Having just faced one of the hottest weeks on record, would love to see a list of plants that have come out shining in your garden? (add your location and, perhaps, your annual rainfall)
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Bit hard to chose, here are just a few particularly notable, including a couple that are perhaps less commonly used, as well as some that are very common (probably a reason for the latter – they live!). Malmsbury. Rainfall approx 600mm
Aloe sp.
Beschorneria yuccoides
Carex testacea
Cistus x argenteus ‘Silver Pink’
Echinops ritro ‘Veitchs Blue’
Euphorbia cyparissias
Origanum vulgare
Pistacia vera
Punica granatum
Sedum sp.
Tamarix ramosissima
Teucrium fruticans
Teucrium hircanicum
Thymus sp.
Rosmarinus officinalis
Salvia africana-lutea
Salvia lancelota
Incredible, isn’t it, how drought tolerant those carexes are? They love water if they can get it, but the difference between their preference and their tolerance would seem to be substantially greater than most plants.
At my place – Woodend, Victoria, average rainfall about 700mm (of which we’ve so far had less than 2/3rd)
Showing no signs of heat stress – yet
Annuals
Ammi majus (the only annual (of my very few) not to be worried at all by it yet
Perennials
Euphorbia rigida
Euphorbia ‘Copton Ash’
Verbena rigida
Dianthus sp.
Artemisia canescens
Sedums various
Stipa gigantea
Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’
Bulbs – flowering now
Triteleia laxa
In Adelaide – driest state on the driest continent etc – annual rainfall 540mm.
Cotinus coggyria
Ballota pseudodictamnus
Calamagrostis ‘Karl Forster’
Centaurea gymnocarpa
Correa nummularifolia / alba
Cotinus coggygria
Juniperus sp. I like horizontalis ‘Douglasii’
Lavandula angustifolia
Lomandra sp. esp. longifolia.
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Thriptomene saxicola
Trachelospermum sp.
Agree the euphorbia sp. can’t be beat in the heat, along with the usual succulents which don’t look too bad interspersed sparingly with softer plants.
Sonoran Low Desert Arizona
330mm avg rainfall
41.5 avg summer temps
Euphorbia Firesticks
Euphorbia Candelilla
Euphorbia resinifera
Euphorbia polycarpa
Desert Senna
Saguaro cactus
Agave Americana
Agave parrii
Desert Agave
Banana yucca
Desert Milkweed
I’m in Highlands, just north of Yea, 640m, annual rainfall 800 mm if you are lucky. I have a dry garden, no lawn, just gravel and pants have to be able to survive without irrigation. We’re also on top of a hill so that brings additional challenges of strong winds from every direction. A bit of a nightmare for a gardener but great views and lots of borrowed landscapes!Rhagodia spinscens is my most successful plant and it is so easy to shape.
Plants not pants and spinescens not my typo!
In Riddells Creek with about 500 mm of rain a year looking good today:
Beschorneria yuccoides
Beschorneria septentrionalis
Salvias – all of them
Gaura or whatever it’s called now
Hesperaloe parviflora
Geranium/Pelargonium ‘Big Red’
Eucomis comosa cvs
Erigeron ‘Elsie’
Some dwarf pink Argyranthemum
Euphorbia rigida
Rosmarinus cvs
Osteospermum cvs
Cistus sp
Stachys byzantina
Miscanthus cvs
Phlomis fruticosa
Buddleia crispa
Leucadendron ‘Safari Sunset’
Heliohebe hulkeana (but it is on the south side of the house) as is
Astelia ‘Silver Spear’
Carpobrotus sps
They’re all growing in a layer of hydrophobic silty sand over silty clay.
We have had a wet winter and spring in our district in the Emerald (Dandenong Ranges). 860mm to date. All that rain doesn’t mean a thing after a week or two of dry weather when you are faced with poor sandy loam imported by the previous owner (tons and tons of it – what she did with the existing beautiful mountain soil is anyone’s guess. So I am faced with similar conditions as you would find near the beach (as far as soils go). Things that do ok are Clamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’, Hylotelephium (new name for Sedum), Penstemons (‘Alice Hindley’ especially), Juniperus horizontalis (on steep enmabnkments that are never irrigated), Loropetalum (never watered), Hellebores, Deutzia ‘Nikko’ (never watered), Abelia, Rosemary both the upright and prostrate forms, creeping thymes, wild marjoram, Indigofera australia.
australis not australia automatically changed itself!
Astonished to hear that the Deutzia survives no water. Not sure why I’m astonished. That raspy foliage probably suggests that it’s tougher than I’ve given it credit for
My Deutzia died in the drought we’ve been having in NSW Southern Highlands, even though I did periodically give it water.
