Tag Archives: Drought Tolerant

Horticulture Report: Creeping Thyme

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Plant Name:  Thymus praecox
Common name:  Creeping Thyme
Plant Type:  Groundcover
Plant Height:  1” – 4”
Plant Width:  6” – 18”
Bloom Time: May – August
Flower Color: Pink White, Purple
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Shade
Soil Requirements: Average, Dry – Medium, Well-Drained; Tolerates Rocky or Poor Soil.
Water Need:  Drought Tolerant Once Established
Fire Resistant: YES.  Plant 30’+ from house.
Attributes:  Leaves in Shades of Light to Dark Green Yellow, or Variegated; Deer Resistant; Attracts Bees/Butterflies.
Uses: Rock Walls; Between Pavers; Rock Garden; Path Edging.
Note:  Cut Back Stems to Maintain Plant Appearance; Susceptible to Root Rot in Poor Draining Soils.
Native to: SW & Central Europe; Greenland; Turkey
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photo Credit: Jason Hollinger, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Today in the Garden

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Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed.  This is blooming right now.  It is a sun-loving native annual that self-sows widely.  Drought and deer tolerant.  Blooms morning and evening, but closes up during the middle of the day.  See the bumble bee getting pollen off the flowers.  The plant is about 3′ high and 1 1/2′ high.  

Madia elegans:  Elegant tar weed

Epilobium canum, or California Fuchsia.  It used to be called Zauschneria californica.  It is a later blooming perennial.  It is drought and deer resistant.  This one is right near an alley and a driveway, and is fine with hot, dry soil.  Hummingbirds love it.  I plant it with dark blue Bachelors’ Buttons, annuals which seed around.

Epilobium canum: California Fuchsia

Gaillardia , or Blanket Flower.  It is a long-blooming perennial with interesting round seed heads.  If  some of the seed heads are left on, it will self-sow.  This particular plant is probably a hybrid, called Gaillardia x grandlora ‘Goblin’, which is a more compact cultivar.  The native is Gaillardia aristata.  It is drought tolerant and deer resistant.

Gaillardia: Blanket Flower

Praying Mantis on Verbena, previously seen eating a bee from the head down.  After crawling up on this bloom, she crawled down on the stem and basically disappeared, lurking until another insect came along.

Praying Mantis on Verbena

Photos and article by Sherri Morgan, AGC Vice President

Horticulture Report: Dead Nettle

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Plant Name:  Lamium species
Common name: Dead Nettle
Plant Type:  Prostrate Herbaceous Perennial
Plant Height:  8” – 12”
Plant Width:  12” – 36”
Bloom Time:  May – June
Flower Color: Pink, White, Purple
Exposure:  Part Shade to Shade
Soil Requirements: Moist, Rich, Humus Rich, Well-Drained Soil.
Water Need:  Medium
Fire Resistant: YES; Zone 1-8 – 30’+ from house.
Attributes: Attractive Foliage; Attracts Bees; Variety of Foliage Colors & Textures; Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant.
Uses:  Spiller in Containers; Dead Bulb Foliage Cover; Groundcover.
Note: Trailing Type Growth; Cut Back or Shear to Stimulate New Growth; Roots Where Stems Touch Ground.
Native to: Europe, Western Asia, North Africa
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 8

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/ Master Gardener

Photo by: Franz Xaver, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Sedums

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Plant Name:  Sedum species
Common name:  Sedum or Stonecrops
Plant Type:  Perennial Succulent
Plant Height:  2” – 12”; Varies Depending on Varieties:  Ground Cover Level to Upright
Plant Width:  6” – 24”
Bloom Time:  Summer, Fall
Flower Color: Pink, Red, White, Yellow (Depends on Variety)
Exposure: Full Sun to Part Sun
Soil Requirements: Loamy, Sandy, Well Draining.
Water Need:  Low; Drought Tolerant Once Established.
Fire Resistant: YES; 10” or more from house.
Attributes: Attracts Birds/Butterflies; Foliage in Shades of Green to Blue/Chartreuse to Pink; Deer Resistant
Uses: Rock Garden; Edging; Containers, Smaller varieties ground cover.
Note: Deadhead After Flowering to Maintain Shape & Size; or Leave Attractive Seed Heads for Winter Interest; Subject to Mealybugs, Scale, Slugs/Snails, Powdery Mildew.
Native to: Eastern United States
Oregon Native:  Some varieties of Sedum spathulifolium and other broadleaf stonecrop are native to Oregon
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Autumn Joy Sedum and Broad-Leaf Sedum Photos by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member

Sedum oreganum (Yellow flowers) photo by: Stan Shebs https://calscape.org/loc-california/Sedum%20oreganum()

Horticulture Report: Snow-in-Summer

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Plant Name:  Cerastium tomentosum
Common name: Snow-in-Summer
Plant Type:  Herbaceous Perennial Evergreen Groundcover
Plant Height:  6” – 12”
Plant Width:  2’ – 3’
Bloom Time:  Summer
Flower Color:  White
Exposure:  Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Dry, Sandy, Well-Draining Soil
Water Need:  Dry
Fire Resistant: YES; Plant 30’+ from house.
Attributes: Fast Growing; Silvery-Gray, Wooly Foliage; Deer Resistant; Showy Flowers; Drought Tolerant
Uses:  Rock Gardens; Border Edging; Cottage Garden; Bulb Cover; Hanging Basket.
Note: Spreads by Runners; Shear off flowers after bloom; Plants are Short-Lived
Native to: Italy; Sicily
Oregon Native:   NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 7

Report by: Viki Ashford

Heron2 CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Horticulture Report: Sempervivum

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Plant Name:  Sempervivum species
Common name:  Hens & Chicks
Plant Type:  Succulent
Plant Height:  2” – 6”
Plant Width:  6” – 10”
Bloom Time: June – August
Flower Color: Pink
Exposure: Full to Part Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained Sandy or Gravelly Soil.
Water Need:  Low
Fire Resistant: YES; Grow 10’+ from house.
Attributes: Wide Variety of Foliage Colors; Deer Resistant; Year Round Interest
Uses:  Rock Walls; Rock Gardens; Succulent Gardens; Edging
Note:  Parent Plant Produces Flowers & Smaller Plants (or chicks); Plant Dies After Flowering Thus Offsets; >
Native to: Southern Europe/Western Asia
Oregon Native:  NO
USDA Hardiness Zone: 4 – 10

Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member

Photos by: Carlotta Lucas, AGC Member