zen xeriscapes

by Lisa Truesdale

add a variety of height and color to your landscaping

Low-water, low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants infuse your landscape with bright colors and year-round interest—just plant and enjoy. But with dozens, maybe hundreds, of native or adapted varieties available at local nurseries, it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to decide. We asked two local experts, David Salman, owner/horticulturist at Waterwise Gardening in Santa Fe and Mary Harris, manager at Plants of the Southwest in Albuquerque (which also has a location in Santa Fe), for help in narrowing down the choices. Here are their recommendations.

Texas Red Yucca
Scientific name: Hesperaloe parviflora
Light requirements: Full sun
Size at maturity: 3’ wide; 5’ tall
Although native to Texas, this colorful succulent is a perfect match for the Albuquerque-area climate, so Salman often recommends it to his clients. The benefits are numerous—it’s easy to grow, attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, is perfect for container gardening and works well in cut-flower bouquets. Best of all, it has an extended blooming period of four weeks or more during the summer months.

Parry’s Century Plant
Scientific name: Agave parryi
Light requirements: Full sun, or morning sun with afternoon shade
Size at maturity: 18”–30” wide; 18” tall
It doesn’t actually take 100 years to grow, as its name implies, but it is considered slow-growing. This flowering plant, with spine-tipped, silver-gray leaves that form large rosettes, was recommended by both Harris and Salman. “Evergreens like this have a nice solid structure,” says Harris, “and they’re tolerant of heat, drought and frost.”

Ice Plant
Scientific name: Delosperma
Light requirements: Morning sun with afternoon shade
Size at maturity: 15”–18” wide; 1” tall
Ice plants, like Red Mountain® Flame and delosperma ashtonii (Blut ice plant), are versatile ground covers with an extended bloom from early to late summer. Although they’re native to South Africa, Salman says they’re well suited to this climate, growing vigorously to carpet your yard in vibrant color that lasts around four weeks.

Ocotillo
Scientific name: Fouquieria splendens
Light requirements: Full sun
Size at maturity: 6’–10’ wide; 6’–16’ tall
Flame-red flowers top Ocotillo’s long, spinystems, so it’s not surprising that its name means “little torch” in Spanish. Ocotillo generally blooms in late spring or early summer, and some plants can reach heights of up to 20 feet tall and can survive up to 60 years or more.

Banana Yucca
Scientific name: Yucca baccata
Light requirements: Full sun, or morning sun with afternoon shade
Size at maturity: 4’–6’ wide; 15”–18” tall (flower spikes may add an additional 2–3’); compact varieties spread just 24”–36” wide and 24”–36” tall including flower spikes
Easy-to-grow banana yucca produces ivory-colored blooms in the late spring, attracting birds to your yard. It’s extremely drought-tolerant but will thrive with weekly watering. As a bonus, the naturally sweet fruit is edible—it tastes best when roasted and pureed into an applesauce-type side dish or sliced and baked into a pie.

Beaked Yucca
Scientific name: Yucca rostrata
Light requirements: Full sun
Size at maturity: 4’–10’ wide; 6”–15’ tall
Beaked yucca can withstand drought and heat, but can also handle the frost, tolerating temperatures as low as -10°F. The yelloworange flowering stalks produce large clusters of white flowers in late spring, while the sharp-tipped, bluish-green leaves repel deer and rabbits.

resources

Waterwise Gardening, LLC
Plants of the Southwest