beginners, aloes are among the easiest succulents to start with because they aren’t finicky. Plant them in Black Gold Cactus Mix to make sure they have supreme drainage. Choose deeper pots for big aloes, because their roots are a lot like a daylily’s, thick and deep. Blend cactus mix with equal amounts of Black Gold All Purpose Potting Soil at a 50-50 ratio to boost fertility and blooming.

It’s easy to know when your potted aloe needs water during the growing season. It should be fully turgid, which means its cells are full of water. Squeeze one, and it should be firm. When they run short of water the cells loose turgidity, stems soften, lose color, and small wrinkles appear on the skin.

Hand water your ground aloes sparingly as many become summer dormant after blooming. Bottom water your little pots by setting them in a pan of water. Allow them to wick up moisture for over an hour’s time, then drain and return them to their place. This will ensure their soil is fully saturated, while keeping water away from your potted aloes’ crowns, where rot begins.

Aloe Sources

*Aloe brevifolia* offers orange flower stalks that hummers just love.

A great selection of little aloes is available at the California succulent nursery, Mountain Crest Garden s. Quality photos, accurate labeling, and excellent cultural information is offered for each plant. And, they will send aloes right to your door, if they aren’t available locally. Everybody can enjoy little aloes no matter where they live!

Once you have your aloes, know that they will produce offsets or “pups”. This is how they reproduce in very dry climates. To keep a single tidy rosette, remove the offsets that will otherwise spread and change the shape of the overall plant as it ages. When dividing little aloes, it helps to remove them from the pot to surgically sever offsets (maintain stems or roots for better rooting). Root the offsets in a well-drained nursery pot of moistened Black Gold Cactus Mix and keep transplants in the shade until roots form. Then plant them in small pots, so they can grow through the fall before you protect them from frost.

While there are some hardier aloes, they are few and far between outside tropical and sub-tropical zones. If you live in prime time locations, grow them outside. Where there’s light frost, try pots on the patio. And in cold, rainy, totally unsuitable climates, create your own indoor collection for just $5 per plant and enjoy them year-round.

String of Pearls: Living Beads for Hanging Baskets

String of pearls is delicate yet tough, low maintenance and incredibly rewarding.

They are living jewelry no woman can resist, the most coveted house plant, string of pearls. This tender succulent is feminine looking, delicate yet tough, low maintenance and incredibly rewarding. There are two species that can transform traditional or modern spaces, indoors or out. Hang them like living necklaces to bring awe to your home.

Origins

String of pearls (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

The true string of pearls is a South African native from the maritime Cape of Good Hope, so it loves the humid coast. Dubbed Senecio rowleyanus, its leaves are like tiny grey-green peas on the finest dangling stems. Its cousin from drier inland is Senecio radicans, fondly called “string of bananas” due to its sickle-shaped leaves. These do better in hot inland climates. Both make great house plants.

In the wild, both senecios grow as ground covers that root as they spread, so they rarely look like the hanging beauties we buy from the garden center. Yet, when planted to dangle in hanging baskets or raised pots and placed in a bright room, specimens almost look like living sculptures.

In gardens where winters are mild, these senecios can be grown outside, usually in raised pots or baskets that ensure perfect drainage. Indoors they are equally desirous of porous soils and hanging pots that are shallow and wide. Wide pots allow the ground-hugging plants to generate a lot of surface roots to hold soil tightly against the weight of their hanging strands.

Potting

String of bananas (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

A key to success is rapid drainage in your container. The best hanging pots have many holes in the bottom to ensure plants remain dry at the root zone. When creating your hanging string-of-pearls sculpture, start with the right pot—perhaps a mid-century throwback with a macramé hanger. Once you’ve found it, buy your pearls or bananas and get ‘er done.

You’ll need super well-drained potting soil to keep your plants from becoming too wet. When transplanting to your beautiful hanging pot, Black Gold Cactus Mix offers the ideal porosity. This fast-draining potting soil will make it much harder to over water your string of pearls.

When you get ready to transplant these senecios, study the root ball that comes out of the nursery pot. Gently remove any potting soil that does not have roots on the lower half of the mass. This will allow you to better fit the root ball into your shallow pot.

Set the plant, then lightly backfill with Black Gold Cactus Mix that has not been pre-moistened. If it sifts out of the drain holes, line the bottom with salvaged window screen before planting. Finally, tap the pot to help the plant settle into the potting soil, and wait to water. Allow a day or two for any damaged succulent tissues to callus over before you introduce moisture. This is essential to avoiding potential rot at the soil line.

