Category Archives: drought tolerant plants

cactus in the San Lorenzo Valley, drought tolerant plants

The World of Cacti in the San Lorenzo Valley

Leave a comment

Argentine_GiantThere are species of cactus that grow all over North and South America and have been naturalized in Africa, Asia and Australia. One type of opuntia, the familiar prickly pear, thrives just 700 miles south of the Arctic Circle, Professor Michael Loik told me as he gave me a tour of his cacti collection at his home in Felton. Professor Loik has lived in the San Lorenzo Valley for 18 years but it wasn?t until he and his wife moved to their present home in 2010 that he decided to combine his research, which focuses on the adaptations of desert and montane plants to light, drought, freezing and heat, to his own landscaping.

In his Felton front garden, Professor Loik grows 70 individual cactus specimens which represent 20 different species. He has a few succulents mixed in but says he is more fascinated with cactus. He told me that his love of this plant family started when he was 16 and saw some prickly pear cactus growing out of the snow in the Grand Canyon. ?I was hooked?, he said. He ended up doing his PhD thesis on cactus adaptations from this early interest.

Professor Michael Loik is an internationally recognized expert on how plants cope with freezing and heat wave temperatures as well as rain, snowfall pattern and drought. He has done research in the Great Basin, the Mojave, Chihauhaun and Sonoran deserts, the Rocky Mountains, the Sierra Nevada as well as Costa Rica and Australia. With a weather station in the back yard, Professor Loik continues his research in his own front yard in Felton.

Standing among dozens of large prickly pear cacti, we spoke about all the colorful fruit they displayed. Those are actually a modified short Engelmanns_prickly-pearstem, he told me, and the large prickly paddle is really a long stem. The real fruit of the cacti is buried well within the flavorful pod.

At this time of year, none of the cacti were blooming but Professor Loik told me just a few weeks ago he had 11 blooms measuring a foot across on a Trichocereus pachanoi cactus. This species is bat and moth pollinated and has only a short time to attract a pollinator.

How does this garden grow? What?s his secret to keeping it alive and thriving in our area through drought and freezing?

When he first moved to Felton, Professor Loik took out the dying lawn and worked up the existing soil. After laying down weed block fabric he spread a 4? thick layer of course, well drained soil. Topping this is about 2? of half-inch California Gold crushed gravel.

Rainbow_hedgehog-Echinopis_sppProfessor Loik uses gray water from the laundry to hand water every week or so during the growing season of July to September. Cacti are use to this highly pulsed ?rainfall? he told me, often receiving large monsoon rain periodically during the summer in their native range. He uses a liquid fertilizer occasionally during the summer.

Winter freezes affect only some of his specimens. Most of his collection are from areas of high altitude and can withstand our cold snaps. For those that are sensitive to freezing temps he covers them with towels and rags even soaking a towel with hot water to keep them even warmer during the night.

I had read that some plants produce chemicals that act like antifreeze but Professor Loik told me that according to his research ?There is no particular antifreeze that we have identified. The plants that are tolerant of freezing where they live are able to withstand a certain degree of freezing within their stems (but outside of the cells). They are able to tolerate the loss of water from cells that goes along with extracellular freezing. Upon thawing, the cells take up the water they lost to intercellular spaces during freeze-dehydration.?

Professor Loik shared other ways that freezing temperatures can affect cactus Red_Torch_cactusplants. These range from damage caused by ice formation within the plant itself which can cause cells to break open and even kill the plant outright. Freezing temperatures make cacti vulnerable to bacterial and fungal diseases especially in their roots. Third, freezing temperatures combined with bright sunlight can lead to ?photoinhibition? whereby chlorophyll absorbs light but the rest of the photosynthesis machinery in the cell cannot process the energy and leads to something akin to plant sunburn.

I learned so much visiting Michael Loik?s cactus garden and hearing about his work. His long-term fascination with the stem shapes, flower colors and spine patterns of cacti is evident in his incredible garden.

 

All photos were provided by Professor Loik.

color in the garden, colorful foliage, drought tolerant plants, erosion control, garden design, grass-like plants, grasses, landscape design, variegated foliage

Ormanental Grasses Take Center Stage

Leave a comment

phormiumThroughout the year I am asked for design help and plant suggestions but it?s at this time of year that I especially hear the request, ?I?d love to add more grasses to my garden?. There?s no doubt that the movement and sound of grasses in the landscape adds another dimension to our experience. Many grasses and grass-like plants use less water than other plants, too. This is the time of year that grasses say ?Fall is here?.

There’s an ornamental grass for every type of garden. Whether you are striving to create the perfect perennial border or have a hot dry slope, grasses can work in harmony wherever you place them. There are some that are made for the shade, some that are perfect additions to a small water feature and many that are invaluable in container gardening.

Most grasses require little care, minimal fertilizer, only occasional grooming and just enough water to meet their needs. Diseases and insect pests are rare. They have succeeded because of their adaptability and have evolved to suit almost every environment and climate on earth.

Grasses are distinguished from other plant families by their growth habit. They grow upward from the base of a leaf Orange_libertiaor shoot and can regrow from the crown when cut back. True grasses generally have extensive root systems which help control erosion. There are other grasslike plants that resemble grasses in their growth habits and are often some of the best companions for interplanting with grasses. These include New Zealand flax, carex family sedges, chondropetalum-a restio, kangaroo paw, lomandra, montbretia, liriope and their cousins ophiopogon.

