Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.

While it is edifying to talk about ways to reduce the need for supplemental irrigation as I did last week in my blog post that explored drought-tolerant plants, it is all water under the bridge if the beautiful xeric garden that is planted isn’t properly maintained.

Here are some tips to get you going in the right direction. Many of the suggestions are common sense, but I am generally so anxious to get the plants in the ground and to watch them start growing, that I often need these reminders myself.

1. Plan your garden by grouping plants with similar cultural requirements. Place drought-loving plants together to create a low-watering zone.
2. Site your plants carefully. Drought-tolerant plants will either flop or die in soils that are too rich, have inadequate drainage, or are heavily fertilized. For many Mediterranean plants, it is not the cold but the combination of the wet, water-logged soil with the cold that kills them in winter. Good drainage is important for drought-tolerant plants.
3. If you have heavy soil, amend it with organic matter such as compost, grit, or pea gravel to improve drainage. If amending the soil will not do the trick, consider either relocating the plants or building a raised bed to improve drainage.
4. Substitute groundcovers in areas where it is difficult to grow turf such as in particularly shady areas or narrow sections of your yard. Some good perennials for dry shade are barrenwort (Epimedium), dead-nettle (Lamium), foamflower (Tiarella), hellebore (Helleborus, pictured), and big root geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum).

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Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center.

What makes a plant drought tolerant? Plants have evolved some clever ways of adapting to dry conditions, and you can easily identify these plants if you know what to look for.

Plants such as stonecrop (Sedum) and hens and chicks (Sempervivum) have evolved fleshy leaves (the same strategy as cacti) to help them retain water during periods of drought. They are the camels of the plant world. Other plants have leaves that are thick and leathery or finely cut to help prevent water loss.

Some plants have evolved a waxy, whitish coating (glaucous) on the leaves. Other plants such as lamb’s ear (Stachys, pictured) have evolved hairy or woolly surfaces to help conserve moisture. Plants with fine hairs are easy to identify in the garden; they have gray or silver foliage that reflects light and heat. Many of these plants contain fragrant oils in their foliage that serves a dual purpose of protecting the plant by repelling predators as well as helping to slow down the rate of water evaporation. read more »