Watering

When you do water, plug the drain of your kitchen sink, add 2 inches of water, and put the whole pot in the sink. Let it wick up water until you can see wet soil on top. This means it’s time to drain the sink. Leave the pot to drain for a few hours before returning it to its hanger. This watering method keeps moisture away from rot-prone stems that are the Achilles heel

A happy string of pearls can reach great lengths. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

of these delicate succulents. As strands grow longer, be sure to lay them along the counter on the sink’s edge to keep them from getting wet.

A final key to success with all dangling succulents, particularly fine-stemmed ones like these, is avoiding the wind. Continual swaying wears down the stems along the pot edge, causing injury that limits moisture transfer to the stem tips where new growth occurs.

These senecios are easy to root, so if you find one that works well for you, propagate it. Just take a runner and bend it up to the soil mass on top where it will root on contact quickly. Then sever it from the mother plant to start a whole new living sculpture of favorite pearls or bananas galore, without risk.

Seven Mediterranean Food Plants for the Dry Edible Garden

Pomegranates are common fruits for southern California.

The dry edible garden is rooted in classical civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea. The Greeks, Romans, and Carthaginians shared their ancient local food crops throughout the western world. Some of the best are grapes, pomegranates, date palms, rosemary, artichokes, cardoons, and figs. All are still vital to contemporary agriculture in deserts and dry places around the world and make great choices for arid-zone gardens.

Growing Mediterranean Edibles

Because most of these Mediterranean edibles are not very cold hardy, you need to know their tolerances before trying to grow any outdoors. Further north, grow dwarf varieties in containers that can be brought indoors for the winter. Water-holding, Black Gold Moisture Supreme potting soil is an ideal mix for contained arid food plants.

One potential problem is that some of these plants, such as date palms, need long-term high heat for their fruit to ripen properly. Though fruits might appear in cooler temps, they aren’t nearly as sweet or just won’t fully ripen.

If you live where they are hardy, grapes, pomegranates, date palms, rosemary, artichokes, cardoons, and figs make outstanding landscape plants that thrive despite limited water and high heat. Keep in mind that sufficient irrigation is required, particularly in porous, fast draining soils, if they are to produce quality fruit. Here are additional tips for growing each.

1. 2. Artichokes and Cardoons

Artichokes have naturalized in arid coastal California, proving their adaptability. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Out in the garden, the easiest arid vegetables to start with are artichokes and their close relative, cardoon. Both act as ornamental and edible perennials. The artichoke we eat is the flower bud, which should be harvested when buds are full-sized with tight bracts. For a big floral show, leave the buds to mature into huge, purple thistle-like blooms. This plant also bears fabulous lobed grayish foliage that’s exceptional for gray gardens. [Click here to learn more about growing artichokes.]

Cardoons have flavorful stems that can be blanched and eaten. The bold silvery leaves also look great when planted in arid flower gardens, and are followed by large, purplish, thistle-like flowers.

3. Date Palms

Mediterranean date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) reach up to 100-feet and like heat and drought. They are hardy to USDA Zones 8b – 11, so they can only be grown in the hot and dry American landscapes of Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Florida. Full sun and well-drained dry soil are required for good growth. Male and female flowers exist on separate plants, so at least one male and female plant are needed for cross-pollination and fruit set.

(Editor’s Note: If space is limited, try growing the Southeast Asian pygmy date palm (Phoenix roebelenii), which reaches 8-10 feet, can be container grown, and is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11. Its dark purplish fruits are thin-skinned but edible.)

4. Figs

Many figs grow well in large containers.

Dwarf forms of fig (Ficus carica) are specially bred for small-space areas. They grow well in containers that are fit for small city gardens or high-density neighborhoods in hot climates. Hardiness depends on the variety. Some are hardy to USDA Zone 6, as is the case with ‘Chicago Hardy’, while most others are hardy to USDA Zones 8-11. Here too, learn if their fruit cycle works locally by checking with your local garden center. You want the plant to thrive in a large patio container during summer, then plan for winter protection strategies. You may need wheels or a good dolly to bring pots indoors.

5. Grapes

The green hose marks the single watering point for this grapevine in the high desert. (Image by Maureen Gilmer)

Common grapes (Vitis vinifera) are amazing vines that provide both extensive shade and an annual crop of fruit grown for fresh eating or winemaking. Grapevine covered ramadas were landscape fixtures in early California and served as the first true “outdoor rooms” in the region.

