Jurassic Garden: Grow Healthy Drought Resistant Plants

Xeriscape is Smart Landscape: Drought Resistant Cycad & Aloe Species

  

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Landscaping with drought resistant plants, known as xeriscaping, is a path more and more professional landscapers and home gardeners are taking to create practical landscape beauty. An attractive and earth-friendly garden is not just economical, a xeriscape is the smart thing to do if you live in the Western USA, where water is scarce. A succulent plant, such as the cycad plant, aloe species and other xeriscape plants such as aeonium and strelitzia, save you water, and become a self-sustaining, low-maintenance natural landscape for your home.

What plants do I choose?

Sun-loving plants

Sun-loving plants in this group include cycad plants like Cycas revoluta (Sago Palm), Cycas panzhuaensis (Chinese Blue Mountain Cycad) and Dioon angustifolium from Mexico, a blue-green feather-leafed plant.
 

Sun-tolerant Aloe Species

Drought resistant Aloe species include Aloe plicatilis (Fan Aloe), the red-leafed Aloe cameronii and the rare spiral Aloe polyphylla.

Sun-Loving Blue Cycads from Africa

Blue cycads from South Africa, like Encephalartos lehmannii (Karoo Desert Cycad) and Encephalartos horridus (Eastern Cape Blue Cycad) are also very attractive in a landscape. 

Taller Growing Cycads

If you are looking for tall plants, consider sun-tolerant cycads like Encephalartos altensteinii (Eastern Cape Giant Cycad) and Encephalartos ituriensis (Ituri Rainforest Cycad).

Taller Succulent Plant Species

Taller succulents include Aloe bainesii from South Africa and Aloe excelsa from Southern Africa and Mozambique.

Shade-Loving Plants Don't Need to be Water Hogs

Shade-loving plants also have a place in the xeriscape.  You don’t need to have water-craving plants in shady parts of your garden.  Try a cycad plant like Encephalartos natalensis, a Ceratozamia from Mexico, a Zamia for a lower-growing infill plant, or a Lepidozamia from Australia. Succulents like Aeonium go well in shade, particularly the purple-leafed Aeonium “Zwartkop” also called Aeonium “Schwartzkop”.

More Xeriscape Tips:

Here are some additional tips for your xeriscape, to have a beautiful and healthy drought resistant garden, which is low-maintenance and saves resources (natural resources and your resources):

1. Use Mulch: Adding a thick layer of mulch conserves water, keeps down weeds, and protects your plants from extremes of summer heat and winter cold. Apply at least 3 inches for your drought-tolerant plants’ best benefit.
2. Water deeply but infrequently: This encourages plants to push deeper roots, and be self-sustaining for longer.
3. Create Different Watering Zones: Drought resistant plant species need less water, and should get shorter watering times, if you have an automatic irrigation system.
4. Get by with as little lawn as possible: Turf grass is popular, but is a big water hog. Explore more drought resistant lawn types.
5. Recycle rainwater if you can: Not only does this save on you water bill, rain water is much less alkaline, so your plants will like it much more.