Perennials Flashcards
Hummingbird Mint
Agastache aurantiaca
Water use: Low
Hummingbird mint are tough, drought tolerant perennials that have a nice mounded foliage with spikes of colorful flowers. A. aurantica has many selections with varying shades of orange flowers atop gray-green foliage. The minty smell of both foliage and flowers is especially fragrant after a rain storm. The flowers bloom mid-late summer and are adored by hummingbirds. Deer resistant.
Texas Hummingbird Mint
Agastache cana
Water Use: Low
An essential plant for the low-water garden, hummingbird mint entices the tiny birds with tall spikes of dark pink tubular flowers whorled along the stem. Bright green foliage is sweetly fragrant after the rain or when brushed by. Agastache cana is native to Texas and New Mexico and adapted to hot, arid conditions. The flowers bloom mid-late summer and bloom until the frost. Deer resistant.
Sunset Hyssop
Agastache rupestris
Water Use: Low
Sunset hyssop, like the rest of the Agastache genus, is an exceptional perennial for low-water landscapes, offering scented foliage and beautiful, nectar-rich flowers that attract hummingbirds and bees. The orange-to-salmon colored tubular flowers have purplish calyxes and bloom on tall wands above the soft, green foliage. Native to the high mountains of the Southwest, sunset hyssop is quite drought tolerant once established. Deer resistant.
Hyssop
Agastache x ‘Blue Fortune’
Water Use: Low - Moderate
This mounding perennial with scented foliage and whorls of blue flowers is a hummingbird and pollinator magnet. The coarse textured, bright green leaves with silver undersides release a sweet, minty fragrance when touched by the rain or a passerby. The blue flowers on large 5” spikes will bloom through the summer with regular deadheading. ‘Blue Fortune’ is a vigorous grower and not too picky about its location. It is a cross between between A. rugosa and A. foeniculum.
Colorado Desert Bluestar
Amsonia jonesii
Water use: Low
Rabbits, deer, drought, poor soil…this western native perennial can resist it all with grace and beauty. It will be one of the first things to bloom in the spring with tubular blue flower that open into stars and fade to white. Colorado desert blue star is also valued for its fall foliage, which turns a crisp beautiful yellow.
Columbine
Aquilegia spp.
Water Use: Low - Moderate
Columbines are not a desert plant, but there a few varieties that can handle a little less water-especially if they are planted in the shade. These plants are fairly tough and good for high elevations and deer resistance. A. chrysantha (golden spur columbine) and A. formosa (Western columbine). Its a good idea to make sure that there is adequate mulch to keep moisture in.
Butterfly Milkweed
Hardy Plumbago
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Water Use: Low - Moderate
Hardy plumbago is a remarkably versatile groundcover that requires very little water, no maintenance, and performs well in both sun and shade. Shiny emerald green foliage emerges in late spring and turns red in the fall. Its show-stopping deep blue flowers bloom in late summer and last through the fall. It is drought tolerant and resistant to deer
Purple Prairie Clover
Dalea (Petalostemon) purpurea
Water Use: Low
Native to the great plans. Unique shaped flowers bloom mid-summer with a bright magenta/purple
Fire Chalice or Hummingbird Trumpet
Epilobium (Zauschneria) garrettii
Water Use: Low
Fire chalice is an essential perennial for the low-water garden. The soft, bright green foliage becomes a show of red-orange flowers during the height of summer and into fall. File chalice is low growing and spreads via underground stems to create a dense mecca for hummingbirds. Once established, it requires minimal water, although regular water during blooming will extend the show.
Fire chalice has recently been moved from the genus Zauschneria to the fireweed genus (Epilobium), and zauschneria is still used as a common name for the low-growing, colorful groundcover. Within the genus, there are a variety of species available in the trade including E. canum, E. latifolia, E. arizonica, E. californica, and various cultivars-including some peach and salmon-colored selections. They are Western natives found throughout the Intermountain West and California.
Sulphur Buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum
Water Use: Very low - Low
Sulphur buckwheat is a low-growing very drought tolerant perennial that is native to the Intermountain West. It makes an excellent groundcover and is quite cold-tolerant. Excellent in hot, dry areas with poor soils-as long as there is good drainage and can handle gravelly areas where little else can grow. The flowers bloom a bright yellow spring through summer and have attractive rusty colored seed heads in the fall. Small, gray-green leaves offset the bright flowers.