The beauty of grapes is that they have one stem per plant, making irrigation of single plants easy. Drip irrigation helps sustain vines that survive an average of 30-40 years and become enormous over time, even with pruning. Grapes offer more than fruit; the young leaves are easily canned for homemade stuffed grape leaves (dolmas) from scratch.

6. Pomegranates

Grapes have been cultivated in the Mediterranean since ancient times.

Today’s pomegranate (Punica granatum) trees come in a huge range of sizes, with smaller trees for city yards or larger trees for orchards or spacious landscape plantings. So long as the local climate is within the cold tolerance range (USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11) and summers are not humid and rainy, pomegranates should thrive.

They grow well in poor, dry, rocky soils, but benefit from soils fortified with organic matter. (Commercial growers know that to achieve the largest juiciest fruits regular moisture and nutrition are needed.) If the soil drains well, a pomegranate will appreciate added soil amendment. The best choice is to blend Black Gold Garden Compost into the soil at planting time. This helps young potted trees transition from potting soil to native soil. [Click here to learn more about growing pomegranates.]

7. Rosemary

The herb rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) is a large evergreen shrub that grows well in arid regions and tolerates intense sun. It has many uses. Enjoy it as a culinary herb, cut flower, and or essential oil scent. The fresh stems also make great flavored kebob sticks and/or barbecue brushes. Plant potted rosemary in Black Gold potting soil and place on a sunny, west-facing patio or deck.

Quality potting soils with high water-holding capacity are the best choice for growing edible plants with fewer irrigation demands. Good mixes rich in organics hold more water for longer than low-grade potting mixes. That means you can grow more with less water, and harvest fruit and veggies at a fraction of the price of shipped fruit from grocery stores.

5 Big, Beautiful Wildflowers for Dry Western Gardens

This relative of hollyhock loves growing along the dry edges of cactus and succulent gardens.

The American Southwest is rich in wildflowers, and a few have proved to be exceptional choices for arid gardens. When wildflowers perform well and are beautiful, they are ideal candidates for home landscapes filled with existing drought-resistant plants. They also make exceptional problem solvers in desert gardens of cacti, succulents, and rocks where many other wildflowers fail to thrive.

The Big 5 Western Wildflowers

Parry’s Penstemon (Penstemon parryi)

Fast to grow from seed, this amazing heat-tolerant short-lived perennial is a great plant to seed into succulent gardens in fall.

This is one of the biggest most exciting late-winter bloomers for Southwest gardens. Super tall, delicate stems lined with hot pink flowers are produced. The plants are incredibly vigorous from seed sown in the fall and bloom in the first year. Full sun exposures and soils with limited fertility and rapid drainage are required. Once the plant has finished blooming, it produces a low rosette of leaves. This wildflower is reliably hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 8. Flowers are bee pollinated.

Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri)

Matilija poppy is an enormous wildflower that thrives in full sun and sandy dry soils.

A California native, this is among the largest perennial wildflowers with an affection for sandy ground. Big snow white blossoms with a golden ball of stamens resembling a fried egg cover the stems in spring and summer. The large, spreading subshrub reaches 5 feet in height and width and is reliably hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 8. Flowers attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.

Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa)

Brittlebush has golden spring flowers. (Image by Sue)

This is a more cold-hardy southwestern perennial that is reliably hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 7 and ideal for foothill sites and rocky terrain. Mounding blue-gray foliage and bright yellow spring flowers offer reliable landscape appeal. Brittlebush is especially vigorous and has the constitution of a cactus, making it a desert garden staple. Offer it full sun and well-drained ground that is slightly alkaline. Flowers attract bees and butterflies.

Desert Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua)

This relative of hollyhock loves the dry edges of cactus and succulent gardens.

Vivid wands of orange flowers and silvery scalloped leaves make this 1-3′ subshrub stand out in spring, then die back in summer, much like Parry’s penstemon. It reportedly has the largest flowers and most drought tolerance of all the desert mallows. This wildflower is allergic to summer water, but reliably cold hardy up to USDA Zone 6, making it a good choice for gardeners in middle elevations of the Southwest ranges. Flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

California White Sage (Salvia apiana)

Over-harvested to make smudge sticks, this perennial is proving quite adaptable to gardens.

