Best Drought Tolerant Plants

[Rachel Browne]

Hi All,

I am still pretty new to Austin and would love some input from
ya'll on drought tolerant plants for my yard. I am hoping to
finally get some real work done on putting in my landscaping
this fall!

I prefer things that have any combination of the following:

Good fragrance
Attracts butterflies
Attracts hummingbirds
Either perennial or reseeds itself fairly (!) easily

Also can anyone recommend _the_ book on xeriscaping or
landscaping with natives??

Thanks!

Rachel Browne

[Dewey Coffman]

In article <31FF83...@eden.com>, Rachel Browne <dbr...@eden.com> wrote:
>Hi All,
>
>I am still pretty new to Austin and would love some input from
>ya'll on drought tolerant plants for my yard. I am hoping to
>finally get some real work done on putting in my landscaping
>this fall!
>
>I prefer things that have any combination of the following:
>
> Good fragrance
> Attracts butterflies
> Attracts hummingbirds
> Either perennial or reseeds itself fairly (!) easily

Hmm, I have a "Cross" vine that fits this bill, in the last year and
half since it was planted. I have never watered it after the first 10 days.

It survives and flowers, it would do much better if I water or fertilized it
but it's a long way from any water.. Course, that's why I planted it, I heard
it was a "good plant".

-dewey

--
Dewey Coffman, Jump Point Communications de...@jump.net
Pager: 208-2762 http://www.jump.net
O- DNRC

[Roberta and Craig Becker]

Rachel Browne (dbr...@eden.com) wrote:
: I am still pretty new to Austin and would love some input from

: ya'll on drought tolerant plants for my yard. I am hoping to
: finally get some real work done on putting in my landscaping
: this fall!
:
: I prefer things that have any combination of the following:
:
: Good fragrance
: Attracts butterflies
: Attracts hummingbirds
: Either perennial or reseeds itself fairly (!) easily

Hmmm...you might be interested in the Mexican Petunia (Ruellia
Brittoniana). Very low maintenance, long blooming period, a
perennial that spreads via shoots. Not much in the fragrance
dept, but I've seen butterflies hanging around ours.

There's also Firebush (Hamelia patens), which is quite drought
tolerant and attracts hummingbirds. It's supposedly an "iffy"
perennial that can die completely if we have a bad winter, but
so far we've been lucky.

Craig
--
-- Craig Becker bec...@bga.com http://www.bga.com/~beckers Austin, TX USA --
-- Austin Restaurants & Food - http://www.bga.com/~beckers/food --
-- Austin Gardening FAQ - http://www.bga.com/~beckers/gardening --
-- HTML Consulting Services - http://www.bga.com/~beckers/craig/tmr.html --

[Diane Skeel]

In <31FF83...@eden.com>, Rachel Browne <dbr...@eden.com> writes:
>Hi All,

>
>I am still pretty new to Austin and would love some input from
>ya'll on drought tolerant plants for my yard. I am hoping to
>finally get some real work done on putting in my landscaping
>this fall!
>
>I prefer things that have any combination of the following:
>
> Good fragrance
> Attracts butterflies
> Attracts hummingbirds
> Either perennial or reseeds itself fairly (!) easily
>

>Also can anyone recommend _the_ book on xeriscaping or
>landscaping with natives??
>
>Thanks!
>
>Rachel Browne
>
>

One of the best books is by Wasowski and Wasowski. It's called Gardening with Native
Plants (or something along those line). They are Texans, and the book is specific to
Texas. It has lots of good pictures and tells you soil, and water conditions as well as
region where the plant will do well.

Diane Skeel

These are my opinions. Not my employer's.

[Chuck Dunn]

Lantana attracts butterflies and one species is a native. Once
established they are quite drought tolerant.

Trumpet creeper attracts hummingbirds and is also drought tolerant, but
takes years to get established. Invasive too.

Butterfly weed draws butterflies (surprise!) and is drought tolerant.

[cliff bingham]

>I am still pretty new to Austin and would love some input from
>ya'll on drought tolerant plants for my yard. I am hoping to
>finally get some real work done on putting in my landscaping
>this fall!

>I prefer things that have any combination of the following:

> Good fragrance
> Attracts butterflies
> Attracts hummingbirds
> Either perennial or reseeds itself fairly (!) easily

>Also can anyone recommend _the_ book on xeriscaping or
>landscaping with natives??

Rachel

A couple to look at are:

Native Texas Plants by Sally Wasowski-covers all the native plants and
has some suggested landscape plans for selected areas. I got a soft
covered version at Book Stop for $15 or so , the hard copy goes for
$39.

Perennial Garden Color by William C. Welch. This will cost you
several hundred dollars as you will want to get one of everything he
has listed.

Cliff

[Dana B. Norman]

Here's what's holding up well at my place:

Lantana horrida
Lantan camara
Scarlet bouvardia
Butterflyweed
Turk's Cap
Bat faced cuphea
Fragrant mistflower (white)
Agastache rupestris

There are more, but these seem to attract bees and butterflies more so
than others.

Dana
Dripping Springs

[Rachel Browne]

Thanks to all for your great suggestions!!! I am looking forward to my
planting!

Rachel Browne