Drought Resistant Plants

A low growing, clump forming to slowly spreading perennial the Southern Prairie Aster produces 1" wide, medium purple to lighter pinkish purple daisies with a yellow eye atop sturdy upright to arching stems beginning in late summer and lasting into fall. This is another Aster that is native to sandy dryer upland soils and so is somewhat drought resistant once well-established. Excellent for native pollinators.Caterpillar host: Field Crescent, Pearl Crescent, Texan Crescent, Roadside Checkerspot, Hoffman's Checkerspot, and American Lady.  Item# 10694.

A freely flowering summer blooming Snapdragon, this easy to grow perennial produces dense spikes of soft rosy pink flowers with primrose yellow and peachy orange nectar guides that sit atop a compact mound of handsome fuzzy gray-green foliage. The Spanish Snapdragon, a native of the drier Meditteranean region of Europe, is a suprisingly winter hardy species growing about twice as wide as it is high and may trail somewhat when grown as a container plant. It is best suited to soils with excellent drainage in a full to mostly sunny location and makes a forgiving container specimen that will dazzle for weeks. Even with its preferences for drier conditions it has been quite tolerant of growing in average moist well-drainedsoils in our hot and humid southern zone 8B climate. Moderately drought resistant once well-established and considered to be deer and rabbit resistant. Caterpillar host: Common Buckeye. Item# 11695

A U.S. National Arboretum introduction, Sparkleberry Holly was selected for its ability to produce a dramatic, long-lasting display of deep glowing red berries in dense clusters that seemingly cover the generally upright to arching stems of this vigorous deciduous holly. Masses of tiny greenish white spring flowers are soon followed by small round fruit that ripen to a deep, clear red. In fall the foliage turns to yellow and is quickly shed to display the bare stems adorned with massive clusters of brilliantly colored berries that can remain well into spring. Item# 10723.

A climbing sport of the popular found Rose Martha Gonzales, it produces deep red single flowers throughout the growing season. The dark green healthy foliage is accented by dark burgundy new growth. Speedy Gonzales Climbing Rose is another excellent selection and introduction by noted Texas horticulturist and author Greg Grant. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a moderately fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 11672

Clusters of 1" orange tubular blooms are born throughout much of the year where protected from frost and freezes or it acts as a die-back perennial in the northern portions of its range. Shade and drought tolerant, deer resistant, and a favorite of Hummingbirds, how can you go wrong with Spicy Justicia? It flowers in sun or shade, though plants may be healthiest and most floriferous when grown with afternoon or midday shade, in well-drained, average moist, moderately fertile soils. Caterpillar host: White Peacock and Malachite. Item# 654.

Dainty, nectar-rich, late winter to midspring, greenish white flowers are followed by sweet, clear orange, 3/8" diameter berries with a flavor reminiscent of cantaloupe ripen in fall. Like all of our native Hackberry species, the Spiny Hackberry, Celtis pallida or C. ehrenbergiana, is an important host plant for the Hackberry butterflies (American Snout, Cuban Snout, Empress Leilia, Dusky Emperor, Tawny Emperor, Hackberry Emperor, etc...) as well as the Red-Bordered Metalmark. The ripe fruit are devoured by a variety of birds and other wildlife. Human nibblers should be aware that the fruit does contain a large pit. The Spiny or Desert Hackberry develops into a large shrub or small tree that seems to prefer average moist soils but as the name implies it is quite drought tolerant once well-established. Item# 10682

The beautifully mottled, splashed, and flecked yellowish, chartreuse, and deeper green variegated succulent ovate foliage adorns the zig-zagging stems of this upright growing succulent and summer may bring a ring-like cluster of 1" long deep red, bird-shaped flowers that attract hummingbirds and give the plant its common name. The Splish Splash or Mottled Red Bird Cactus is an easy to grow highly decorative form of this heirloom and Florida native plant that has an easy and forgiving disposition creating fantastic, architecturally pleasing specimens. A shrub-like native of tropical forests of southern Florida and as far south as Central America, it makes an easy porch or patio plant where it partial shade to bright shade but can also be enjoyed as an easy indoor plant.  Allow the soil to become somewhat dry between waterings although it can tolerant more moisture when in active growth and less during winter. Item# 12608

Whorls of curving, tubular, yellow to cream flowers, commonly with purple dots, are held above the whorls of colorful bracts ranging from cream, to pink, to purple tones are produced in late spring and summer with the colorful bracts providing interest often into fall. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and occasional hummingbirds. Spotted Horsemint, Monarda punctata, is a clump forming, native perennial with lemony to oregano scented, narrow foliage. It is found throughout much of the central and eastern US and as far west as New Mexico and is commonly found on dryish, well-drained, and often poor, sandy soils. Spotted Horsemint makes an easy and reliable addition to naturalistic settings like roadsides, prairies, and meadows. Readily reseeds on exposed soils. Deer and rabbit resistant. Prefers a full sun site in well-drained soils.