A very long-lived subshrub that’s popular for smudge sticks, California white sage produces stems of small white (sometimes pale lavender) flowers and all parts emit a curious catty odor. The fragrant oils protect these beauties from browsing by rabbits and other herbivores. Summer drought is required for garden success, and plants will survive in USDA Hardiness Zone 8, if provided full sun and dry, well-drained ground. Flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.

Western Wildflower Culture

What seems to be the single unifying cultural requirement of all these plants is a need for porous soil. They are known to grow on rocky cliffs or sandy washes where their roots are free to travel far and wide. Very little water lingers in the soil in these locations, and what does sinks deep down. Gardens with heavy soils and clay cannot support these plants. Only when grown on slopes or rocky outcroppings can these wildflowers survive the rainy season. On rocky ground, the water runs off so fast, the rootzone remains dry.

The key to growing them in heavier soils is creating beds with a combination of elevation and aeration. Raise the plant up above soggy ground in an island of porous soil. To achieve this you need a retaining wall, raised planter, or planting pockets created between loose boulders or wells of stacked dry stone. Fill the cavity with super fast-draining Black Gold Cactus Potting Mix. Make larger amounts of aerated fill, combining equal amounts of Black Gold Cactus Potting Mix with sandy garden loam. Mix thoroughly in a wheelbarrow before filling your raised beds or garden pockets.

Water applied to plants in these pockets will pass through quickly to the dense soil below. Because clay is slow to absorb water, it will gradually hydrate and provide moisture for the roots to tap into during the heat of summer. This method is also helpful where it’s hard to keep plant root zones dry enough due to summer rainfall.

Brittlebushes are rangy subshrubs and among the most drought-resistant of all desert species.

Growing California Christmasberry

Large sprays of bright red berry-like fruits mature in time for holiday decorating.

In my old High Sierra home, I decorated with my own native Christmasberry (Heteromeles arbutifolia, USDA Zone 8) fruit every winter for nearly 20 years. Also called California toyon, this shrub produces large sprays of bright red fruits that are so seasonally welcome, I wondered why it was not more popular in landscaping.

Christmasberry makes a fine alternative to Asian Frasier’s photinia (Photinia fraseri), non-native hollies (Ilex spp.), and other exotic evergreens. Deep, emerald-green foliage makes the red fruits really stand out in the winter garden while providing bird habitat all year long. In the High Sierras, the wild evergreens remained unchanged from the end of late-spring rains to December, when the rains returned. That’s a minimum of seven months with no supplemental water!

Potted Christmasberry

Like so many California native shrubs, Christmasberry is difficult to grow commercially in pots because of its deep, wide-spreading root system — the key to its amazing drought resistance. Natives with large root systems rapidly outgrow nursery pots by the end of the first year, when grown from seed. If not transplanted into a deeper pot, the roots will hit the pot bottom and grow sideways.

Distorted tap and feeder roots will keep a growing shrub from achieving proper root depth once planted in the ground. This is why Christmasberry, and comparable native trees and shrubs, are uncommon in garden centers. So many have disproportionate top-to-root growth. A tiny seedling may have a three-foot-deep root system that refuses to adapt to container culture. This was such a problem with California native oaks, that growers finally gave up on trying to pot them and planted acorns instead.

Purchase the smallest, youngest potted plants, if you can find Heteromeles arbutifolia for sale locally. A big plant in a small pot won’t adapt well to drought.

Growing Christmasberry from Seed

Sowing Christmasberry plants from gathered seed is an even better option. Home-grown shrubs can quickly be planted outdoors, allowing the tiny seedlings to freely root into the soil and adapt to local rainfall limitations.

First gather mature, red fruits and clean each one to release the two seeds inside. In my High Sierra home, robins came each year to feed on the fruits, excreting clean, ready-to-germinate seed on my land. To simulate this same scenario at home, separate the seed cleanly from the fruit and allow the seed to dry. This seed will remain viable for only about 8 months.

Sow the dry seed in winter to get them started, just like wild seed with the spring rains. Choose a light, natural garden soil, such as Black Gold Seedling Mix. Start by filling a plastic lidded salad or fruit box with the fresh mix, and set the seed into the moist media, but don’t cover it. Keep the seeds lightly moist and at room temperature, and they should sprout in about a week. Transplant newly sprouted seedlings into deep pots of Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix. Place them under bright light until they reach 1-inch in height, usually within six weeks. Transplant into the landscape once the soil can be worked to ensure healthy root growth and easy planting. Spring planted seedlings should be deeply watered once or twice, then let them grow on rainfall unless conditions are unseasonably arid.

