Landscaping for drought conditions and ease of care

We live in the central valley in California (zone 8) which is undergoing a severe drought. Along with that, I am in my mid seventies and have decided its time to scale back on the amount
of time in the heat and maintenance. I have a strip about 25 ft by 7ft. It is in full sun. I am open to shrubs, flowering shrubs, grasses. I love chartreuse, incorporated with perennials
I have one large bridal veil spirea in the center I would like to keep and jasmine on the fence for back round. I would appreciate any and all suggestions. This group is always wonderful for landscaping suggestions. Thank You Dee

For some people, low maintenance means a lawn. There is the commitment to mow once a week and water it. Nothing to think about.
There are low-mow and low-water lawn-type grasses, some are California natives. Here is a link to just one such plant.
http://ucverdebuffalograss.com/

For others, low maintenance is shrubs and perennials chosen to suit the site. Not too crowded, enough space between them for easy access.
Several times a year it is beneficial to dead head them, but if it is too hot today, tomorrow is fine, or next week. Once a year many of these get cut back harder as an overall clean up. Often this will be in about January (zone 9) or February (a bit more frosty zone) and the new growth comes right back so there is only a short 'bare' season in the yard.
If you can add a picture of the area, or a drawing on some graph paper showing the area and surroundings, I am sure several people can suggest layouts of plants and other elements.

Thank you for your reply sorry I am so slow in getting back to you. As you can see this area is the border of a stretch of lawn that faces west-full sun. I would love perennials, grasses, shrubs. I have not replanted much as I need to redo this area. Thank you so much for your suggestions

Hi Dee,

The pictures of the area you want to landscape look very pretty and the fence makes a perfect backdrop. Drought can be a challenge, but there are a lot of plants that do well with not a lot of water. Natives are always a good choice.

I came across an extensive catalog of drought tolerant plants (complete with photos and info) on the website of a Northern California nursery. Their name is "Mostly Natives".

I'm not suggesting you go to this nursery...rather, I thought the catalog of plants might give you some ideas. Clicking on each plant brings up a page of info, including things like whether it attracts butterflies or hummingbirds.

Here's the link. Hopefully you'll find it useful.

http://www.mostlynatives.com/plant-characteristics/drought-tolerant


BTW, I grew up in Southern CA then moved to Redding where I lived for nearly ten years. I loved the area (still do), especially the mountains, lakes and forests, but due to major life changes I eventually moved away.

Will the lawn stay?
Do the sprinklers overlap into the planter area? These spots will probably have too much water for drought tolerant plants.

When you plant drought tolerant plants you will still need to water them through their first 2 summers with the goal to get their roots down deep. Fall is the best time to plant. Water them in well, then monitor the soil for when they need water again. Remember their roots are still about the same volume as was in the pot. They will grow in the fall and be ready to support the spring growth.
Their first summer (2016) you will probably be watering about once a week in the heat waves. Turn off the water in the winter unless there are no rains.
Their second summer (2017) you may be able to back them off to about once a month through most of the summer, with perhaps an extra watering when the temperature is in the 90s +.
After that you will have to go by the plants you have selected. If you have been really strict and planted only 'no summer water' plants, then that is exactly what it means. But if another drought happens, water these in the winter, when they are used to getting their water.
Most drought tolerant plants will look better with some summer water, and most of the list that follows will be good with about once a month summer water.

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Grasses and grass like plants:
Carex barbarae
Eragrostis spectabilis
Festuca california 'Sepentine Blue'
(There are MANY more- these are interesting looking, neat, and need less work than many others to stay neat)

Small shrubs
Salvia greggii, x jamesonii, microphylla- many hybrids and varieties. Read descriptions carefully, some get larger than others.
Artemisia schmidtiana 'Silver Mound'
Lavender- several species, many varieties. A little work will repay with on and off flowers most of the warm season. Smaller varieties work well in smaller area, and are less work. I especially like Lavandula stoeches 'Otto Quast'.
Phlomis lanata
Teucrium fruticans 'Compactum'
Sphaeralcea- several species, very tough.

Mid sized shrubs:
Rhamnus (new name Frangula) californica 'Eve Case' or other named variety. Species is a bit tougher, but the named varieties have nicer leaves, overall better looking.
Carpenteria californica 'Elizabeth'

Small tree/multitrunked:
Cercis occidentalis

Spreading shrubs or perennials, ground cover:
Teucrium x lucidrys
Zauschneria californica- There are many named varieties worth seeking out.
Nepeta x faassenii and relatives. Six Hills Giant, Walker's Low and others.
Thymus- many. T. serphyllum. T. pseudolanuginosus are best spreaders. Many are fragrant, useful in the kitchen. Many of these are not so spreading. Lemon Thyme, Lime Thyme and others.
Achilea tomentosa and others. Some get big, gawky and are more work. The little creeping types are superb between rocks.

