It’s amazing how every time I go to the big box retail stores and I look to buy some gadget that I need, there will be a stamp on it that says, “some assembly required”. That means I’m in trouble. I probably won’t read the instructions, I’ll probably put it together backwards, and eventually I’ll stumble around until it works. Well, I’m here to tell you that when it comes to plants in your yard, especially when we’re all trying to do our part and be water-wise gardeners, some dirt is required. What I mean by that is, you can’t just take a water-wise plant – or any other plant for that matter – and stuff it in the ground without doing some soil prep and without giving it some soil to grow in.

San Diego is fraught with lousy soils, and if you take your plants and just stick them in the lousy soils, well, they’re going to be plants that just act like they were stuck in lousy soils. So, if you want them to be drought tolerant, you’re going to need to have some good soil for them to grow in to. So think about that before you plant your plants. Do some soil prep as needed, or add some topsoil. Then, don’t stop watering until they actually get some roots. Many, many plants that are incredibly drought tolerant will die if you don’t get them established in the first place. So, consider that when you’re starting to plant your garden.