So let’s say you are putting in a new patio and want a few low grasses as accents between some of the pavers. A variety like Northern Lights Tufted Hair Grass, with it’s creamy white foliage that turns pink in cold weather, would look great here. You could also use Ogon sweet flag for dense clumps the color of buttery in a shady spot, black mondo grass or blue fescue grass for even more color.

If you are trying to create a focal point or destination in your garden and think the texture of a grass with light and movement would be perfect, look to taller varieties to achieve this. Miscanthus purpurascens or Flame Grass grows 4 to 8 feet tall in the sun. Their magenta leaves turn to milky white in winter. Maiden grass sports narrow upright leaves 5 to 8 feet tall and creamy flowers. Their seed heads float and bounce in the the breeze. Planting them just above the horizon allow you to enjoy their swaying and dipping backlit at sunset.

Japanese_Blood_grassBesides texture, grasses provide color for your garden, too. Who hasn’t admired the burgundy foliage of red fountain grass? it’s one of our most popular grasses with it’s fox-tail like coppery flower heads. Another favorite of mine for color is Japanese blood grass, You’ll love this grass when you place it so the sun can shine through the brilliant red blades. This grass spreads slowly by underground runners and grows in sun or partial shade forming an upright clump 1 to 2 feet tall. Pink Muhly grass will stop traffic when in bloom.

Are sections of your garden hot and dry? Grasses are survivors and are good choices for sunny spots that get little irrigation. Good drainage is a must for these plants so OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAamend the soil with plenty of organic matter before planting. Combine drought tolerant grasses with companion plants and a few accent rocks to complete your dry theme. Good combinations for these areas are Pheasant Tail Grass with the sky blue flowers of Russian sage. This grass is extremely drought tolerant once established. Giant Feather grass looks great with the purple flowers of penstemon ‘Midnight’. If you like blue foliage, try ‘Elijah Blue’ fescue grass with Amazing Red flax for a show stopping combination.

For a touch of whimsy, you can’t beat fiber optic grass. This grass-like sedge from Europe and North Africa looks like a bad hairpiece. You can grow it at the edge of a shallow pond or display it inside in a pot on a pedestal to show off it’s flowering habit. Seeing is believing with this one.

These are just a few of the places where grasses can enhance and add beauty to your garden. Fall is the perfect time to plant a new one.

California Native Plants, Deer Resistant Plants, Design trends, drought tolerant plants

Add Drama to the Garden with Large-Leafed Plants

Leave a comment

philodendron_selloumGardens have different personalities. Some gardens mimic nature with plants that attract birds and butterflies and other wildlife and look a bit wild. Some are neat and tidy with perennials lined up evenly along pathways and clipped hedges under the windows. All gardens are a reflection of their owners.? When I visit a garden to help the owner change, add or ?take the garden to the next level? I know which ideas will resonate with that person and which will just not work for them. Sometimes it?s easier for someone looking at a garden for the first time to visualize what?s needed.

Regardless of your style I often recommend one simple solution to update a garden. Many gardens end up with too many small-leafed plants. Nature is the master at this survival strategy. Small leaves are often more efficient at retaining water in drought conditions. When all your leaves are the same size, however, the garden gets boring. Using large, bold architectural plants allows the eye to rest on a focal point rather than try to take in everything at once, scanning back and forth.

Plants, like people, come in all sizes and shapes and so do their leaves. Some have huge and dramatic leaves while others are just showy and outsized enough to work well when viewed up close or at ground level. Some plants look tropical and others are right at home in the redwood understory. Some require regular water while others are able to withstand some drought. There?s a bold, breathtaking plant for every garden.

Because they reflect light, glossy leaves look even larger than they are. Make those leaves variegated or wavy with a dimpled texture and the effect is even more striking.

Here are a few large-leafed plants that work well in our area.

In partial shade try Fatsia japonica also called Japanese aralia. It?s deer resistant with bold foliage thatfastia-japonica looks tropical but still at home in the forest. Philodendron selloum with its huge, glossy leaves is also easy to grow. Oakleaf hydrangeas have it all: bold foliage that turns red in fall as well as huge white flower clusters in summer.

Tasmanian tree ferns are hardier in our winters than the Australian variety and are about as dramatic a plant as you will find. Bear?s Breech require only moderate water and serve well as a focal point in the garden.

hosta_Sum_and_SubstanceIn my own garden, I?m finding the chartreuse leaves of Hosta ?Sum and Substance? can take more sun than I originally thought. The deer walk right by their thick, dimpled leaves which is a definite plus. I like all hostas for their bold leaves whether variegated, glossy or wavy.

At ground level, some of my favorite large-leafed perennials that require only moderate water include hellebore, aspidistra, bergenia, coral bells and the dry-shade California native. wild ginger or asarum caudatum.

If you garden in more sun you can add pizzaz to your garden by planting something with large-leaves inasarum_caudatum front of those tall ceanothus, manzanita and toyon. Matilija poppy is a show stopper if you have room for it. Rhubarb, windmill palm, smoke bush and Western redbud also have huge leaves as do canna lily, banana, sago palm, loquat and angel?s trumpet. These are just a few of the many plants with big leaves that work magic in gardens around here.

Adding plants with dramatic foliage instantly makes-over the garden.