Perennials generally grown for flower show:
Coreopsis (several species, many varieties)
Lupinus (many- read descriptions for size- some are neat, small plants, others are mid sized shrubs)
Gazania- a group that has been around a while. The clumping types have really colorful flowers, and are worth planting in small amounts.
Oenothers- there are several Evening Primroses from fairly low to quite tall. Many are (as the name suggests) fragrant in the evening.
Penstemon, especially the natives. A bit wispy, so plant in groups. The hybrids grouped as Garden Penstemon are not so drought tolerant. REALLY nice: Margarita BOP. Worth looking for!
Gaura lindheimeri- look for the more compact varieties, perhaps Siskiyou Pink or other.
Many bulbs are worth looking into. Naked Ladies (Amaryllis belladona), Most Daffodills, some others will naturalize- they will grow in the same place without having to be dug up, divided or stored.

Thank you for your replies and so much wonderful information. The lawn will stay, but we can control the amount of moisture the bed will receive. We do plan on installing a drip system after the planting is done. With all your information, it will make this project doable! Thank you

Try / look up oleanders , they plant then along freeways . maintenance wise - just dead leaves . They come in white pink , red . BUT are poisonous - they do smell good and the neighbors plants make a good backdrop for my roses , dahlias etc .
I live in bay area and both neighbors asked year ago if they could pick fruit they could reach - sure , when in back yard , just spray the branches with water hose to knock off spider webs - etc and wet leaves are easier to rake . While I loose a few kumquats , lemons , plums and persimmons - I could not reach them any way and loose more to people walking on access road behind house - they - the people taking fruit keep the flies down from falling fruit I can't don't walk around to pick up .
One thing I did when I bought my house was to dig holes all around house / yard and put in 5 gallon bucket in holes . [ drill a few holes in bottom of them .] I fill the buckets with water for deep watering so roots will go down and less top watering means smaller weeds . Careful if you add plant food to the buckets - plant roots burn easily [ I use 2 drops of Shulz liquid plant food in in spring and after flower on fruit trees set ,

Drip irrigation will deep soak the root zone if you leave it on long enough, and does not require digging holes, and does go to each plant. Much better than a spot treatment if you are planting many plants.

Look into Tech Line by Netafim. This one was designed to hold up to farmers driving over it in their fields, and will last for many years in the garden. If you go to any commercial irrigation store like Ewing they can help you with irrigation- which products will work best with your soil and show you some of the recent innovations in irrigation to help make maximum use of the water.

I found [ at least for me ] that drip system was not working except for a few pots . For 20 minutes of drip , the water stayed within 4 inches of top and barely made it into a 3 inch circle . Your dirt may have more sand and allow water to go deeper .
I want the water to go down and roots to chase it . Drip will probably work for shallow roots [ strawberries , onions maybe even beans ] but for trees , roses , most bushes - I use the 5 gallon method [ poke a few holes in a 5 gallon bucket , bury it by plant , fill with water and it deep waters. Bd thing is if it freezes , it can allow cold to go down . I both cover and fill bucket when freeze coming or high wind .
Drip did not work for wife's orchids and changing to mist - lots of mold - hand spray with food in bottle .
If you are lucky others will post their experiences - I live in Union City Calif .

Most drip emmiters run so slowly that 20 minutes is just a drop in the bucket.
Example: @ 1gph, a 20 minute run is about a quart of water. (it takes a minute to a couple of minutes to start flowing, depending on how long a run you have).

To get the 5 gallons that you are applying via bucket you would have to run a 1gph emmiter for 5 hours.

Many people are accustomed to conventional spray heads that are run for 10-20 minutes.
This just won't work for drip irrigation. By laying out the tubing around the drip line of the shrub or tree you can deep soak the plant. You can get the water down deep, but it takes time.

I use drip irrigation for my trees, and just water once a month during the summer. I run the system for 24 hours. That is just 6-7 times per year.

Makes sence , but I even turn off water when I leave for weekend . My yard sprinklers are on a timer - 3 in themorning for 5 minutes 3 times a week .

Have you ever done a test to see how much water you are actually applying with that schedule? It will depend on the type of sprinkers and the layout. And how effective that irrigation is?

Here are a couple of good ways to check:

1) Get a lot of containers that have the same shape and size. I have used everything from coffee cans to yogurt containers. The sides should not be sloped, if possible.
Put them all over the area you are testing. Run the sprinks for a certain time- for example, 1 minute.
Check the containers.
a) Do they all have the same amount of water? A significant difference suggests poor sprinkler layout- some areas have double or triple coverage, others have perhaps just one head spraying that area. This may be OK if the smallest accumulation is in a shaded area.
b) How much water is in them? 1/4"? 1/2"?...

