Plant a Low Water Garden

Whether you live in an arid region or you’re just looking to conserve water, a low water garden is a great option. These gardens offer the added benefit of needing less maintenance (i.e. watering) than traditional landscaping. If you choose the right plants, you can establish a low water garden in the first year. After that, the garden will flourish with just a little maintenance.

Steps

Choosing the Right Plant for the Right Place

1. Choose plants native to your region. Different types of plants do well in different climates. If you live in a dry, arid climate, you want to plant things from similar climates. The same holds true if you live in a wetter, cooler climate. Plants that are native to your area are always a good place to start when considering what will grow in your climate.
   • For example, you wouldn’t plant a cactus in marshlands, but it would do really well in a desert climate.
   • Other low water plants, such as hostas, will do well in drier climates.
2. Plant your garden in the right kind of soil. For any plant that you choose, you should know its soil requirements. Some plants require high levels of organic material in the soil, while others can do without it. You might also run into plants that are sensitive to salt content and other nutrient factors. How quickly your soil drains should be considered as well. Some plants require a quick-draining soil.
   • Crab grass and silky thread grass both do well in most soils and require little water.
3. Plant in a place with no less than eight hours of sunlight per day. Before deciding where to plant your plants, make sure that there is adequate sunlight. You can measure this by simply noticing when the sun hits the garden area and when the area is taken over by shade. If there are at least eight hours in between, the garden should do fine.
   • Unless the plant(s) you have chosen specifically calls for less, the garden area should receive at least eight hours of direct sunlight each day.
4. Account for personal taste. Low water plants range from grasses to cacti. Look at different plants in a garden catalog or online. You can also visit a local greenhouse or garden store to see plants up close. Plant the ones that are most satisfying to you. A few common choices are:
   • Blanket Flower
   • Sea Holly
   • Lavender
   • Salvia
   • Kangaroo Paw
   • Cacti
   • Hostas

Establishing Low Water Plants

1. Plant in the fall or spring. You should be planting in the fall to spring time frame. That said, planting in fall is typically best. Planting in fall gives the root system time to set in the soil before the summer heat hits the plant. The soil is also subject to less evaporation during the fall than in warmer months.
2. Place plants with similar needs close to each other. Over watering and under watering are both bad for plants. If you have a group of plants with different water needs, it is easy to flood some in order to give others the water they need. Instead, group plants with similar needs together so that maintaining your garden is as easy as giving each group of plants the right amount of watering.
3. Water regularly. For the first year, the root system will be poorly set in the soil. This means that you will need to water your plant regularly to allow the root system to develop. Even though your plants are low water, they will require regular watering until their roots are well developed.
4. Check the soil moisture. Use a spade to remove the surface soil. Check the moisture near the roots before and after watering. If the soil is dry, you need to water more. If it is saturated, you should use less water next time. Ideally, the soil will be moist but not saturated.

Maintaining Low Water Plants

1. Reduce watering. After the first year, low water plants will need much less watering. You may still need to water occasionally (once a week or so) in the second year. By the third year, most low water plants require monthly waterings at the most. Many will require no watering at all.
2. Mulch the plant bed. Spread mulch over the plant bed to keep the soil cool. This also helps to prevent water from evaporating out of the soil. You should use mulch layer to prevent weeds from growing in your garden and keep the soil from being washed away.
3. Control the amount of sunlight. If your garden gets too much sunlight, you can plant a tall tree nearby to cast shade over the garden. Another option is to build a lattice or other structure to partially block the sunlight. Make sure that you do allow adequate sunlight into the garden, however, or your plants will suffer.

Tips

• Give your plants a small amount of extra water to cut down on fire risk.
• Reduce evaporation by watering in the morning.

Sources and Citations

See also

• Choose Plants for a Garden
• Grow a Birdhouse Gourd
• Help Your Small Plants Along
• Plant Uala
• Grow Pistachios
• Plant Brazilian Waterweed
• Plant an Amazon Sword Plant
• Plant Yew
• Plant Moso Bamboo Seeds
• Plant Zinnias

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