Plant Care Articles

Having a beautiful garden does not automatically mean having a higher water bill at the end of the month.  It is true that plants need sunlight, air and water to grow; however, there are specific plants that can be grown and methods that can be used that will increase water conservation.  Drought resistant gardening becomes more relevant as the probability of water rationing increases in the American Southwest and the cost of water is projected to rise.  There are several things that a gardener can do to continue having a beautiful garden in even the most drought-prone climates.

Grow native plants.

Gardeners that live in dry climates could do nothing more than grow native plants in their gardens to instantly solve their water conservation issues.  Native plants do not need to be watered.  When the weather dries out in drought-prone climates, no one saunters through the brush with a watering can to be sure that all those native plants are sufficiently watered.  These drought-resistant plants have physiological and anatomical adaptations to help them survive long periods of time with little water.  Many communities have local nurseries that specialize in plant that are native to their region.  Even in environments that are not prone to water shortages, growing native is a smart idea since native plants have many benefits.

Grow desert plants.

Desert plants do not strictly grow in desert climates.  They can grow practically anywhere, as long as a few environmental factors are met.  Most desert plants do best with bright light for long periods of time during the day.  They need well-drained soil that is allowed to dry between watering.  Best of all for gardeners gardening in drought-prone climates, desert plants do not need constant water.  They can last long periods of time without any water, even in the hottest of weather.  This is exactly what they have adapted to: hot and dry.  Perfect for a drought-resistant garden!

Most people hear the term “desert plant” and their minds will quickly envision the prototypical cactus: green ball or tall cylinder both with sharp spines.  Fortunately, there is a tremendous amount of diversity amongst desert plants, and many of them have showy flowers.  There are trees (such as the large number of desert Acacias or the Palo Verde: Parkinsonia florida), shrubs (Ocotillos: Fouquieria splendens and Chuparosas: Justicia californica), and even small plants that will survive in drought conditions (Mormon Tea: Ephedra spp.).

Water at night or early in the morning.

This is one of those old wife’s tales that actually has some science behind it.  Turning on the sprinklers while the midday sun is beating down on the garden results in more water lost to evaporation than any other time of day.  Midday irrigation decreases the amount of water that absorbs into deeper layers of the soil and, thus, will be available for absorption by the roots.  The simple act of watering a garden when it is relatively cool can save a significant amount of water.  There are exceptions to this rule, however.  Plants that are particularly prone to root rot or any type of fungal infection (perfect example: cacti) should only be watered in the morning.  Fungal spores thrive in conditions that are moist for extended periods of time.  By watering these plants at night, the gardener would be prolonging the amount of time the soil and plant surfaces are moist.  This will increase the chances that the fungal spores will successfully infect the host plant.  Luckily, cacti and other desert plants need little water to survive, so keeping them moist for long periods of time is utterly unnecessary.

Use mulch.

Mulching around the base of a plant is a great way to prevent weeds from sprouting in a garden, which in itself is great, but mulching provides so much more.  Mulching prevents excess water loss from evaporation as well.  It effectively cools the soil and acts as a somewhat permeable barrier to water loss.  Additionally, a gardener can mulch with almost anything.  Ground up bark, wood chips, straw, rice hulls, newspaper, pebbles, clay pellets, etc. have all been used to mulch.  Most of these materials are recycled products that in turn provide a valuable service to the gardener (someone’s trash is another’s treasure).  Some industries saw potential in offloading some of their “trash” by grinding up their waste and making it available as mulch.  The rubber tire industry began grinding up old tires for use as mulch.  Unfortunately for the tire industry and the gardeners who used this mulch, the excess zinc in the rubber leached into the soil causing the soil to become toxic to most plants.  On top of killing off plants, ground up rubber tires is a fire hazard and does not have a pleasant scent.  The moral of this story is that gardeners can use pretty much any type of mulch to provide an effective barrier above the soil to prevent excess water loss, but AVOID RUBBER MULCH.

Use drip irrigation.

Drip irrigation delivers water to the plant’s roots by slowly dripping water just above the soil surface.  This method decreases the chance that water is exposed to the environment and will be lost to evaporation.  A gardener who simply runs a water hose over his plants will waste a lot of water by comparison with drip irrigation.  Dripping water directly over the roots minimizes the amount of time and surface area for the water to evaporate.

Drip irrigation can be taken a step further in the water conservation process by burying the drip lines.  This method of irrigation is called sub irrigation.  Essentially, it works the same as drip irrigation, but the drip lines emit water at the roots as opposed to just above them on the soil’s surface.  Sub irrigation delivers water in a way that it is never exposed directly to the above ground air, thus further decreases the chance of water being lost to evaporation.

Both drip and sub irrigation should be used with the following in mind: both of these systems are great ways to conserve water, but they may result in salt buildup in the soil.  If a gardener’s primary goal is to conserve water, than the use of drip/sub irrigation definitely outweighs the possibility of a salt accumulation.  Additionally, the gardener could simply soak the soil around the drip/sub irrigation periodically to leach away the excess salts.  The soak does not have to happen very often (maybe once per growing season) so the gardener can still see the benefits of conserving water via drip/sub irrigation.  On top of that, many drought tolerant plants will also have a higher tolerance for salts in the soil.  The combination of drip/sub irrigation and desert plants may make the occasional soaking of the soil to leach away salts unnecessary anyway.

Capture your water.

Landowners in many states have full access to any precipitation that falls on their land.  (States such as Colorado do not, however.  The state of Colorado considers any rain or snow to be a part of the local watershed and needs to be left to fill the local waterways).  For landowners who have full access to the water on their land, they can redirect water into storage tanks for later use.  The water storage can be as complex as using buried cisterns with automatic pumps to the simple use of an old wine barrel that captures any rainwater that is washing off of the roof.  When using a water capture system it is important to keep in mind that any pooled water that is exposed to the air is prime mosquito breeding grounds.  Either sealing the container or putting some screening with fine enough holes to keep mosquitoes out of the water will reduce the chance of them out of the water.

Ultimately, drought resistant gardens are meant to conserve water.  Water conservation can come in the form of decreasing water demand in the garden and/or increasing watering efficiency.  In other word, the plants in a garden need less water from the hose and/or the way the garden is watered is done in a way that most amount of water gets to the roots.  These methods of water conservation relieve the demand from the municipal water source, which saves money and does not compromise the beauty of the garden.