Prairie Smoke, Old Man’s Whiskers
Geum trifolium
Water use: Low - Moderate
Prairie smoke has nodding pink flowers early spring that fade into feathery seedheads. Seedheads are similar to Apache plume and their shape aids in their dispersal. A soft, hairy plant growing typically to 16” tall with fern-like, pinnately divided, green leaves (7-19 leaflets). Spreads by rhizomes and can be naturalized to form an interesting ground cover. Needs good drainage. Very cold tolerant. Full sun.
Rockrose
Helianthemum nummularium
Water Use: Low
Rockrose is a low-growing, drought-tolerant semi-woody shrub that forms an excellent groundccover in low-water gardens The gray-green foliage is covered with small blooms in the spring. Also called sunrose, they come in variety of colors.
Maxmillian Sunflower
Helianthus maximiliani
Water Use: Very low - Low
Tall and vigorous perennial with flowers tightly stacked on the top 2-3 feet. Roots spread via rhizomes and Maxmillian sunflowers are well-adapted to difficult landscape situations such as hot, dry areas and poor soils.
Lenten Rose, Hellebore
Helleborus orientalis
Water Use: Low - Moderate
Clump forming evergreen perennial with dark, leathery leaves. Excellent for dry shade. Prefers moisture, but very drought tolerant once established. Nodding flowers that bloom late winter. Variety of colors available in the trade from white/pale green to pink to maroon.
Texas Red Yucca, Hummingbird Yucca
Hesperaloe parviflora
Water Use: Very low - Low
Hummingbird yucca sends up airy wands of bell-shaped flowers early summer from yucca-like foliage. Flower colors include pink, reds, yellow and apricot and attract hummingbirds and bees. The blue-green sword-like leaves form a clump that adds a dramatic texture to the garden. The evergreen leaves turn purple during cold periods but green up again in spring. Plant in spring in cold regions to allow establishment before winter. Native to Texas. Needs good drainage.
Red Hot Poker, Torch Lily
Kniphofia spp.
Water Use: Low - Moderate
Torch lilies add an exclamation point to any landscape with their bright, dramatic flowers on tall stalks. Selected varieties range in color from pale yellows and greens to bright oranges and reds. The grass-like foliage forms clumps that blend well with ornamental grasses. Native to the mountains of South Africa, there are dozens of varieties of torch lilies available in the nursery trade and range in size, drought tolerance, and cold hardiness.
Lavenders
Lavandula spp.
Water Use: Low
Lavender is adored for its mounded silver-gray foliage and long wands of fragrant blooms. Native to the dry Mediterranean region, lavenders are ideally adapted to our arid climate. The repeated shapes of the mounded subshrubs create a pleasing design element when planted on a large scale. French hybrid lavenders (L. x intermedia) are generally larger than the English lavenders (L. angustifolia), though not quite as cold hardy.
Blazing Star / Gayfeather
Liatris punctata
Water Use: Low
Gayfeathers are valued for their cylindrical spikes of magenta to lavender flowers that attract butterflies. L. spicata is a widely available eastern native. However, there are several beautiful drought tolerant cousins such as praire gayfeather (L. punctata) and button blazing star (L. aspera) that are worth seeking out.
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Blue Flax, Western Blue Flax
Linum lewisii
Water Use: Very low - Low
Blue flax is a native wildflower that works well in a relaxed, naturalistic setting. The sky-blue flowers accentuate other spring bloomers such as scotch broom and Dorr’s sage, and make a nice background for late spring bulbs. The foliage has small needle-like leaves and a wispy appearance. This carefree perennial is short-lived, but reseeds easily.
Horehound
Marrubium rotundifolium
Water Use: Very low - Low
The beautiful, soft, gray-green foliage of this perennial makes a great groundcover for low-water landscapes. A vigorous grower, horehound keeps its foliage through the winter. Once established, it needs very little water-a good ‘plant-it-and-forget-it’ groundcover.
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Desert Four O’clocks
Mirabilis multiflora
Water Use: Very low - Low
This stunning native wildflower is an impressive, low maintenance groundcover that is covered in pink blooms all summer. Branching out from its deep taproot late spring, desert four o’clock quickly spreads and pumps out an abundance of bell-shaped flowers. Dies back to the ground at first frost and reseeds itself. Once established, desert four o’clock needs no additional irrigation and does not tolerate overwatering.
Catmint
Nepeta spp.
