Drought Resistant Plants

Loads of white trumpet-shaped flowers are tucked among and atop the narrow dark to medium green foliage from spring to frost all on a low and compact plant. Flowers of the Mexican Petunia attracting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Katie White Dwarf Ruellia, a selection of R. tweediana or sometimes R. simplex, is a small and compact, root hardy, clump-forming, naturally evergreen tropical that is adorned in narrow medium to deep green weeping foliage creating small individual mounds on their own similar to Liriope. Use this heat and sunloving, shade-tolerant perennial as a border, groundcover, as well as a filler in container gardens. In zones 8-9, Ruellia act like die-back perennials that freeze back and then return from their crown in spring once the weather and soil temperatures begin to properly warm. An insulative but breathable organic mulch will help to ensure their return in areas that experience freezing temperatures. Easy and reliable! Item# 9284

Voted in the top 5 by visitors in 2020 Echinacea trials at Mt. Cuba Center! Brilliant glowing orange-red rays that fade into yellow-orange pastels in late summer surround the dark orange rounded cones of disk flowers on the 3-4" wide flowers atop sturdy 18" high stems beginning in late spring and continuing into early fall. KISMET® Intense Orange Coneflower is a hybrid Echinacea selected for its exceptionally long flowering season, brilliant colors, as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as for container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12784

The large two tone flowers are composed of large lemonade pink rays tipped in a starkly contrasting pastel yellow surrounding dark cones and are held on sturdy 14-18" branching stems from late spring or early summer until fall. KISMET® Pink Lemonade Coneflower is a hybrid Echinacea selected for its exceptionally long flowering season, rich colors, compact branching habit, as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as for container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13321

#5 overall in 2020 Echinacea trials at Mt. Cuba Center! Intense raspberry red rays surround the dark orange rounded cones of disk flowers on the 3-5" wide flowers atop sturdy 18-24" high stems beginning in late spring and continuing into early fall. KISMET® Raspberry Coneflower is a hybrid Coneflower selected for its exceptionally long flowering season, brilliant color, extra large flowers, as well as its perennial reliability as a garden plant. Coneflowers are clump forming perennials whose often fragrant flowers are adored by butterflies, bees, and other pollinators that can be enjoyed as part of the sunny garden garden and landscape as well as for container specimens. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12785

16-24" high spikes of red orange buds open to pastel orange 1" long tubular flowers that fade to a light lavender pink as they age creating the soft multi-color ambrosia-like effect. Another excellent dwarf Agastache, Kudos™ Ambrosia Dwarf Hummingbird Mint develops into a mound of gray green rounded fragrant foliage from which the numerous spikes of flowers emerge beginning in spring and lasting well into fall. The nectar rich flowers attract a seemingly endless array of hummingbirds and larger butterflies. The compact habit of this Agastache lends it to use in containers where the pollinators can be drawn in close or add it to the garden and landscape in small groupings or in mass for a continuous show of color. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to help make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com. Item# 11650

Spikes of orange tubular flowers tower over the fragrant gray-green foliage of this compact free flowering Agastache from late spring to fall attracting hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees with its nectar rich rewards. Kudos™ Mandarin Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a compact growing and exceptionally free flowering Agastache well suited to any sunny well-drained garden or container combo. Excellent drainage is key for winter survivability. New for 2017! Item# 11280

Intense true red 1" long tubular flowers adorn dense 12-24" high spikes atop the gray green fragrant foliage of this dwarf Agastache beginning in spring and continuing well into fall. Kudos™ Red Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a true hummingbird magnet and the compact habit of this Agastache lends it to use in containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 11649

Sunny yellow 1" long tubular flowers adorn dense 18-24" high spikes atop the gray green fragrant foliage of this dwarf Agastache beginning in spring and continuing well into fall. Kudos™ Yellow Dwarf Hummingbird Mint is a true hummingbird magnet and the compact habit of this Agastache lends it to use in containers where you can draw these aerial acrobats for up close viewing as well as in the garden and landscape. Provide a full to mostly sunny location in a well-drained soil for optimum health and flowering. Periodic removal of spent flower spikes will help to keep the plants looking clean and fresh as well as to make way for new flower spikes. Image courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 12050

Beautifully cut medium green deeply cut lacy foliage that is reminiscent of the delicately cut foliage of some Japanese Maples adorns this vigorous 'Chaste Tree'. 6-8" spikes of lavender-pink flowers that attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees are borne in summer. The Lace-Leaf Vitex is considered by many to be the most hardy of the Chaste Trees.  Item# 787.

