Top 10 Drought Tolerant Plants

These plants not only have stunning appearances, but they are also drought tolerant. What an added bonus! They'll survive dry conditions while adding great color to your garden.

Photo: RDA GID

Artemisia

Artemisia is valued for its beautiful, slender gray to silver leaves on tall arching stems or low mounds. These plants are reliably tough and trouble-free.

• Common Names: Artemisia, mugwort, sagebrush and wormwood.
• Botanical Name: Artemisia.
• Hardiness: Zones 4-8.
• Bloom Time: insignificant (grown for foliage)
• Size: 1 to 5 feet high, 1 to 6 feet wide (depending on cultivar).
• Foliage: Silvery gray or white.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Grow in poor to medium-quality soil in full to part-day sun. All are good companions for colorful flowers; they look lovely among pastel flowers and make brighter colors seem more vibrant.
• Prize Picks: A good, tall lacy-leaved one is Silver King (Artemisia ludoviciana); the classic cushion-habit one is called Silvermound (Artemisia schmidtiana).

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Blanket flower

This beauty's brightly colored blooms resemble those of Native American blanket patterns, thus the flower's name. Not only is blanket flower bright and cheery, it's one tough flower. Tolerant of drought and less-favorable soil conditions, blanket flower makes an excellent contribution to any sunny summer garden.

• Common Names: Blanket flower.
• Botanical Name: Gaillardia x grandiflora.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
• Bloom Time: All summer.
• Size: 2 to 3 feet high, 1 to 2 feet wide.
• Flowers: Red or yellow with yellow or purple centers.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Sow perennial types in spring or early summer. Start annual types indoors 4 to 6 weeks before planting outdoors. Wait for frost danger to pass before planting outside.
• Prize Picks: New hybrid Fanfare sports distinctive a ruby center and golden, trumpet-shaped outer florets.

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California Poppy

Sweeping across the arid foothills and valleys west of the Sierra Nevada, a sea of golden- orange California poppies light up the scenic landscape each spring. The tall nodding blooms are ideal in rock and cottage gardens, rather than formal flowerbeds. No matter where you plant them, be ready to remove some of the spent flowers to limit reseeding so the plants don't take over.

• Common Names: California poppy.
• Botanical Name: Eschscholzia californica.
• Hardiness: Grow as an annual in all zones.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: 8 to 15 inches high, 9 to 15 inches wide.
• Flowers: Orange, red, yellow, pink, cream and white four-petal, cup-like blossoms which measure 1 to 2 inches across.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Sow seeds directly on soil in fall or winter in mild climates; sow in spring in cold climates.
• Prize Picks: For full, semi-double or double blooms with frilled and fluted petals, plant Mission Bells or Ballerina. The Thai Silk line is compact and 8 to 10 inches tall and has fluted bronze-tinged flowers ranging from yellow to orange, red, pink, rose, cream and white.

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Lavender

Used medicinally, this bloom is said to help put people to sleep. Backyard enthusiasts may balk at this, knowing that there's never a dull moment with lavender's lovely and fragrant blooms.

Lavender has stiff gray-green leaves on mounding plants that are often taller than they are wide. The hauntingly fragrant flower spikes come in various shades of purple as well as plain white and attract many butterflies, especially skippers, painted ladies, and sulphurs.

• Common Names: Lavender.
• Botanical Name: Lavandula.
• Hardiness: Zones 5 to 10.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: 1 to 4 feet high, 1 to 4 feet wide.
• Flowers: Pinkish purple.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before last spring frost, or outdoors after danger of frost passes.
• Prize Picks: For showy purple stalks of flowers, choose tried-and-true favorites such as Hidcote and Munstead. Loddon Pink produces soft pink flowers atop bright green foliage.

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Moss rose

This easy-care annual is a sure source of small but perky color. Moss roses grow in clusters low to the ground, come in a variety of colors and thrive in the sunny, hot spots where other flowers might wither.

• Common Names: Moss rose, rose moss, portulaca.
• Botanical Name: Portulaca grandiflora.
• Hardiness: Annual.
• Bloom Time: Summer through fall.
• Size: 4 to 8 inches high, 6 inches wide.
• Flowers: Yellow, orange, red, white, purple and rose-colored cup shaped blossoms.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Plant in well-drained or drier soil, as it falters in wet ground.
• Prize Picks: Afternoon Delight, the Sundial series and Sundance Mix stay open later or when the sky is overcast. The most common double-flowering cultivars are in the Calypso series. Margarita Rosita is a beautiful semi-double selection.

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Penstemon

You'll be singing the praises of these tough beauties in no time. Penstemon features arching stems laden with spires of small tubular flowers that attract moths, butterflies and hummingbirds.

