Featured Plants : drought tolerant

The Popular Kwanzan Flowering Cherry Tree

barb-nhn — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:28:00 GMT

Of all the flowering cherry trees, Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree is one of the most popular and is a beautiful vase-shaped ornamental tree. This hardy deciduous tree is a moderate grower with an upright and spreading form; grows to a height of 20 to 30 feet. The bundles of large double pink blossoms last for three weeks. The flowers are a not only a clear pink, but “double pink", meaning you get twice as many blooms as found on other trees. Multiple petals are similar to a carnation flower. Kwanzan Flowering Cherry has light green foliage with a red tinge.

The Kwanzan Flowering Cherry tree is also known as a Japanese Flowering Cherry tree. The leaves turn to a reddish-copper fall color. It is one of the easiest flowering trees to grow and thrives in almost any soil and climate. Easily grown in zones 5-8 and is considered a tree for many seasons!

This flowering cherry prefers a site with full sun, loose, well drained soil with plenty of moisture. It is somewhat tolerant of alkaline soil and drought but is sensitive to pollution and stresses in general.

Draceaena Spikes Are A Great Accent And Are Drought Tolerant

patti-nhn — Sat, 09 May 2009 13:30:00 GMT

The Draceane - Indivisa Spikes can be a great addition to your landscape. They grow upright up to 20 to 36 inches tall and their long green spikes remind me of swords in appearance. They do arch a bit as they grow which gives them a full appearance as well. Planting flowers around their base is a pleasant arrangement and making the plants colorful would be very attractive.

The Spikes can be moved inside in the winter but it does need to be outside during the summer. In some cases it has even been grown as a large specimen tree. It is hardy from zones 3 to 11. It can be a perennial in zones 9 to 11 but an annual only in zones 3 to 8. The Spikes will grow upright and it will spread from 15 to 18 inches outward. Full to partial shade is needed. The soil should be well drained and fed bi-weekly if it is in a container with other plants. If in its own pot then you can feed it monthly with a balanced plant food while it is actively growing.

This is a great plant, easy care, adds interest and works well in many types of plantings.

Snow Fountains Weeping Flowering Cherry Strong & Weeping

patti-nhn — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:20:00 GMT

Who would think that you could use the words "strong" and "weeping" in the same sentence to describe something. Well, now you have! The Snow Fountains Weeping Flowering Cherry Prunus Hybrid 'Snofozam' has a very strong weeping habit. It can be grown as a tree or groundcover. It is covered with single white flowers that look like snowflakes flowing off the tree with its weeping shape.

It's fall foliage is dark green that turns golden/orange/red so you would have fantastic fall color as well. It is said to be heat tolerant and drought tolerant as well as the foliage being disease tolerant. As a groundcover, Snow Fountains could be grown to drape over a retaining wall or a boulder. There are many options for the uses this tree can provide. If you live in the warmer climates, this could give you the look of a beautiful snowfall without the cold temperatures that come along with the real thing.

Flowering Chinese Redbud Wears A Dense Coat Of Flowers

patti-nhn — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:05:00 GMT

The Avondale Chinese Redbud Cercis chinensis 'Avondale' is best known for its dense coat of rose to purple colored flowers. They begin showing off their beautiful color in the spring. The Avondale can grow to 15 feet tall and grows best in zones 6 to 9. It produces green glossy leaves that are a lovely heart shape. The leaves will turn a bronze to burgundy and then a yellow color in the fall.

This is a wonderful small accent tree among your landscaping. The color is also quite showy. The Avondale Chinese Redbud is also deer and drought resistant and prefers a sandy soil. It is hardy from zone 4 to zone 10. Flowering Redbud trees are one of the most popular trees for landscaping and adding that extra "something".

Frontier Fruitless Olive No Fruit Less Mess

patti-nhn — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:38:00 GMT

The Frontier Fruitless Olive Olea europaea is a vigorous tree and very Mediterranean looking. Due to its lack of fruit, it is a popular choice in your landscape. Olive trees are know to live as much as one thousand years! This would be a tree that your family could enjoy for generations after generations.