A 1958 Monrovia introduction, Spreading Sunset Lantana produces rounded clusters of nectar rich flowers that open yellow and fade through shades of orange to near red creating an overall orange effect. This a trailing Lantana that lends itself to use as a groundcover in the garden or landscape or as a spiller from large containers. The flowers attract a variety of pollinators especially butterflies and bees. Provide a full to mostly sunny position for the best results. Item# 11048

The large, white lined, fragrant red trumpets of St. Joseph's Lily are born atop thick sturdy stems in late spring. This is one of the very best and hardiest Amaryllis for the garden and readily multiplies into a mass of bulbs. A very easy and low maintenance perennial that has long been a staple of Southern gardens. Read more from Greg Grant and SFA Gardens Outreach by clicking the 'More Info...' link below. Here is an insight to its hardiness from this paper "I had to look no further that my Shelby county kinfolks to find that the toughest garden amaryllis of all was also one of the oldest. Hippeastrum x johnsonii, the St. Joseph's lily, is reportedly the first hybrid amaryllis ever produced." - Greg Grant.Item# 11814

The large, white lined, fragrant red trumpets of St. Joseph's Lily are born atop thick sturdy stems in late spring. This is one of the very best and hardiest Amaryllis for the garden and readily multiplies into a mass of bulbs. A very easy and low maintenance perennial that has long been a staple of Southern gardens. Item# 3059.

Masses of 2" wide starry white flowers with a green eye that shine against the deep green foliage are produced in spring with repeat flowering in summer and into fall. A dwarf hybrid developed by Dr. Tom Ranney at J.C. Raulston Arboretum, Star Flower Orion Anise Shrub or Illicium was selected not only for its showy white spring flowers and compact habit but also for its unique ability to repeat flower in summer and into fall. These adaptable evergreen shrubs are tolerant of moist to relatively dry shade as well as full sun conditions. Provide a moist to average moist soil until well-established. Illiciums are one the few shrubs that can be considered 'deer proof'. Foliage may be slightly yellowish to more of an olive green in full sun conditions whereas it is deeper green to almost blue-green in shade. Not a spice plant. Images courtesy of Star Roses and Plants, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 12002

The rounded clusters of flowers open a bright golden yellow and mature through bright pumpkin orange and finally into deep red tones all the while attracting a wide variety of pollinators with their nectar reward from spring until fall. Star Landing Lantana was selected for its low mounding habit, excellent flower power, vigor and reliable zone 7B cold hardiness. Use it as a groundcover in the garden and landscape for traffic stopping color throughout the growing season as well as for low-maintenance container specimens. When planted alone it is reported to produce almost no seed. Provide a full sun to partly shaded site in an average moist, average to well-drained, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Item# 12886

The 4-angled, slightly fuzzy, mainly upright, deep olive green succulent stems produce 10" wide star-fish shaped, light creamy yellow flowers that are heavily overlaid with burgundy. The flowers are meant to attract Bot Flies for pollination with a fragrance of rotting meat and so the aroma is 'unforgettable'. The Starfish Cactus, Stapelia gigantea, is an easily grown, low-maintenance, densely branching cactus-like succulent that quickly develops into a mass of upright to trailing stems growing to about 8" high. During the warmer months of the year, once nighttime temperatures remain above about 55^oF and daytime temperatures are above 75^oF the Starfish Cactus can be enjoyed outdoors. It also makes an easy indoor plant for a windowsill provided it receives some direct sunlight to high indirect sunlight at a minimum. Provide a sharply draining cactus like soil mix and never allow plants to remain soggy wet. Item# 658

Slender twining stems with heart-shaped leaves often having gray-green or purple markings on top of the leaves and reddish-purple undersides. Mature vines of the String of Hearts, typically 12" or longer, may produce exotic parachute-like dark purplish pink flowers with an unusual dark purplish brown parachute on top. A very easy to grow, low care, indoor plant. Item# 661

A trailing, perennial succulent with flat, round, ½” grayish leaves, which give the appearance of hanging coins on a string. The String of Nickels produces clusters of tiny creamy white flowers that may be followed by fuzzy white seeds. This unique trailing plant from the tropical rain forest is easy to grow making beautiful hanging baskets or cascading down the sides of tall pots as well as in terrariums and even on living wreaths. item# 655.

