If you’ve experienced a significant drought in the last couple of years, you’re not alone. We’ve seen droughts across large portions of the U.S. including here in Virginia. Especially if you’re in a location where your household pays a water bill or has a water source that needs to be conserved, these droughts can make gardening a major hassle instead of a source of joy. Thankfully, you don’t need to give up gardening altogether; you can grow drought-tolerant plants and make your garden more drought-resistant next season to help you reduce your water usage.
Drought-Tolerant Plants: Flowers
These are a few of our favorite drought-tolerant flower options that are perfect for creating a low-maintenance garden. You’ll notice that several of these are native perennials.
- Echinacea (coneflowers)
- Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susans)
- Yarrow
- Bachelor’s Buttons Coreopsis
- Celosia
- Butterfly Weed
- Zinnias
- Four O’Clocks
- Cosmos
- Lion’s Ear (Klip Dagga)
Drought-Tolerant Plants: Herbs
If you’re looking for drought-tolerant plants, herbs are a great place to begin! Many of our most flavorful herbs are native to hot, dry climates, making them well-adapted to water stress. Here are a few to try next season.
- Sage
- Rosemary
- Mullein
- Catmint
- Lavender
- Oregano
- Basil
Drought-Tolerant Plants: Vegetables
Getting good vegetable production can be a challenge if you’re not able to water consistently. However, some vegetables handle it better than others. Here are a few of our favorites, including some broad categories and specific varieties.
- Amaranth
- Dent, Flint, Flour Corn
- Okra
- Tomatillo
- Sorghum
- Jupiter Sweet Bell Pepper
- Super Italian Paste Tomato
- Cherry Tomatoes
- New Zealand Summer Spinach
- Cowpeas
- Dark Star Zucchini
- Lima Beans
- Pole Beans
- Pickling Cucumbers
- Hales Best Muskmelon
Tips for Making Your Garden More Drought-Resistant
While selecting drought-tolerant plants is a great start, you can also work to improve the drought tolerance of your garden as a whole, starting with the soil. Healthy soil will hold water much longer and protect your plants from drought stress.
Add Organic Matter
One of the best ways to build drought tolerance in your soil is to add organic matter. Organic matter increases your soil’s water capacity, meaning that it will retain more water when it does rain so that your plants can access it over time. Conversely, organic matter’s ability to handle water is also helpful during heavy downpours. It allows the water to percolate into the soil, preventing runoff and puddling.
Plant Deep
Generally, we recommend planting seeds at a depth that is about two to three times the width of the seed. However, you can plant seeds deeper; they will just take longer to germinate. In drought-prone areas, indigenous farmers like the Hopi people traditionally planted seeds deep to ensure that the plants’ roots would find moisture. Large seeds have the power and nutrients for the young seeds to make it to the surface, so you can plant crops like corn, sunflowers, and beans about 2 inches deep.
While most transplants need to be planted at the same soil level as they were in the container, you can plant tomatoes deeply, which will help them become more drought-tolerant. When you bury a section of the tomato stem, the nodules on it will form roots, allowing the plant to take up extra water and nutrients. While it makes your plant look smaller initially, trust that it’s putting on impressive growth below the soil that will help it produce well later.
Use Thick Mulch
Mulch is another great way to make your garden more drought-resistant. A thick layer of mulch works to protect the plants and soil in several ways. First, mulch provides insulation, keeping the soil cool and moist. Second, mulch helps to reduce weed growth, which prevents weeds from competing with your plants for moisture. Lastly, organic mulches like wood chips, grass clippings, or straw slowly break down, adding more organic matter to the soil and improving your soil’s water retention as discussed above.
Opt for Drip Irrigation
Even if you select drought-tolerant plants, it’s tough to avoid watering altogether. However, you can also reduce your watering needs in the garden is to change the way you water. Most home gardeners still opt for sprinklers because they’re easy to find and set up. However, drip irrigation or even soaker hoses that deliver water right to your plants’ roots are a much more efficient use of your water. Unlike sprinklers, targeted drip irrigation allows you to control directly where the water is going, so you’re not wasting water on bare areas or weeds. Drip irrigation also helps to reduce water loss from evaporation since all the water is delivered right to the soil where it can soak in.
Avoid Container Planting or Raised Beds if Possible
Sometimes we have to work with the space available to us, but if you’re in a drought-prone area and are making the choice between traditional garden beds or raised beds and containers, opt for the traditional beds in the ground. Containers and raised beds dry out much more quickly than traditional garden beds and require more frequent watering even if you select drought-tolerant plants.
Focus Planting in the Shoulder Seasons
Especially if you live in a warm climate, planting in the spring, fall, or even winter, depending on your location, can be a great way to avoid some of the worst hot, dry weather. Choosing drought-tolerant plants that mature quickly, like lettuce, early tomatoes, and summer squash, can allow you to get a good harvest in spring before summer gets hot or in fall when the weather cools off a bit.
Selecting drought-tolerant flowers, herbs, and vegetables and following these growing tips will help you create a drought-tolerant garden next season.