This Olive tree has a very attractive shape and can be pruned and shaped very easily if you wish to change its appearance. Olive trees are drought resistant and alkaline or high PH soils are not a problem. They have beautiful silver leaves and a very attractive trunk. This Olive tree is cold hardy to zone 8. If you want something different from the norm, this would be a great selection.

Autumn Blaze Red Maple Is A Real Winner!

patti-nhn — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:50:00 GMT

The Autumn Blaze Red Maple Acer freemanii 'Autumn Blaze' is one of the best Maple trees for fall color. It's bright, blazing red leaves stand out above all the others. It is also a very fast grower, as much as 3 feet a year in best conditions. So if you are looking for a tree that will fill in an empty spot quickly, this might be the one for you. They can grow up to 40 to 60 feet tall and spread to about 40 to 60 feet. Their shape will be rather broad and round.

Autumn Blaze Red Maples are very hardy and can grow in areas from Michigan to Central Florida, it performs well in these areas. The tree is consistent and the fall color lasts long into the season. It is tolerant of clay soils and drought. It does need full sun and will fill your needs for a shade tree or an ornamental tree. For fall color, you can't beat this tree.

Prairie Flame Shining Sumac Compact And Beautiful

patti-nhn — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:31:00 GMT

If you have been wanting to try growing a Sumac but have been held back due to the size of them then this one is right up your alley. The Prairie Flame Shining Sumac Rhus copallina var. latifolia 'Morton' is compact and will grow to only about 12 feet tall as opposed to most Sumac that are up to 25 feet tall. It would be easy to fit into your landscaping with flowers growing nearby or taller trees. The best thing about Sumac, in my opinion, is their awesome color, especially in the fall. This Sumac will fit into your area much easier than the bigger varieties.

The Prairie Flame has dark green and glossy leaves. In the fall they will turn to a fire-engine red that is most beautiful. They will have creamy-white flower spikes in late summer but they do not set fruit as this is a male clone. Prairie Flame is hardy to drought and winter cold down to zone 5 and possibly even into zone 4. You will want to make sure it is not planted where there has been verticillium wilt as it is susceptible to that. If you want a lot of pizzaz in your landscape, try this small Sumac variety.

Elizabeth Bush Anemone A California Native

patti-nhn — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:46:00 GMT

The Elizabeth Bush Anemone Carpenteria californica 'Elizabeth'' is a California native that does well in the West Coast states. It is a drought tolerant plant and you will want well drained soil. It is an evergreen in the west coast and it blooms with fragrant clusters of white flowers with yellow centers in late spring/early summer. They resemble Anemone flowers. This bush is said to be used as a symbol for some festivals and holidays around the world.

The shape of the shrub is dome shaped which gives it a wonderful appearance in your landscape. The old bark of the bush will peel off to a yellowish tan bark. The height of this bush will be approximately 5 feet and it will spread out to the same 5 feet. It can take sun or shade and has low water needs. You may also want to prune back after flowering for more vigorous growth. It might be worth trying in milder Eastern climates of the United States but is mostly found in the Western states.

Butterfly Flowers Attract An Abundance Of Butterflies

patti-nhn — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:23:00 GMT

If you are an avid Butterfly fan, you must plant this Butterfly Flower Aschepias tuberosa L. It is easy to grow from seed inside or out as the weather permits. Butterflies are attracted to bright colored flowers which makes these red-orange fire colored flowers extremely attractive to them. Monarch Butterflies are one of the species of butterflies that you are most likely to see hovering around the plant. They bloom late spring to summer and while beautiful in your landscape they can easily be used in cut flower arrangements or on their own to brighten your home or office. After the flowers have bloomed the plant puts on decorative seed pods that could be dried and also used in floral arrangements.

The Butterfly flower is a shrub-like plant that grows to 24 inches in height, requires full sun and is drought tolerant. Since they are a perennial they will continue to grow year after year without any special care. Rock gardens would have added color interest with these flowers along with a resting spot for the butterflies. You will want to sow the seed 1/8 to 1/4 inches deep outside after the danger of frost has passed for your area. Otherwise, if you want to get a head start by growing them inside you can start them indoors approximately 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost for your area.