Drought tolerant plants

Britain is seeing evidence of climate change in the garden and we are getting drier, hotter summers. Lots of our customers are interested in growing drought-tolerant plants and there are numerous plants that can tolerate dry conditions and make excellent colourful garden features. Now these plants have developed ways of coping with drought conditions – including fleshy, hairy or waxy leaves, silvery or grey leaves and even reduced thin grass-like leaves or thorns. So this means good plants include Ceanothus, Ceratostigma, Cistus, Cytisus, Euonymus, Hebe, Lavender, Rosemary, Red Hot Poker, Catmint and Sea Holly among many, many others. What you need to bear in mind though, is that nearly all of them only become drought tolerant once they are established. So, it’s important to water them in well after planting - giving one good soaking every week or so rather than little and often - to ensure they become established as soon as possible. Applying a thick mulch of bark, cocoa shell or gravel after planting will help insulate the roots from hot, sunny conditions and maintain soil moisture levels. But it’s important to ensure the mulch is only put down when the soil is already moist. Also, don’t forget that planting membranes can also be used to help keep moisture in, too and you could even add water-retaining gels to the soil.