Planting Christmasberry

In the wild, Christmasberry typically grows on rocky slopes with dry, well-drained soils that are sometimes a bit saline. Keep this in mind when selecting a location to plant or sow your shrubs. As long as the roots are free to grow deeply, they will out-perform thirsty hollies and other exotic holiday berries without asking for much, if any, supplemental water.

Mature shrubs are bushy, somewhat shade tolerant, and typically reach 6-10 feet or more. In early summer clusters of white flowers are produced. These are transformed into red, berry-like fruits that persist into winter. Established plants can live up to 200 years.

This relatively young hedge shows how fast Christmasberry produces a drought-resistant screen with high wildlife value.

Other natural, shrubby companions found with Christmasberry are California lilac (Ceanothus spp.), manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), western redbud (Cercis occidentalis), and fremontia (Fremontodendron spp.), all of which grew on or near my old property. This is the essential palette of native California shrubs or small trees that promise beauty in drought.

There is no better recommendation for a species to withstand the perpetual “shake, bake, and irrigate” of the West Coast. Christmasberry survives fire and holds slopes against mudslides, according to Lester Rowntree in her classic 1947 book, Flowering Shrubs of California. Lester wrote: “I have seen acres of toyon [Christmasberry], in solid formation, come back after fire from the roots of old bushes, ringing the bases of burned 18-foot stems, standing black and dead, with the bright rich green of new growth.”

Rehab Raised Beds Inside and Out

Raised-bed hoops and row covers can help you protect crops from harsh growing conditions and winter cold.

Second gardens are always better than first gardens. When those first gardens were your raised beds, then maybe it’s time to raise the bar. Bigger, better, and more prolific are garden characteristics that all gardeners want, so perhaps it’s time to rehab and expand in preparation for next year’s summer garden.

So many raised beds were at first experimental or created with the kids as a family project without long-term planning and smart design. That’s why they often don’t last as long as they should. Earth-to-wood contact (something forbidden in house building) introduces wood rot and invites pests, such as termites. You need to know what you are doing to get more life from your raised bed.

Choosing the Best Raised Bed Building Materials

layers — Redwood ties are naturally rot resistant and great for raised bed building.

Early on, wooden railroad tie beds [read more about railroad tie beds] became popular and kept the rot problem at bay, but ties are made from heavily treated wood. They contain dangerous heavy metals and creosote, which can leach into the soil and be taken up by edible plants. Pressure treated wood has the same problem. It is treated with fungicides and other compounds to reduce rot that can leach into the soil.

Untreated woods are not all the same. Many break down fast, resulting in short-lived raised beds. If you want long-lasting beds, avoid soft or rustic reclaimed woods certain to rot quickly. Instead, choose long-lasting red cedar or redwood. Both decompose slowly and are the most recommended for beautiful frames that resist rot. Trex, and other polymer/wood alternatives, also last forever and look great. All of the rot-resistant options are initially more expensive but worth it if you plan to garden for years.

Rehabbing Your Raised Bed

coir — Just Coir creates a good organic base layer for raised bed gardens.

If you already have raised beds made with fast-to-decompose wood, you may already be experiencing the unfortunate and very common results. They are rotting, bowing, or breaking open at the seams due to decomposing edges weakened by the weight of soil, plants, and mulch. This means it is either time to rebuild or refurbish the frames.

Moreover, if you have had your beds for a while, the soil will be low and in need of replacement. Like all garden beds, soil volume falls as microbes consume the fine humus, and nutrients are depleted by garden plants. Poor garden soil will produce poor garden plants.

Fall is the best time to replenish raised bed soil and fix repairs. Take advantage of the fabulous fall weather to replace all rotting or bowing boards or edges, and revive sad, tired soil. Here’s the five-step process in a nutshell:

