For the last several years Mother Nature has dealt California in general a severe drought. The lack of rain coupled with California’s water politics have left Southern California with a double drought – one natural and the other political. All this has left most of Southern California scrambling to save more water and switch to drought tolerant plants.

For the most part, the awareness of and interest in drought tolerant plants is a good thing. But don’t jump off the deep end to “pave paradise and put up a parking lot.”

All of a sudden, Southern California is being categorized as the ‘Desert Southwest’. Well, it isn’t, and it shouldn’t look like it is. It does – and has – rained here in the winter and it will again. So, all we really need are plants that can tolerate the drought that occurs every year in Southern California from spring until late fall, hence the term ‘drought tolerant plants’. Many of these plants are California natives, while others that do especially well here are native to other arid zones of the planet such as the Mediterranean, Australia, and parts of Africa and tropical America.

The first and obvious steps toward achieving a drought tolerant landscape are to remove the water guzzling turf areas and add inert groundcover to these areas as well as planter beds. That’s a good start, but the next step is where you need the help of the drought tolerant plant experts here at Evergreen Nursery. Sure, you can fill your yard with succulents and cactus – and we have a large selection of those pokey critters to choose from. If you like that look, by all means you should proceed. But, if you’re not ready to make the ‘we live in a desert’ leap, don’t despair; there are tons of drought tolerant plant choices out there. Our experts can help guide you through them, and you can have your yard looking like a tropical oasis on the edge of everyone else’s desert and still save water.

Please refer to our drought tolerant plant product list for more information on these native plants.

List of Drought Tolerant Plants

Type

E = Evergreens
D = Deciduous
P = Palm
C = Conifer
B = Bulb

Water Needs

1 = Can become drought tolerant with correct watering techniques
2 = Needs some summer water
3 = Will survive on natural rainfall once established