New for 2023! In mid to late summer the plants cover up in up to 6" wide, rounded to flattened clusters of lime-green buds that open to display hundreds of up to 1/2" wide white daisies with a contrasting yellow eye held on sturdy 18-24"H stems. The flowers attract a variety of smaller pollinators. Sugar Kisses is a hybrid goldenrod, or Solidago, developed by Brent Horvath of Intrinsic Perennials and selected for its unusual bicolor flowers and its more mannerly clump-forming habit. This herbaceous sunloving perennial is adaptable to soil types and is not likely to be bothered by deer and rabbits. Provide a full sun to mostly sunny site in an average to well-drained, average moist, fertile soil for optimum vigor and flowering. Images courtesy of Brent Horvath, Intrinsic Perennials, Inc., all rights reserved. Item# 13163

Beautiful yellow tubular blooms are born from spring to fall. Attracts hummingbirds and butterflies make this a lovely vine for fence, arbor or trellis. Caterpillar host: Chalcedon Checkerspot. It is evergreen and vigorous, but easy to control. Item # 1075.

Wonderfully fragrant large white trumpets that are softly blushed with pink toward the edges of the petals are borne on sturdy 2' stalks. Summer Nocturne starts flowering in mid-summer and may continue flowering well into fall. A very reliable and long-lived, slowly multiplying bulbous perennial with medium green strap-like foliage. A Thad Howard hybrid. Item# 9682.

A new twist on an old garden favorite! The glowing golden and golden variegated new growth provide the appearance of a Forsythia but this one revels in Southern summers. The bright yellow flowers which are borne in early spring into summer are almost lost among the brilliant yellow foliage. This a large fountaining to trailing shrub. Item # 9244

A flower power machine! SUNNY DAYS™ Lemon Coneflower produces wave after wave of large, dark lemon yellow, fragrant, upward facing flowers with frilly, nectar rich cones from summer into fall. This is a hardy clump forming perennial that will do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny site. The flower power and bright color lends this nativar to use as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13081

SUNNY DAYS™ Ruby Coneflower produces wave after wave of large, claret ruby red, fragrant, upward facing flowers with frilly, nectar rich cones from summer into fall. The double, anemone-like flowers hold their dark coloration with little fading and attract a variety of pollinators and garden beneficials. This is a hardy clump forming perennial that will do best in fertile, well-drained, average moist soils in a full to mostly sunny site. The flower power and bright color lends this nativar to use as a container plant as well as in the garden and landscape. Leave seedheads for fall and winter songbirds to enjoy. Photos courtesy of TERRA NOVA® Nurseries, Inc. www.terranovanurseries.com, all rights reserved. Item# 13082

Large dense burgundy to purple tinged flower spikes and calyxes contrast nicely with the sunny yellow pea-like flowers and are held above the rich foliage in spring. Sunny Morning Prairieblues™ Baptisia or False Indigo, is a Baptisia sphaerocarpa x B. alba hybrid developed by Dr. Jim Ault of the Chicago Botanic Gardens and Chicagoland Grows and that exhibits a strong resemblence its yellow flowered parent, B. sphaerocarpa, and begins flowering about a week to ten days early than the species and maintains a dense uniform habit throughout the growing season. It was selected as one of the top ten in the 2012-15 Baptisia Trials at Mount Cuba Center and is reported to produce as many as 250 flowering stems on mature plants! The Prairieblues™ Baptisias were selected not only for their unique colors but also for their extra large flower spikes, durability, and vigor. These are easy and low-maintenance, deer resistant, long-lived, taprooted perennials that produce more and more flowering spikes with each passing year. Considered a must for the cutflower garden as the spikes have an excellent vase life. Provide a full to mostly sunny site in a soil with average or better drainage and moderate fertility. Images courtesy of Chicagoland Grows®, all rights reserved. Item# 12465

Sweetly fragrant spikes of tiny white flowers are produced from spring to fall on this little known but easy to grow and tough deciduous shrub. Its intensely fragrant flowers attract a host of pollinators and it is considered to be an especially good honey plant. Sweet Almond Verbena, a 2008 Florida Plant of the Year, is a vigorous and pest free, heat and sun loving loving large shrub to small tree. Plant it with Sweet Olive, Gardenia, and Banana Magnolia to have outdoor fragrance nearly year round in zones 8-9. Item# 11894