Drought-tolerant plants for hot climates

A number of care-free plants, including buddleia, purple coneflower, and yucca, which grow well in hot-summer areas, have the added talent of being drought tolerant. Follow these guidelines to learn how to properly care for these hardy plants.

Because hot summer sun saps moisture from plants, seek these and others, such as ornamental grasses, portulaca, and stonecrop, which are rarely thirsty at the end of a summer day. These natural water misers all share a few traits.

• When shopping for them, look for plants with succulent leaves, which store water; plants with small leaves or finely dissected leaves, which have less surface area exposed to evaporation; and plants with silver or gray leaves, which reflect excess light.
• Plants with abundant thorns, or fuzzy leaves shade themselves, reducing evaporation from the leaves.

Before buying, read descriptions of plants on nursery tags and in mail-order catalogs carefully to learn their origins.

• Those from areas with soil and climate that are similar to yours should adapt. Deep-rooted prairie plants, such as purple coneflower, are incredibly drought tolerant.
• Salvias and yuccas, which are native to the Southwest, are equally able to thrive in hot, dry situations, as are artemesias and other herbs from Mediterranean countries.
• Summer-flowering bulbs from South America and South Africa, as well as Australian plants like phormiums are also superb performers for hot-summer gardens.

Watering your garden will be necessary sometimes, even if you grow plants that can take the heat. So make use of strategies to limit the time and water your garden requires.

• Place plants close together, including tall plants or trellised vines, so that they will cast some welcome shade on shorter neighbors. Concentrating your summer garden in a compact space also makes it easier to reach it with a hose.
• Or use soaker hoses, which are the most efficient and economical way to get water into the soil with minimal loss to evaporation. But remember that using mulch alone can conserve a great deal of soil moisture by slowing evaporation and keeping the soil cool.
• In arid climates, water in the evening to increase nighttime humidity around your plants, which helps them recover from wilting days.
• In humid climates, irrigate first thing in the morning, and avoid watering leaves, so that the garden and plants will be dry by night.
• Dry nighttime conditions deter fungal leaf diseases.