The culmination of years of breeding and selection, the LaNana Cypress was selected for its deep emerald green, fine textured foliage with excellent disease resistance and the trees produce no knees, have excellent vigor potentailly growing 4-6' per year, a naturally conical growth habit, are both salt and alkaline soil tolerant, and are drought resistant once well-established. Dr. Dave Creech of SFA Gardens, Nacogdoches, Texas in cooperation with Dr. Yin Yunlong and the Taxodium Breeding and Improvement Program at Nanjing Botanical Gardens in China have developed and selected this highly improved kneeless Cypress that was bred from controlled crosses of the Montezuma Cypress, Taxodium distichum var. mexicana, and the Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum var. distichum. LaNana Cypress, a.k.a 'T406', has proven to be the most popular of the resultant clones and has been trialed across much of the southern US. Image credit of Laurence Truett, SFA Gardens via Dr. Dave Creech, all rights reserved. Item# 10697

Loose hyacinth-like spikes of dainty green flowers with recurving petals and contrasting dark purple filaments and yellow stamens are held above the spotted succulent lax green foliage in spring after a dry winter dormancy. This is an easy to grow dwarf scilla or squill, tentatively Ledebouria socialis 'Laxifolia' as there are many similar horticultural forms within this species, is a dwarf growing, evergreen herbaceous tropical succulent that grows from a thickened above ground bulb and readily multiplies happily filling its container. This should make an easy windowsill, porch, or patio plant where it receives bright indirect sunlight or a small amount of cool early morning or filtered sunlight. Provide this easy to grow plant with a well-drained, cactus-like soil and allow the soil to become moderately dry between waterings. If it gets too dry it will wilt to let you know but it readily recovers once moisture is applied. During active growth, average moisture is preferred and it can be allowed to remain a good deal dryer when dormant. We ship 1-3 or more bulbs actively growing in a 2.25" pot. Item# 12451

Loose hyacinth-like spikes of dainty green flowers with recurving petals and contrasting dark purple filaments and yellow stamens are held above the spotted succulent lax green foliage in spring after a dry winter dormancy. This is an easy to grow dwarf scilla or squill, tentatively Ledebouria socialis 'Laxifolia' as there are many similar horticultural forms within this species, is a dwarf growing, evergreen herbaceous tropical succulent that grows from a thickened above ground bulb and readily multiplies happily filling its container. This should make an easy windowsill, porch, or patio plant where it receives bright indirect sunlight or a small amount of cool early morning or filtered sunlight. Provide this easy to grow plant with a well-drained, cactus-like soil and allow the soil to become moderately dry between waterings. If it gets too dry it will wilt to let you know but it readily recovers once moisture is applied. During active growth, average moisture is preferred and it can be allowed to remain a good deal dryer when dormant. We ship 3 or more bulbs actively growing in a 4.5" pot. Item# 12452

Large, soft lemony yellow flowers with paler lower lips and slightly darker tubes and hoods are produced in spikes from mid to late spring until fall attracting hummingbirds, occasional larger butterflies, and larger bees. Lemon Pie Salvia, likely a hybrid of Salvia greggii the Autumn Sage, develops into a compact 18-24"H x 12-18"W with good flower power. Its smaller stature lends it to use as a (forgiving) container plant for a sunny area or add it to the garden and landscape. Provide a well-drained soil in full to mostly sunny conditions and never keep soggy wet. An RHS Award of Garden Merit winner! Images courtesy of Jadelty Plant Propagation Nursery, all rights reserved. Item# 13141

Large dense spikes of bright sunny yellow tubular flowers are held above the deep green foliage beginning in late spring and continuing into fall attracting a variety of pollinators. Lemon POPSICLE™ Kniphofia is a dwarf, repeat flowering perennial and is small and compact enough to enjoy in containers or as easy, colorful, and low maintenance additions to the sunny garden and landscape. The Red Hot Pokers, Tritoma, or Kniphofias are clump forming, naturally evergreen, heat and sun loving perennials that are drought, deer, and rabbit resistant. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in an average moist well-drained soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Terra Nova Nurseries, Inc., www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13325