2) Run your sprinks the current schedule. Check the soil to see how deep the water went. Use a soil probe, or dig a hole. How deep did the water go? Compare this to the first test.

Now you know that 1" of water applied to the soil goes... x deep.

You want to apply water slowly to allow it to seep into the soil at least a foot deep for most plants, including lawn grasses. Roots that are not allowed to go deep are not drought tolerant.
After the root zone is thoroughly soaked you need to just replace the amount of water that is removed from the soil by the plants or through evaporation. The state (CA) has a web site that reports how much water is needed to replace that amount. There are stations all over the state that report data.

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/WEATHER/wxactstcodes.html

Sandy soil- 1" of water could go a foot deep. This is not a lot of water, and the plants will use it up pretty fast. Water more often. The water will also evaporate out of the soil, so the soil should be mulched to conserve water. You can probably apply water pretty fast, and it will soak in without puddling or running off.
Silty soil- 1" of water could go about half that, and it may puddle before soaking in. You may have to run the sprinklers in 2 sessions, separated by a couple of hours to properly soak the soil. It will take the plants a while to use that much water. A sprinkler nozzle with a slower application rate may help (Hunter MP Rotator or similar)
Clay soil- 1" of water goes in about a quarter of that. But it will highly likely puddle, so as suggested above, 2 sessions or even 3 a few hours apart will deep soak the soil. It will take the plants a long time to use that much water. You need to be careful that the soil does dry properly in between watering so the roots get the oxygen they need. (MP Rotators are highly recommended for clay soils- slow application, and large drops that do not blow away in the wind) Drip irrigation is highly effective in clay soils for the slow application of water. When you are using the slower flow rate (MP Rotators, drip irrigation) you will need to run the system for longer.

Plants that have been watered in a shallow pattern will only have roots in that shallow area.
When you switch a garden over to a better irrigation pattern you need to give it a chance to grow the roots deeper. Fall is a great time for roots to grow. You might set up a program that is halfway to the goal for a month or so, then switch over to the new program.
With fall coming, you can greatly reduce the amount of water you are applying-
cooler weather will mean less evapotranspiration, so applying the water less often, is good. Just keep on getting it deep into the soil.

My house - built on crushed rock [ they dug out good dirt ] Anyway , the sprinklers are rain bird [ the 3 inch ones that go back into ground . The center of yard where fountaine is is covered by all 4 heads . The sides by 2 heads . I get about 1/2 of water that late or early .
When I bought the house , it was bare dirt , I came in about 6 feet from property line and put in side walks . About an inch of sand , then 5 inches of small rocks , more sand and then bricks .[ bender board - then rocks and then stack another dender board on top] This took a little over 8000 bricks and 2 years .
Anyway , I then back filled with topsoil . I also used a ditch witch , went down 3 feet and put in 3 electric pipes [ yard lights , plugs and well and 5 water [ one for trees , one for sprinklers in yard , one for sprinklers on sides , one for well water and one for hoses .
Yes I worked in construction and borrowed a lot of equipment - like plugs and lights were about 15 foot pieces of wire , etc .

That is rotten soil to begin with. Common that the builder removed all the best material to create the pads to build the houses. Then you get whatever garbage was under the real top soil. It takes some work to build it up to good quality soil again.

Rainbird 1803 pop ups can be retrofitted with Hunter MP Rotators, if it would help the situation. (Make sure to specify Rainbird threads) The standard nozzles that are usually sold with Rainbirds are a fast application sort that work well in good soil or sandy soil. Too fast for clay soil. Most material sold as topsoil is someone elses' soil (top or otherwise), removed for houses, or other reasons. It could be predominantly sand, silt or clay. It almost never has a significant amount of organic matter. (In fact, when we remove soil from a job site the only way we can get rid of it is if it does not have organic matter such as roots in it. Need to add soil conditioner to make it good planting material).

Here is the CIMIS station in Union City.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/calludt.cgi/WXSTATIONDATA?STN=UNION_CITY.A
The evapotranspiration through August has been about 1/5 of an inch per day. Most of their stations are in city parks, lawn with some trees nearby but not right over the station. The Union City station is in such an area, with clay soil.
To replace the water lost from the soil you could apply a bit over 1" per week, you could divide that into 2 or 3 irrigations if that works for your soil.