Remove existing soil, if it’s degraded to mostly woody matter and perlite. Stockpile the old soil material for future use as summer mulch, or layer it into the compost heap.
Inspect the newly exposed sidewalls by stabbing questionable spots with a screwdriver. If the metal penetrates the wood, then there’s rot, and they need to be replaced. Also, check and reinforce loose corners.
Make repairs to sidewalls using Trex or long-lasting, untreated wood boards. Consider adding more height if you would like to grow plants with deeper root systems. Not only should you use strong, quality wood, but investing in heavy hardware will add to the longevity of your beds. Choose heavy wood screws tightened with an electric screwdriver to keep beds from loosening with the seasonal shrink and swell of the wood.
Replace the soil in stages. Black Gold Just Coir creates a 100% organic matter barrier that holds water and repels root-knot nematodes. The heart of the raised bed should contain a rich mix of local topsoil amended with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend and a soilless potting mix, such as Black Gold Natural and Organic Potting Soil. The combination depends on the quality of your local soil; great topsoil requires fewer amendments. In general, an even mix of 2 parts topsoil to 1 part compost and 1 part soilless potting mix will yield great results. If drought is a problem in your area, adding a mulching layer of Black Gold Just Coir or Garden Compost Blend will reduce surface water loss.
Add an all-purpose fertilizer, at the manufacturer’s prescribed application, to help drive explosive growth.

Irrigate and Sow

Gently water your raised beds to allow them to settle and marry over the winter months. If you don’t already have it, drip irrigation is highly recommended for effortless raised bed gardening. Try soaker hoses or buried underground inline drip tubing that invisibly waters your garden without ugly surface tubes and emitters. If you want to expand next year, put in a new bed close to the old one and share the irrigation.

While watering your rehabbed raised beds, throw in some seeds for beets, radishes, turnips, and other root crops that germinate at temps down to 40 degrees F. The addition of row covers will protect cool-season crops well into winter. Harvest the leaves, eat the sweet roots, and enjoy long winter yields as your refreshed raised beds do all of the work for you.

When in Drought, Choose Succulents

Barrel cacti, agave, and echeverias are all bold succulents for droughty landscapes.

Whenever there are statewide water cutbacks in California, everyone has to rethink some of the plants in their home landscapes. Rather than viewing this as a tragedy, make it an opportunity to dive into some of trendiest plants filling gardens of the rich and famous. If you’ve always wanted that great, clean succulent garden look, there is no better time to make the change.

In the past, most gardeners planted annual flowers for pockets of color. Instead, plant these same spaces with exciting and colorful succulents. This is a great idea for high-profile areas around outdoor living spaces, pools and spas, or courtyards where you can enjoy their diverse beauty up close and personal. Be prepared to treat them as annuals, if you live in a frosty climate. You can also overwinter them indoors. Just dig and pot them up at summer’s end to green up indoor rooms all winter long.

The Best Soil for Succulents

The single biggest problem with succulents in traditional gardens is too much water caused by over irrigation in slow-draining clay ground. Too much water rots succulent roots and stems—killing plants quickly. Solve the soil dilemma by creating pockets of Black Gold Cactus Mix potting soil to improve rooting conditions. Do this with larger succulents by replacing the soil one hole at the time. You can provide even sharper drainage by amending mixes with additional Black Gold Perlite.

Sometimes succulent pots need extra water-holding amendments, especially when irrigation cutbacks start drying out your planters. Black Gold Cactus Mix has just enough water-holding capacity to keep roots growing well.

forms gilmer3 — Jewel-box succulent container garden

Planting Succulent Beds

Once your soil and pots are prepared, its time to bring the vibrant echeverias, festive flapjacks, and ever-popular black aeoniums into your yard. If you’re planting a six-inch potted specimen, dig your hole twice as wide and half again as deep as the nursery root ball. Puncture the natural soil at bottom of the hole numerous times with a piece of pipe or rebar. Go as deeply as you can to provide miniature sumps that encourage filtration and keep water from accumulating at the bottom of the hole. Then fill with potting soil, and plant away.

Planting Succulent Containers

If you have a built-in masonry planter, create a close-range jewel-box garden. This term is used for the vivid succulent gardens that are as colorful as the contents of grandmother’s costume jewelry box. Here you can plant a lovely rainbow of kalanchoes, flowering aloes, and geometric crassulas. When you add hardy sedums and sempervivums, they’ll survive through the coldest winter to anchor next year’s display.

Remove the top foot of soil in the planter and replace it with cactus potting soil, then arrange your colors in drifts or swaths of small bright plants. Accent them with sparkling slag glass, driftwood or special rock minerals and crystals for an exciting jewel-box look.

Although this California drought is a disaster for many, it may be the catalyst you need to replace water-intensive plants with exciting new succulents. In the beginning, you may not know their names or their ultimate forms, but over the coming months, you’ll learn to recognize them and get a feel for how each grows. Though we are often averse to change in life, it’s often the doorway to our greatest accomplishments.

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