SELECTED PLANTS FOR DROUGHTTOLERANT LANDSCAPES
Linda Magrum, Yolo County Master
Gardener
Taylor Lewis, Nursery Manager, UC
Davis Arboretum
Drought-tolerant Plants for a
Mediterranean Climate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
California native plants
Plants native some parts of South America
Plants native to Mediterranean
Plants native to Central Europe and Near East
Plants native to China
Plants native to Australia and New Zealand
Plants native to South Africa
Arboretum All-Stars
Water Requirements of Plants
as defined by the Sunset Western Garden Book
and/or U. C. Davis Arboretum
• None: Once established, the plant survives on
natural rainfall in its native environment
• Little: Plant is quite drought-tolerant. Once
established, it may need deep watering once a
month during the dry season.
• Moderate: Once established, plant needs a deep
watering every 2 to 3 weeks.
• Regular: Once established, plant needs water at
least once a week, more in hotter weather. Soil
should not be too dry or too wet.
Drought-tolerant Perennials
for Part Shade to Shade
Aloe ‘Johnson’s Hybrid’
(Johnson’s Hybrid aloe)
Aspidistra elatior
(cast iron plant)
Bouteloua gracilis
(blue grama grass)
Bulbine frutescens
(Cape balsam)
Bulbine frutescens
(Cape balsam)
Dicliptera suberecta
(hummingbird bush)
Echeveria hybrid 'After Glow’
(After Glow hen and chicks)
Echeveria x imbricata
(hen and chicks)
Festuca glauca
(blue fescue)
Helleborus orientalis (Lenten rose)
Heuchera maxima
(island alum root)
Heuchera micrantha
(coral bells)
Heuchera sanguinea
(coral bells)
Salvia elegans (pineapple sage)
Salvia spathacea
(hummingbird sage)
Zephranthes candida
(Argentine rain lily, fairy lily)
Zephranthes grandiflora
(pink rain lily, fairy lily)
Drought-tolerant Shrubs
for Part Shade to Shade
Abutilon hybrid (flowering maple)
Calycanthus occidentalis (spicebush)
Correa pulchella ‘Pink Eyre’
(Pink Eyre Australian fuchsia)
Correa pulchella ‘Pink Eyre’
(Pink Eyre Australian fuchsia)
Daphne odora 'Marginata'
(winter daphne)
Mahonia aquifolium (Oregon grape)
Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Soft Caress’
(Soft Caress mahonia)
Mahonia repens
(creeping Oregon grape)
Osmanthus fragrans (sweet olive)
Osmanthus fragrans (sweet olive)
Ribes sanguineum
(red flowering currant)
Plant Selection References
• UC Davis Arboretum All-Star
Databasehttp://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant_se
arch.aspx
• UCCE Yolo County
Publicationshttp://ceyolo.ucdavis.edu/Gardening
_and_Master_Gardening/Free_Gardening_Hando
uts/
• Sunset Western Garden Book