An impressively cold hardy fig producing medium-sized amber, brown to near burgundy colored fruit with rich sweet amber flesh. Letizia Fig is sometimes compared to Chicago Hardy with which it shares exceptional hardiness into zone 6 but the fruit may be slightly smaller. It is also known to produce a breba or early crop along with the typical main fruit crop. This is an heirloom Italian fig that was brought from the Marche region of Italy in the early 1900's by the family of Steve and Peg Castorani and was named in honor of Steve's mother Letizia. Steve's family has grown and fruited this plant in Hockessin, Delaware since about 1965 and Steve brought cuttings to their North Creek Nursery near Landenberg, Pennsylvania where it apparently has done well in a semi-protected 'hot garden'. Burpee suggested that they name it and propagate and it quickly sold out. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and fruit production. Protect young trees for the first few years especially in zones 8A and colder while they become established. Caterpillar host: Ruddy Daggerwing. Item# 12727

A rare and unusual succulent, the Lifesaver Cactus produces burgundy and tan star-shaped flowers that look as though a grape lifesaver has been stuck perfectly in their center. This is a low growing to trailing succulent with softly toothed 4-angled thick succulent stems that root into the soil anywhere they are in contact with it making it an easy plant to share. The Lifesaver Cactus makes for an easy and forgiving container plant for a porch, patio, or window and prefers a well-draining cactus-like soil. Grow it in an area that receives high indirect sunlight as it normally grows in the shade of larger desert plants in its native Africa. Allow the soil to become moderately dry between waterings and never keep the soil soggy wet. Item# 489

Deep violet flowers with a white eye hang like grapes from this upright to arching, deciduous to semi-evergreen shrub. The flowers of Lindley's Butterfly Bush, Buddleja lindleyana, are produced nearly continuously from late spring to fall and attract a variety of pollinators including hummingbirds, butterflies, and larger bees. This is a naturally suckering shrub and will slowly develop into a mass that can be utilized as an informal hedge or at the back of the border. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in well-drained soils for optimal vigor and flowering. Item # 341

This Black-Eyed Susan gets a gold star for flower power! An improved truly dwarf selection of the award winning Goldsturm, Little Goldstar Black-Eyed Susan produces loads of dark eyed golden yellow daisies on well branched sturdy stems beginning in summer and continuing into fall. All on a neat and tidy compact native perennial with deep green foliage that is deer and drought resistant once established. LIttle Goldstar Rudbeckia lends itself to use in formal settings, mass plantings, as well as for a bright spot of summer long color in less formal perennial gardens and landscapes. Image courtesy of North Creek Nurseries. Item# 10920

Dense pyramidal clusters composed of hundreds of soft lemony yellow flowers are produced on short sturdy 12-18" high stems in mid to late summer attracting a wide array of pollinators. Little Lemon Goldenrod is a hybrid selected for its flower power, uncommon color, compact well-branched habit, and good garden manners, in that it stays where you put it. This little goldenrod is a hardy and reliable, deer resistant, clump forming perennial that is compact and tidy enough for container culture but may be at its best in a garden or landscape setting. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in an average moist, well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of North Creek Nurseries, all rights reserved. Item# 10280

Like the award winning Limelight™ but in a smaller package with equal punch! The large conical shaped flower clusters open white in summer, fade into chartreuse, begins to take on pink tones and deepening to burgundy in fall with a show that lasts for months. Little Lime® Panicle Hydrangea is a compact 3-5' x 3-5', deciduous shrub with strong sturdy stems that will prefer full sun in cooler climates to afternoon shade in hot summer climates and an average moist to moist, well-drained, fertile soil. This Proven Winners® Color Choice® selection is small enough to enjoy in medium to large containers as well as an informal hedge or specimen in the garden and landscape. Little Lime® Panicle Hydrangea has won mulitple awards including the 2016 Landscape Plant of the Year! Item# 9493

Little Volcano Lespedeza adds loads of color to the fall garden in shades of purple, pink, and near red. The arching branches of Little Volcano Japanese Lespedeza are covered by large clusters of dainty pea-shaped flowers over an extended period in September and October with spring flowering on plants that are not frozen back hard. A durable pest and disease resistant shrub-like perennial that may freeze to the ground in the northern portions of its range, where winters are milder it will act as a deciduous shrub. A popular plant for native bees and honeybees. Caterpillar host: Silver Spotted Skipper. Item# 10672.

When most plants are fading this delicate looking plant is blooming. You will not be disappointed with this garden gem!!, says one savvy gardener !!