Thanks , I already had that [ I am on UC Davis mailing list ] Their site is about 3 miles from my house . Since they built the station , they removed the pond [ ducks and geese - to close to police station / library - bird crap everywhere ] and put in a skate board park - changed readings - no trees and lots of cement collecting heat .
The older kids like the park , but younger ones can't feed ducks as easy [ pond maybe 1/10 size . Oh well
The old county Ag guy used to come by - hang bug traps in fruit trees and on grape vine . He went away and new guy seldom even goes to local nursery . We used to have 4 good nurseries , now down to one local , one 25 miles SE [ mainly high heat plants ] and one 30 miles west [ 1/4 mile from ocean - so more high humidity plants .
I probably get 1/4 to 1/5 of my plants on internet - wife gets hers at OSH , Lowe's , Home depot . We still go to Reagan's nursery [ i buy my xmas tree there . tuberoses [ double ] - they keep dyeing on me ] and bare root roses .
As for yard , I buy soil amendments [ super soil shut down ] and have a thing you step on that pokes 4 holes in ground - spread out the amendments and let fall into holes . Also buy kirkland multi vitamins and toss in yard and under plants [ micro nutrients ] and twice a year 5 1 pound bags of epson salt . Also have a 5 gallon bucket with about an inch of nails in it - when water turns red , I pour on plants /dirt if wife does not beat me to it .
When I 1st put in the sprinklers , I used the Hunter MP Rotators - they kept coming apart , so I switched to another brand - kept clogging up - and ended up with the rain-birds . Other than the broken springs - no problems [ covers snap on a get brittle after a few years ]

Ag people put traps at my place, too. It has been a year or two since I have actually seen a person, but I have seen the traps.

Sounds like the changed conditions around the Union City station makes it more like a residential setting- less grass, more hardscape, similar to roads and sidewalks. Perhaps a closer approximation to the conditions in your yard.

I am surprised the Hunter MPRs were so poor quality for you, usually Hunter has a good line, and we have had no problems from their MPRs. We have used a lot of Netafim Techline, too. It is a good product as long as people realize how long it needs to run to deep soak the soil.

Finer nozzles do indeed clog more easily, so the coarser spray from something like the Rainbirds is the way to go when the water contains some particles. The well water might be the problem here, or old municipal system- these have more debris than some people realize. It can build up.

Have you had your soil tested? Often soil that lacks magnesium also is low in calcium. I know mine is.

I hope other people are reading our conversation and getting some ideas from it.

I flush my hot water heater twice a year . 4 or 5 years ago it went into hot tub . The price of electricity went up and it was cheaper to go to gym for hot tub [ I don't have a sauna - they do ] .I still flush into hot tub , but not for hot water - the water company mixes well water with resovore water - lots of sand and calcium . My wife uses the water for fish tank [ to much chlorine ] and for her orchids / misc plants . My nephew work for pepsi and saves me the old filters , I put 4 side by side so if one plugs up , the others don't stop .
The water here is so bad , when they flush the water hydrants , if you wash clothes they turn red .

I can send you some Amaryllis belladonna if you'd like. They grow here with no additional water and are wonderful flowers if you like pink.

Thank you . I think I have already - front door yellow rose - to the left Amaryllis belladonna [ I think ], long stalk , then from 4 to 8 trumpet like flowers ] Big bulbs and the flower produce lots of seeds . In front of yellow rose is a purple iris and the a yellow one then a red rose I also have on side of house , before gate - they show off great - there is a star jasmine and an orange vine flower in back of it on fence .
If the one you have has leaves like an orchid [ up to 2 feet long ] leaves die and plant flower 4 or 5 months later , flowers produce seeds [ humming birds like flowers ] flower die and a month or so later more leaves .
If this sounds like the Amaryllis belladonna , someone else might like .
If not , YES , I would like either plants or seeds.
I just checked smugmug [ https://moralesfamily.smugmug.com - if you want to see some of the flowers - yard ] but for some reason I never up loaded front yard in bloom .
I built a green house / cold frame about 25 years ago and when someone says I like that plant , I try and plant seeds and / or cuttings .

tony, your plant does sound like Amaryllis belladonna. They do indeed grow leaves for a while, then die down, and produce a flower with no leaves. The leaves might be thought of as similar to a Cymbidium, long arching. They are also a lot like Agapanthus- almost succulent, thick and juicy.
The large bulbs stay in the ground for many years without care.

I just came back from ranch [ I am in Mexico ] anyway , I brought seeds down a few year ago and saw one growing [ was not there last year but I was here and left in August ] .
FYI / BTW any seeds I take or bring are 1st washed with rubbing alcohol , dusted with sulfur , a day or 2 later, washed with mineral water [ I mess up and by it by mistake instead of drinking water ] Then dry in sun . next into freezer till time to go .
Had plane tickets for same time this year but wife's pacemaker battery go low and they replaced it in July - had to wait a month so doctor could check for infection and he did not want her on plane to soon .
Tickets are cheaper a week before labor day and a week after [ Yes , I am cheap ]
Anyway , tomorrow I can get a picture of plant if you need it . Camera goes with me in morning to ranch , come home eat , and then buy whatever is needed on ranch . Hardware stores don't open till 930 or 10 and I don't want to carry camera around when buying stuff .

It sounds like you have it. They will grow from seed too.

Last year I potted 6 , 2 left thanks again for offer .