Water Use: Low
Catmints are easy-to-grow perennials that are one of the first to send up their foliage in the spring. Loose spikes of lavender, blue, and even pink flowers bloom again after they are cut back. The soft, silvery-green foliage has a slight minty fragrance. There are many varieties available in the trade. Below are two of the more common ones, but there are always improved cultivars coming out. These can be hight maintenance to keep a tidy look-cut back after flowering to extend the bloom time throughout the summer and to reduce re-seeding. Reseeding can be a problem with some cultivars-look for sterile hybrids. ‘Walker’s Low’ is a sterile hybrid so it will not become aggressive. ‘Six Hill’s Giant’ is a larger and more upright cultivar.
Firecracker Penstemon
Penstemon eatonii
Water Use: Very low - Low
With its vibrant orange-red flowers, this showy penstemon lives up to its name with its bright explosion of color. The long, tubular flowers attract hummingbirds and other pollinators. One of the taller selections in the large penstemon family, firecracker penstemon is an herbaceous perennial with the tall stalks emerging from an evergreen basal rosette.
Palmer’s Penstemon
Penstemon palmerii
Water Use: Very Low
The towering wands of the fragrant pale pink flowers of Palmer’s penstemon are ideal for a hot, dry location. The clumps of smooth, blue-green foliage send up tall (up to 6 feet!) stalks of beautiful pink tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds. Best in loose, gravelly loam to sandy soils, Palmer’s penstemon is sensitive to overwatering and to overhead spray that may cause leaf blight. Once established, it will reseed happily reseed and colonize.
Pineleaf Penstemon
Penstemon pinifolius
Water Use: Very Low - Low
The bright green evergreen foliage of pineleaf penstemon has small needle-like leaves that form a tidy mounded shape. A profusion of orange-red flowers cloak the evergreen foliage early summer and attract hummingbirds to their tubular nectar sources. Very drought tolerant once established, pineleaf penstemons thrive in a hot dry spot.
Rocky Mountain Penstemon
Penstemon strictus
Water Use: Very low - Moderate
Rocky Mountain penstemon has spikes of show-stopping purple blooms held above the shiny green foliage. This long-lived penstemon is easy to grow and mildly self-sows when not dead-headed. It is quick to get established and very drought tolerant. Unlike many other penstemons, it can handle a variety of water situations
Dorr’s Sage
Salvia dorrii
Water Use: Very low - Low
This small, evergreen sub-shrub is similar to lavender in its shape and function, though a little more rangy. It blooms in spring and is resistant to deer. The blue-gray leaves are fragrant when brushed. Once established, it needs very little water.
Autumn Sage
Salvia greggii
Water Use: Low
Autumn sage has colorful flowers and bright green foliage with an upright branching shape. Cultivars and hybrids range from red to pink and ultra-violet magenta colors, but they all are hummingbird magnets and have fragrant foliage. Most are border-line hardy to zone 5, but are more reliable in zones 6 and up.
Meadow Sage
Salvia sylvestris
Water Use: Low - Moderate
Meadow sage are workhorses in the low-water garden. Asking for little, they provide knock-out purple spires of flowers all summer. Deadhead or shear mid-summer to encourage more blooms. Low-growing clumps of crinkly, dark green foliage form clumps and look best when planted in a group. There are a variety of culitvars available.
Mojave Sage
Salvia pachyphylla
Water Use: Very Low - Low
This giant, flowering purple sage is a perennial shrub with aromatic silver foliage. Its showy blue-purple flower sikes bloom all smmer long, attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. It requires full sun and dry, well-drained alkalike soil. Lighly prune after flowering.
Globe Mallow
Sphaeralcea spp.
Water Use: Very low - Low
Native to the Intermountain West and adapted to poor soils and arid conditions, globe mallows are denizens of the low water garden. Profuse blooms of single apricot-orange flowers emerge along the stem holly-hock fashion. The foliage and stems are gray-green have a slightly rough texture.
A great choice for difficult areas, globemallows thrive in a variety of soil types including clay. Best in full sun. It adapts to drought by sending down a long taproot. Does not do well with overwatering.
Sundancer Daisy
Tetraneuris (Hymenoxis) acaulis
Water Use: Very low - Low
Sundancer daisy is a small everblooming Utah native perennial with tight mounds of small grass-like leaves. Numerous yellow, daisy-like flowers grow on slender stems above the plant, providing color from spring through fall. It is tolerant of many different soil types as long as they are well-drained. Requires very little water once established.
Rocky Mountain Zinnia
Zinnia grandiflora
Water Use: Very low - Low
Small, mound shaped perennial with blue-green leaves. Excellent for hot, dry sites; thrives in all soil types, even dry clay. Recommended for slopes, along driveways and other places where it can spread as a large scale groundcover.