• Common Names: Penstemon.
• Botanical Name: Penstemon.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: 18 to 36 inches high, 12 to 24 inches wide.
• Flowers: White, yellow, orange, red, pink and purple.
• Light Needs: Full sun to light shade.
• Growing Advice: Sow seed outdoors from late winter through early summer. Plant nursery-raised seedlings in late spring and water well until established.
• Prize Picks: Gorgeous Husker Red owes its name to its reddish foliage and stems; the flowers are white with a pink cast. Penstemon barbatus has striking scarlet flowers; Penstemon gloxinoides comes in various attractive hues.

Photo: Lucinda Moriarty

Purple coneflower

This easy-to-grow native flower is a cousin to the black-eyed Susan. The large showy blooms attract birds, butterflies and bees, and make long-lasting cut flowers. Coneflowers need little upkeep, are drought-tolerant and thrive in almost any soil with adequate drainage. This plant self-sows readily. To minimize "volunteers," apply a layer of mulch and remove any unwanted seedlings in spring.

• Common Names: Purple coneflower.
• Botanical Name: Echinacea purpurea.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Midsummer to early fall.
• Size: 2 to 5 feet high, 2 feet wide.
• Flowers: Purple, pink, crimson, white and new varieties like yellow and orange; daisy-like drooping petals surround a bristly cone-shaped center.
• Light needs: Full sun; will tolerate light shade.
• Growing Advice: Plant bare-root perennials in spring or container-grown specimens anytime during the growing season. To propagate, sow seeds in fall or early spring (it may take 2 to 3 years to flower).
• Prize Picks: Magnus, the 1998 Perennial Plant of the Year, has showy flat flower heads up to 7 inches across. The smaller White Swan has white petals and produces fewer seedlings. Meadowbrite and Mango Pixie are lively orange versions that sport light fragrances.

Photo: Park Seed, www.parkseed.com

Rugosa rose

Love roses but hate the hassle? This fast-growing group flourishes without fuss. Rugosa roses handle poor soil conditions, from sandy to salty, hot weather, and drying winds, producing scads of spicily scented flowers. The bright rose hips that follow in autumn attract birds. The sturdy plants are also quite winter-hardy.

• Common Names: Rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, and salt-spray rose.
• Botanical Name: Rosa rugosa.
• Hardiness: Zones 2 to 8.
• Bloom Time: Spring to autumn.
• Size: 3 to 8 feet high, 8 feet wide.
• Flowers: Cupped and fragrant white, red or pink flowers, which appear as singles, doubles or in small clusters.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Plant small bare-root roses while dormant in spring. Container plants may be added to your landscape any time during the growing season.
• Prize Picks: Seek out the alba variant for white flowers blooming from pale pink buds.

Photo: RDA GID

Salvia

Want your summer gardens to kick off with a bang and end with a grand finale? Then plant red salvia, an annual that'll light up your yard like it's the Fourth of July.

There are few garden flowers as bold or reliable as these brilliant red spikes some gardeners call firecracker plant. They stand at attention in a large border garden and are just as striking when confined to containers. And they provide the perfect crimson color for a patriotic red, white and blue garden.

• Common Names: Red salvia, scarlet sage, and firecracker plant.
• Botanical Name: Salvia splendens.
• Hardiness: Grown as an annual in all zones.
• Bloom Time: Summer to autumn.
• Size: 8 to 30 inches high, 8 to 12 inches wide.
• Flowers: Bright red, spiky clusters of tubular flowers. Also available in orange, white, pink, lavender or blue.
• Light Needs: Full sun, ,Where summers are especially hot, some shade is appreciated.
• Growing Advice: Sold as bedding plants. Plant at same level as growing in containers and pinch tops to encourage branching. Mulch to retain moisture and keep soil cool.
• Prize Picks: Incredible red varieties include Bonfire, with its 24-inch-tall, late-blooming spires, and the compact Firecracker series, which grows only 12 inches tall. For those seeking variety, the Sizzler and Salsa series bloom in an interesting palette of colors, including orange, white, pink, lavender, and blue.

Photo: RDA GID

Yarrow

Don't be fooled by its delicate beauty - yarrow's tough as nails. This extremely tolerant plant offers lacy flat-topped clusters of tiny flowers to attract hummingbirds and butterflies. It also makes a nice cut flower, fresh or dried.

• Common Names: Yarrow.
• Botanical Name: Achillea.
• Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
• Bloom Time: Summer.
• Size: 6 to 52 inches high, 12 to 24 inches wide.
• Flowers: Yellow, white, red and pink.
• Light Needs: Full sun.
• Growing Advice: Sow seeds outdoors in spring or early summer. Divide in spring. Long-lasting when cut or dried.
• Prize Picks: Moonshine is indispensable for abundant bright light yellow. Achillea millefolium species contribute pink and red but can be weedy; good choices include Paprika, Christel, and Red Beauty.