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Drought – Tolerant Plants

By Sereba Agiobu
16 January 2016   |   5:17 am
MANY plants have developed the nature to survive the hardship of the most hostile environment on earth, so there is an amazing selection of such beautiful plants and flowers that are drought, tolerant, well suited to our hot climate that water-wise and dry gardens don’t have to look dull or boring to the eyes. Some…
Hibiscus rosa sinensis, white ‘rose periwinkle’ and purple ‘wandering jew’

Hibiscus rosa sinensis, white ‘rose periwinkle’ and purple ‘wandering jew’

MANY plants have developed the nature to survive the hardship of the most hostile environment on earth, so there is an amazing selection of such beautiful plants and flowers that are drought, tolerant, well suited to our hot climate that water-wise and dry gardens don’t have to look dull or boring to the eyes. Some are native plants, some come from other parts of Africa, Mediterranean, Asia and Americas. By choosing drought-tolerant or water wise plants in the design of your garden, you will be reducing the amount of precious water and time spent in the garden.

What does the term “Drought-Tolerant Plants’ mean? The term Drought-Tolerant Plants’ means different things to different gardeners. There was a gardener who believed if a plant was considered to be drought tolerant, it means that once you have planted it, you could just walk away and never have to water it again. The funny thing is that some drought-tolerant plants, cope with that.

Drought-tolerant plants have developed some extra ordinary mechanisms for withstanding or avoiding dehydration, thick, fleshy, water storing leaves, hairy or reflective foliage, small few leaves, which reduce the surface area through which water can be lost. If you want to give your plants a better chance of survival, cultivate the habit of watering them during their first season. After that, they should be able to survive just from water that falls from the sky. This to me is what drought tolerant plants mean. It means plants that evolved in their natural habitat to withstand long periods without or with rainfalls and as a consequence can do the same when introduced into a garden situation.
Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are water retaining plants adapted to arid climate or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves, stem and/or roots. Geophytes that survive by dying back to underground storage organs (tuberous roots) corms, bulbs and rhizomes) can be regarded as succulent geophytes.

Many succulents come from the dry areas of the tropics, sub tropics, such as steppes, semi deserts and deserts. High temperature and low precipitation force plants to collect and store water in order to survive long dry period. Succulent plant also occurs as epiphytes. As such they have limited or no contact with the ground and are dependent on their ability to store water. Succulents also occur on sea coast or salt pans which are exposed to high level of dissolved minerals.

The best known succulents are the Cactic family Cactaceae. Virtually all cactic are succulents, but not all succulents are cactic. There are many more families and genera in which succulents occur which include, Agavaceae, Apohodelaceae, Aoryllidaceae, Ridierresceae and more.

Many people rightly think of Agave and Yucca as tough plants associated with extreme climates and environments like deserts and dunes. What they may not know is that Agave (Agave spp.) and Yucca ( Yucca spp.) also adapt well to home and commercial landscapes where they thrive in sometimes harsh conditions associated with urban environments. Agave and Yucca are found in natural environment that are typically dry, hot, sunny and windy with low rainfall and poor soil. In cultivation, this adaptability translates into low maintenance since typically they need little or no irrigation, fertilizer, pruning or spraying.

Furthermore, many agave and yucca plants withstand drought, heat, strong winds and cold weather. They have few pests and diseases. They are tolerant of poor soil and therefore rarely develop nutrient deficiencies. The wide variety of sizes, shapes and growth permits many use in landscape design including ground cover, bedding plants, potted, shrubs, hedging plants and especially as specimen or focal plants.
Above and beyond their toughness, agave and yucca plants capture the imagination because their dramatic architectural forms and unusual shapes. Vinca ‘rose periwinkle’ (Catharanthus) is a plant you will enjoy growing. It is not fussy, drought tolerant. It can go a long time without water and keeps blooming, looking fresh even in the full glare of the sun. It is an evergreen fast spreading shrub with white to rosy pink (cultivars come in shell peach and lemon yellow blooms). It can become untidy with age and will need some pruning then.

Allamanda  cathartica

Allamanda cathartica

Some species of creeping Tradescantia (wandering jew, Spiderwort plant thrive in dry soil and hot sun. Some examples are T. Pallida syn T. purpure. ‘purple heart’ or ‘wandering jew’ with its fleshy dark purple leaves and tiny pink flowers. Nigeria is blessed with such abundance and variety of plants to suit different climatic and soil conditions. The native Hibiscus (Malvaceae) H. rosa- sinensis and non- natives relatives that have naturalized (like H. syriacus “purple hibiscus”) are ideal for our warm and humid climatic conditions. Bougainvilleas (B.glabra, B.spectabilis), Allamandas (C. cathartica, C. blanchetii), are drought tolerant plants. They can pruned into standards, also grown along fence lines, on walls, as hedge or accent plants. They can be used as houseplants in containers and hanging baskets. In the landscape, their drought- tolerance and colors, they make excellent hot season year-round plants. Evergreen Euonymus species are known for drought tolerance. They are drought bursting but need fertile, well-drained soil to grow and look well.

The Castor oil plant is native to Tropical Africa. It is a fast growing shrub that has been grown for over 6,000 years. The flowering Oleanders shrubs come in various bright flowering colors and heights.
There are numerous showy trees to consider such as the Spathodea campunalata (African tulip-tree, flame tree) with clusters of Tulip-shaped scarlet to orange-red flowers and long dark seed pods, all the dramatic ‘flame’ trees like Delonix regia are dry tropical forest trees that can be introduced to large and public gardens.

Others are the flamboyant trees and shrubs Caesalpina, C. pulcherrima (Barbados Pride), C. gilliesii (bird of paradise shrubs, with bright yellow flowers are more suited to smaller gardens. The deciduous frangipani (plumeria rubra) sheds its leaves to display fragrant tubular flowers that cover its branches, in showy colors of yellow, oranges, red, pinks and white.

In the palm family (Palmaceae), are many species from the tall phoenix to delicate slender and featherpalms. The Traveler’s tree (Ravendala madagascarensis) is a genus of one species, grown for its foliage and overall appearance. It is related to stelitzia. The banana (Musaceae) species will survive after their first growth season without any watering except the rainfall.
The variety is so much and wide that you cannot lack for choice of plants for the design of water wise and dry gardens.

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