I was so happy to come across your blog post of April ’19 on aridity Michael. I know now I am not alone in dreading the summer heat and what it does to the garden. Even with water and care plants droop in 40 degree days or shrivel up! I look so forward to spring but in my heart know it is short-lived and then we have months of summer and dry autumns to cope with and bedraggled gardens. Just as well we gardeners are eternal optimists (or wear rose coloured glasses!). I also read your post about changing our preceptions on plantings after speaking with a garden designer in Germany – I am not totally convinced though that German garden conditions can even begin to equate to our harsh summers. I did agree with her ideas on greenery in cities and the importance of keeping cities green even if it means irrigation – just plain common sense really.
Setting the criteria at anything that can take 40-degree-plus days with high winds and not only survive but continue to look good; it’s a seemingly high bar with a surprising number of stoic plants.
Metro Melbourne, 650mm. We’ve peaked over 40 degrees this summer 8 times already. Supplementary irrigation applied once only this year so far, about two weeks ago.
In my own garden:
Annuals:
California poppy – they’re still flowering
Cosmos sulphureous – trialled this year, has performed surprisingly well
Nicotiana sylvestris – has to be one of the most dramatic annuals going
Amaranthus spp. – very underrated in my opinion
Perennials & bulbs:
Gaura cvs, is there anything this plant won’t stand?
Centaurea bella, absolutely indestructible
Nepeta ‘Purrsian Blue’
Perovskia atriplicifolia
Agastache ‘Sweet Lili’
Anthemis cvs. ‘E C Buxton’
Lilium henryi
Ceratostigma ‘Dryspell Sapphire’
Stachys thirkei
Sedum cvs.
Agrimonia eupatorium, I’m in love with it
Miscanthus ‘Adagio’
Persicaria ‘Fat Domino’, provided it gets afternoon shade
I’ve been ruthless withholding water this year, the end result has been more compact growth that is more resilient to hot weather. Sounds counter intuitive, I know, but it’s been revelatory for me. Things can and do wilt on blisteringly hot days, but they perk up after a cool change. The shift from wilt=water now! to wilt=wait and see has been excruciating some days, but worth the learning curve.
So interested to see the inclusion of the Lilium, James. I still haven’t lost my 30 year old conviction that Liliums are for cool, shady spots, so live in perpetual astonishment at all these huge hybrids that seem to laugh at the heat and the dry. And I must give that Agrimonia a go. Never have.
And as for the ‘water or not to water’ question, I’ve so far enjoyed my ‘never water’ stance, if for no other reason that I don’t have to keep wondering whether to. And it’s easier still if, like me, one has no water to give. I know if I had it, I’d use it.
I would add Sisyrinchium and Senecio Serpens to the list here in the foothills of the Strathbogie Ranges, 20kms south of Euroa. I’d also endorse others’ inclusion of Calamagrostis, Euphorbia rigida- the latter’s blue grey foliage intensified on the really hot days of the last month, while other plants became drained of colour.
Yeah, that Sisyrinchium (whose spelling I have to look up every time) is astonishing. Can’t think why I don’t have it here.
Alison from Canberra. Actually a lot of plants have survived this horrific summer in my garden: Diosma, star jasmine, euphorbias, lambs ears, rosemary, wormwood, roses, crepe myrtles, Russian sage, sedums, dietes, cistus, buddleias. I have watered very sparingly but have managed to keep all my fruit trees alive, thankfully.
I started stripping my garden of fishbone fern, ficus and asparagus fern early last year. Over 400 sqm steep sloping land with sandstone terraces.
I started planting native shrubs, grasses, trees and ferns from tube stock. I have been watering them of course, in the early few months of planting and have recently diverted our shower water into one part of the garden.
Nevertheless, it has been dry and we have lost a lot of canopy to the drought in the reserve adjacent to our property, North Wahroonga NSW.
The plants that are thriving now with the rain we have had in the past few weeks and very little watering are:
Dichondra Repens
Isolepis Nodosa
Westringia sp
Poa sp
Lomandra
Dianella
Myoporum sp
Festuca
Oh and I forgot to mention the wonderful catmint. It is a star!
Yes, catmint has continued to flourish in my garden in Adelaide.
Dunno why it’s so easy to overlook catmint – probably cos its just so….easy! If it were twice as tricky to grow, we’d love it twice as much
Yes, catmint is terrific and scabiosa also. Penstemons, like many other perennials are holding up but have not looked as happy or flowered well as in previous years. Thyme, rosemary, sage, lavender all doing well.
My garden in Sawtell, NSW, southern limit of subtropics. Long term average 1700mm, summer dominant. Last 3 years rainfall arriving 2-3 months late and getting about 1/3 less p.a. It’s 300m to the beach and live on top of a hill. Windiest year I can recall in 15 years.
Clivea miniata
Lagerstroemia indica
Delonix regia
Plumeria sp.
Osteospermum sp.
