Another Rose versus Drought-Resistant Shrub?
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
10 years ago
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Evenie
10 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
10 years agoRelated Discussions
Drought Resistant Front yard
Comments (1)After building and ronovating many landscapes in the desert I have started using a product call "Netafim" a drip line that can be arranged in a grid like pattern over the roots of established trees. I believe this would be very useful in the case of your Ash tree since a bubbler here or there or even numerous drip emitters placed at the base of the tree will not as easily give you the uniform coverage over the entire existing root system that I have seen so far with the "Netafim" systems. Although an established Ash tree is very tolerable of drought it is not a xerophyte and although the Netafim can help it would also be a good idea to incorporate an organic material over the roots. Even integrating lets say your flagstone.. some boulders and some larger sized rock with and organic surface would make soil conditions more tolerable for your Ash tree. Landscape fabric is alomost always if not always a waste of time and money and I have not used it in over 15 years but I manage xeriscapes that have acres of drought landscapes. Weeds will still grow .. and the fabric will work it's way to the surface and haunt you .. plus "good fabrics" .. there are not any ...cost as much as sod. Take out the grass carefully without undo damage to the tree roots don't simply cover it. Roses for example are another plant that would do best with an organic base and not surrounded by rock mulch. If you are going to add a rock mulch to your landscape know thy plants and have a thought out reason why you are using rock and do not mindlessly add rock as some have covered the desert with grass. A preemergent .. maybe .. What for ?? What weeds ? If you are redoing the landscape get rid of as much old irrigation as you can .. old pipes and old valves should best be replaced. Less aggravation in the long run... http://www.netafim-usa.com/ Good Day .......See MoreMy neighbors just did the 'drought-resistant' yard thing
Comments (66)I definitely wouldn't want to capture *ALL* the rainwater falling on the property, as I understand about the need for replenishing not only our groundwater tables but also for the immediate watering of my big, mature trees. I'm just thinking that with a 10,000 sq ft property, there's a lot of space to put a few additional barrels. I have this big, basically unused area behind my garage where X number of barrels could sit and do their thing without being an eyesore for me or the neighbors. BTW, and this is purely a guess, but I think about 2/3 of the property is earth vs some man-made material. Also, my patio and the walkway from it to the driveway slope at, I believe, 9 degrees toward the driveway. The driveway slopes down to the street naturally, following the slope of the property. I could theoretically reroute the runoff from the patio somehow to save it, although it doesn't really get much water of its own during a rain, because it's covered and its cover is also fully guttered....See MoreHardy Geraniums Versus Heat and Drought
Comments (16)It's interesting that the Puget Sound is considered to be Modified Mediterranean climate, Gardengal. I didn't know that. To highlight the differences though, we are past the 90 day mark with no rainfall whatsoever right now. So that is drier than you are experiencing. I have amended my soil here, where I have gardened for over 20 years. Every year peat moss and manure are added to planting areas. As well compost is added when available. The feedback I receive from visitors is that my soil is very good. Regarding moisture killing plants in winter. It is not the lack of drainage that does them in. It is the unremitting rainfall itself. Water is constantly falling from the sky without chance of draining away. A good example of the winter water situation and Mediterranean plants, is lavender. In my garden the most successful lavender grows in pots. Does great in pots, even unprotected in winter. As well, lavender has seeded itself under a set of stairs. The plant grows out from under the stairs, but it's roots are completely protected from falling water there. I never water it. This lavender is in it's fifth year and looking great. Lavender planted in exposed garden beds by contrast, languishes and eventually looks so poorly it is removed. I have gardened in Victoria, Duncan, Port Alberni, New Westminster and Vancouver. None of these places are as bad for drought as Nanaimo, where I live now. Duncan is pretty hot and dry, but has wonderful deep and fertile soil to compensate. Nanaimo is in the rain shadow of coastal mountains. Being a rain shadow climate, it is significantly dryer than other places. For example a contrast is the foggy climate of Tofino and Ucluelet. They are much cooler and wetter than Nanaimo. So perhaps microclimates play a role in the situation. Whatever the cause, I believe the hardy geraniums are dying due to lack of water. When dug up and dumped in water, they recover. Seeing as this is not possible to do in the garden proper, I guess they will have to be removed in favor of more drought tolerant plants. I'm considering as replacement ajuga, woodland strawberries, sweet woodruff (needs shade) or sedums of some sort. Lamium grows all right too, though sometimes is eaten by bugs. All the Carex are good choices, but don't flower. Strangely the lungworts do very well. Poppies are very good especially Welsh Poppies that seed everywhere, and the double Spanish Poppies. The Spanish Poppies' only problem is that they are an orange shade. As said, Oriental Poppies are problematic due to summer dormancy....See MoreNative Texan, drought-resistant landscape design
Comments (11)Allie, I second Yardvaark's observation that rock mulch is expensive. It is also backbreaking to spread, difficult to plant in, and unforgiving. Once it's there, you are pretty much stuck with it. Having said all of that, I really like rock mulch and have a lot of it. It's very common here in Colorado and, used properly, can be stunning. A couple of recommendations I would like to make, however. One, most plants, even those considered xeric / drought resistant, appreciate organic mulch. That doesn't mean they won't do well with rock mulch, too, but organic mulch (i.e., shredded hardwood) will not hurt them. Two, organic mulch will be less expensive and much easier to spread yourself. Once you have plants in place and have the look you like (and as the budget allows) you can rake up the mulch, move it to the back yard, and order rock mulch if you decide you still need it to get the look you want. Three, a combination of organic mulched areas and rock mulched areas can be very attractive. I've attached a few examples, as well as a very preliminary plan for your yard, given the limited photo. The easiest way to begin is to invest in a backpack sprayer and spray your lawn with glyphosate (Roundup generic). If you have a Tractor Supply or other such store in your area, you can buy the generic much cheaper than buying Roundup. You will probably need to do that 2-3 times over a 3-4 week period. There is no need to remove the dead grass before planting. With the look you're going for, it really isn't absolutely necessary to have your foundation planting be separate from those plantings in the rest of the yard, although it would look better to do so. If you go that route, shape that area first (using garden hoses, flags, whatever). PKponder gave you some good plant suggestions. You might also enjoy some of these garden blogs: http://www.penick.net/digging/?page_id=6107...See MoreEvenie
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