The Best Drought-Tolerant Perennials
When summer heat kicks in, rely on these drought-tolerant plants to hold their own -- and still look beautiful.
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This plant has it all: It looks great, it smells wonderful, and it's as tough as nails (as long as it's not too wet). Enjoy the blue, lavender, purple, or white flowers in summer. They're great for drying and using in crafts -- and even cooking with.
Name: Lavandula angustifolia
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: 3 feet tall
Zones: 5-8
Not only does yarrow tolerate heat and drought like a champion, but this easy-growing perennial is also a great cut flower -- and deer, rabbits, and most other pests won't touch it. It comes in a number of varieties with blooms in shades of yellow, orange, red, pink, and white.
Name: Achillea varieties
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
You can rely on agastache to cover itself in blooms throughout the summer and autumn. This variety, 'Desert Sunrise', offers orange blooms that feature pink and lavender tints. It attracts tons of hummingbirds and is a great cut flower, too.
Name: Agastache 'Desert Sunrise'
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 5-10
Enjoy the cheery yellow blooms of sundrops all the way from spring to early fall. This vigorous perennial takes heat and drought like a champion. Note, though: It can become aggressive in the garden, especially if you have rich soil.
Name: Oenothera macrocarpa
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 6 inches tall
Zones: 5-8
We can't help but love Russian sage. One of the toughest plants, it offers fragrant silvery foliage and plumes of violet-purple blooms. Taller varieties are great for the back of the border. Not only is it heat and drought resistant, but deer, rabbits, and most other pests steer clear of it.
Name: Perovskia atriplicifolia
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 6 feet tall
Zones: 5-9
Salvia is an all-around great plant. It's very tough, grows well in a range of conditions, produces beautiful flowers, and attracts hummingbirds. What's not to love? 'Raspberry Delight' offers gorgeous raspberry-red flowers over a long season: From late spring to early fall.
Name: Salvia 'Raspberry Delight'
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall
Zones: 6-10
Among the most beautiful of the sages, Mojave sage offers beautiful pink blooms that look good well into fall. Even when not in bloom, its gray-green foliage is lovely. Like other salvias, it's great for hummingbirds and butterflies. And it's a great cut flower.
Name: Salvia pachyphylla
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 3 feet tall
Zones: 5-9
An easy-to-grow ground cover, lamb's ears has soft, fuzzy leaves. Their silvery tone makes them a great foil for just about any plant in the garden. Note, though: Lamb's ear can spread aggressively in rich soil.
Name: Stachys byzantina
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 18 inches tall
Zones: 4-8
One of the best flowers many gardeners have never heard of, globe thistle produces round, metallic-blue flowers though the summer. These flowers are perfect for drying and using in dried-flower projects and other crafts. Plus, it's a cinch to grow!
Name: Echinops 'Blue Globe'
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 4 feet tall
Zones: 4-9
This semi-evergreen penstemon bursts into bloom each summer producing masses of bright scarlet-red flowers that butterflies and hummingbirds will love as much as you do. It's a cinch to grow in any sunny spot.
Name: Penstemon pinifolius
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 18 inches tall
Zones: 4-10
It's hard not to love purple coneflower. This resilient perennial blooms much of the summer producing tons of mauve-purple blooms that hold up really well when cut. Or, if you leave them in the garden, they'll attract scores of butterflies.
Name: Echinacea purpurea
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 5 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
A tough, but sadly underused perennial, amsonia produces clusters of sky-blue flowers in late spring. It's not just a one-season wonder, though. In autumn, its foliage turns brilliant shades of gold -- enough to rival many of the trees when they put on their fall finery.
Name: Amsonia tabernaemontana
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 2 feet tall
Zones: 3-9
Hundreds of sedum varieties are available and almost every one is tough and drought resistant. While most are grown for their flowers, 'Frosty Morn' has wonderfully variegated leaves that look great from spring to fall. That said, its autumn clusters of pure-pink flowers are great, too.
Name: Sedum 'Frosty Morn'
Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil
Size: To 18 inches tall
Zones: 3-9
I clicked on the link to The Best Drought-Tolerant Perennials. I see a picture of a beautiful purple plant--no name anywhere. Is it a salvia, butterfly bush??? I expected to see a list of perennials which is nowhere in sight. .
7/28/2011 10:40:47 AM Report AbuseI've tried many of these plants, and they won't grow for me even in different areas in the yard. Where I live (Austin, TX), it's still too dry for them. The following plants won't grow on caliche in humid heat for me: lavendar (tried 6 times; did not over-water), yarrow (4 times), agastache (3 times), Russian sage (4 times), Lamb's ear (6 times, even grew it from seed), globe thistle (tried 4 times). Some of these will grow in pots for me, but not in the ground.
7/9/2011 10:17:40 PM Report AbuseGlobe Thistle are Beautiful,, But Very prone to White fly,,,I treated mine with Everyting that the Nursery said, and Finally Pulled them up!
7/7/2011 01:27:07 PM Report AbuseReally like the new format - much more user friendly.
5/24/2011 11:10:01 AM Report Abusethanks so much to the bhg staff for all your efforts. i have been searching for about 3-4 years for the name of a plant i purchased a few years ago. my daughter and i both really admired it and today, yes today thanks to all of you guys effort to do what you do. the name of the plant is "agastache-desert sunrise". It has a beautiful smelling aroma and the branches blows in the wind. Truly seducing us. thanks once again for being a blessing on today
5/12/2011 04:49:06 PM Report Abusewhat about heavy drinkers{plants that is}
8/12/2010 09:39:07 AM Report AbuseHang on, you forgot day lilies!
7/28/2010 09:15:20 AM Report Abuse