Helichrysum petiolare
Loropetalum chinense -?China Pink
Crocrosmia x cocrosmiiflora
Olea europaea “Helena’
Rhododendron Vireya (surprisingly so – even with big wind, and hail damage they have recovered and doing well)
Costus barbatus
Rhizomatous Begonias (defintely Rex not sure of the other one)
Strelitzia nicolai
Pandanus sp.
Banksia integrifolia
Afframomum cororima -False Cardamon. Doing very well indeed
Zingiber officioinale – Ginger
Curcurma longa – Tumeric
I’m at
I’m at Frenchs Forest, Sydney.
Average rainfall 730mm over the last 10 years. Plants that are laughing off the heat and drought at my place:
Golden duranta
Evergreen Ash
Nandina domestica Nana
Xylosma
Murraya
Spiraea May bush
Crepe Myrtle
Fringe flower Loropetalum
Liriopes
Polygala
Hi, I live in Croydon, Melbourne, sorry I don’t know the average rainfall, but we had no rain at all this year from early November till mid January and several days over 40 degrees.
Plants that I never water are:-
Euphorbias various
Cotinus
aloes
crepe myrtle
cape plumbago
liriope
viburnum tinus
abelia var.
convolvus cnenorum
plus native, succulents and bulbs
Plants Rarely Watered
Trachelospermum
lillypilly varieties
oleanders
agapanthus
camelias
cannas
salvias
sedum
choisya
loropetalum
dicliptera suberecta
box hedging or balls in ground.
I also don’t water hellebores but cut to base when they go daggy, usually around the end of Jan. I then apply some food, compost and mulch and they appear again after rains in Autumn. Happy gardening.
Great to know! I’m just in Ringwood East so I’ll be trying out some of these suggestions.
And it’s so useful to have the ‘no water’ and ‘a little water’ distinction made. A little water expands the list substantially.. Wish I had a little to give mine
Hi all, I’m in Curlewis on the Bellarine in Vic. Average rainfall is 520mm. Over 100mm ytd though. Our garden is under 2 years old. Best performers so far –
Yarrow, surprised first mention.
Catmint
Any Salvia
Lomandra – any
Ficinia nodosa
Poa labillardieri
Hardenbergia violacea
Orange peel thyme
Brachyscome – any
Sedum
Limonium perezii
All our native shrubs – grevillea, leptos, kunzea, banksia etc haven’t missed a beat either.
Cheers
Forgot scaevola.
Wh so, Pat. No good in the heat? the dry?
Not sure of your question sorry Michael? All on my list loving the heat here. Cheers
Tea Tree Tasmania, avg 367m/ year, 207mm last year, Large country garden 10 years old now mostly dying out, peppercorns, olives doing well.
Addit, Irish Strawberry Tree going strong
Echuca – average rain 430mm but much less last year so supplementary water is given with drippers. Have planted rhagodia spinescens on the nature strip – going well after getting established – no longer needs watering. Banksia ericifolia survives on 3 hours of drip irrigation every 5 days . Westringias, thryptomenes, lomandras, dianellas, salvias, sedums etc all surviving on the same regime – salvias wilt a bit but bounce back.
Lordy. Didn’t realise the rainfall was so dismal up there. Though perhaps it shouldn’t described it as such. At the Beth Chatto Sympoium in 2018 there was so much celebration of the dry, that everyone with a decent rainfall felt a bit left out
Hi Michael Just checked in and reading through lists; great idea; interesting to see those that come up repeatedly. One additional factor is frost tolerance – not an issue in all areas but up around here. In Malmsbury I am planting for -5C degrees now, which seems to be a threshold ruling out quite a few succulents; theoretically there are many that are ok, but finding suppliers is another issue. Lyle at Roraima was helpful steering me away from many I would have loved! He noted the later and longer frosts up this way being more problematic than perhaps temperature would suggest.
Yes, Deborah. And its been interesting over the years of the promotion of succulents how little discussion there has been of frost tolerance. Clearly we’re very much on the edge by Aussie standards. No one can believe that I can only rarely flower Wisteria here… Maybe we should start a list of frost-hardy succulents right here. I’ll do it. Now. I’ll start another forum. Would love your input
Acacia cognata ‘mini cog’! They are just fabulous. Lush, vibrant green, blousy and so effortless. I have multiple throughout my dry creek bed garden and not only survive the heat but they actually grow! I’m still giving them the occasional trim to keep them to the size I want. And they do all this on rainfall alone.
The thick mat of fallen leaves at their base suppresses all weeds. Lizards dart in and out of them all day long. You can even feel the coolness on your legs just by walking past them. They are stellar performers in my garden!
I’m near Bendigo with 500mm average rainfall. The mini cogs are growing in local soil (clay) which was ripped prior to planting.
I’m loving hearing this. I thought that A cognata would be addicted to water. And do they sulk in the winter, from the cold?
I’m in Oakleigh East (Melbourne – ave rainfall = 531mm/year)
Just want to give a shout out to a few that have not been mentioned (I don’t think) and need no water at all:
Agapanthus (not the miniatures which do need some supplementary water in summer) – Queen Mum gives a marvellous punctuation of huge sparkling white (actually white flushed blue at the base of each flower) round heads on 1.2m stems that last and last
Grevilleas – the QLD hybrids give a fabulous weeping, airy screen covered in glorious brush flowers – I have a hedge of the following (all grow approx 3m H x 2-3m W, laugh at dry and heat and flower almost all year) – Sylvia (dark pink), Honey Gem (dark gold), Misty Pink (pink and cream), Bush Lemon (yellow), Flamingo (mid salmon pink), Goliath (red ageing to magenta)
Re bulbs for summer and no water – Michael you were asking for other ideas for your steppe – I have grown sprekelias (Jacobean Lilies) for years – they flower from around October through to April holding their waxy red heads just clear of good looking dark green foliage. They do not need to be divided to continue to flower well (set and forget). However you can dig them up each year to create new clumps – you can have loads in no time – and they are cheap as chips
Finally Nerium oleander – yes – oleanders (they are poisonous, but so are euphorbias and everyone plants those – my advice is plant oleanders and just don’t eat them) – they grow fabulously from cuttings too – my hedge is all cuttings from the neighbourhood
Gardening in Kyneton, Central Victoria. Not dissimilar climate to Michael in Woodend but maybe a bit drier over summer. Long term average rain 750 mm, last 20 odd years 625 mm. Garden is not irrigated. Good performers this summer (no surprises maybe):
Hyotelephium Autumn Joy, Matrona and Beth Chatto’s form,
Santolina EABowles,
Vitex agnes-castus,
Origanum Herrenhausen,
Phlomis Cream Delight and Lloyds Variety,
Perovskia (but it’s skittish, some plants are great and others battle),
Arbutus x andrachnoides,
Arctostaphylos Howard McMinn,
Stipa gigantea,
Poa Suggan Buggan,
Achillea Coronation Gold,
Atremisia Lambrook Silver,
Epilobium Catalina,
Cotyledon orbiculata (gets battered in frosty winters but has come back every time so far),
Eriogonum fasciculosum.
Great list. I can feel a serious Eriogonum addiction kicking in, having seen a few drop-dead gorgeous ones in Craig Irving’s garden last week
I’m in Melbourne’s inner north and it’s been a challenging summer, very little rain and many days well over 40. I recently planted out my naturestrip after pulling out large plantings of agapanthus. The soil was pretty rubbish, a huge Gleditisia further depleting it. I’ve been trialling all sorts of plantings but among those that have done well – mulched but receiving little to no water other than rainfall – are abutilon, various grasses, erigeron, catmint, sedum (though looks even better with an occasional drink), euphorbia, lambs ears though they can look pretty unhappy when temperatures climb, gaura, geraniums which if looked after, can look fabulous, echium, various sages, bottle brush and grevillea. Amazingly, an olive tree succumbed and my crepe myrtle is struggling. Though not in my naturestrip, wanted to mention delphiniums and canterbury bells – both cope amazingly well with extreme heat and never stop flowering. Gardening is full of surprises.
How incredible! Delphiniums and Canterbury bells! Who’d have thought?
Hi,
We’re on extreme water restrictions about to go onto level 6 next week. We’ve lost multiple decades old established trees and about 70% of all the plants in the garden including roses, Salvias and all the other drough tolerant plants I’ve planted.
However the standouts are those that have made it through this harsh summer heat on very little water and are still looking great. They are:
Stacy’s Lamb’s ears
Centranthus river -Red Valerian
Salvia African Sky
Californian poppies
Corn flowers
Snap dragons
There are others that have made it through, but look tired and sick, so I’ve left them off the list.
We’re in Bathurst so these plants also survive hard frosts and temps down to -8.4. Winners I think😊
Winners indeed. Though I assume the annuals were dormant for the worst of the weather? Although in re-reading, it would seem that the cornflowers and snapdragons were performing in the dry, is that correct?
I’m in Kyneton, Vic – annual rainfall is about 600 mm these days. Quite a few others from my area have already noted their success stories and mine have been similar. I’d also add these, which I never water, yet they don’t skip a beat:
Miscanthus transmorrisonensis
Miscanthus sinensis “Adagio”, “Kleine Fontaine” and “Silberfeder”
Calamagrostis x acutiflora “Overdam” and “Karl Foerster”
Kyneton again. Miscanthus and Calamagrostis have been good but last summer (4 dry months) did try them out. A few years in a row like that and I might have reservations. This summer is obviously fine with that rain we’ve had.