Drought resistant plant, drought tolerant plant

Most of the supposed drought tolerant plants cannot tolerate true drought. Many grow along creeks in areas of higher rainfall  and are nothing more than adapted to drip irrigation, not drought tolerant. Most truly drought tolerant plants hate drip irrigation.

Drought resistant plant, drought tolerant plant, drought adapted plant, low -water- use plant, are all terms garden, landscape and nursery persons use to describe whatever plant they think is the drought tolerant of the month (in flower of course!).

In reality, the most drought tolerant plants are usually the native plants of your area. If you live in New York use the pretty plants that live on a dry, south -facing slope; those will be the best adapted for your site. If you live in California pick the plants from your south -facing slopes or a slightly drier climate a little further inland. It's really easy to plant a garden with native plants that are very drought tolerant (they lived there long before you showed up with a garden hose) and look very good, especially with a few sprinkles with the hose.

We've had desert plants die of drought here because they were not adapted to our long  DRY summers. It doesn't rain in most of  California from the end of April into the first of November.   But it does rain a lot in winter, so many desert species drown in our winter. Moreover, our California plants drown in most other states that get summer rain. So again, the best and most drought plants for your area are going to be the ones that have adapted to your climate, native in your area. If you are in a coastal area these plants may pick up as much as half of their moisture from the morning fogs. If you're on a mountain top the plants may have adapted to blowing clouds. If you're in a desert they have adapted to the five minute downpour and will spring into life that day or the next because their large and shallow root system picks up every drop that hits the ground. Chaparral, forest, many inland coastal plants and even some of the desert species belong to a cooperative where they share their resources and cycle the moisture among themselves for the greater good of all. (That's one of the reasons weed control is so important; weeds do not share.) These drought tolerant plants need to be planted together for that to work; they can't share if they do not recognize each other. Nor can the garden be truly drought tolerant if you plant a bunch of non-native plants in with the native plants. If you wish to mix non-native with native, plant clusters of each with a walk way in between.

Many southern California landscapes have had the beautiful manzanitas, Ceanothus, sages, and other native plants removed and planted with chaparral plants from Europe that are not as drought resistant but are presented as such. Why?

Many of these so-called 'drought tolerant' European plants from the South African fynbos and the Mediterranean mattoral, are also fire-adapted just as our California chaparral plants are, but  live in areas that are closest to Medford, Oregon in climate, and have a much shorter dry season (two months compared to six months),  hardly the same as Beverly Hills, never mind Hemet. Because of that, they are generally more of a fire problem than our native plants in drought years. From the frying pan, into the fire. If you are in one of the frying pan areas plant a low density native planting with wide spaces (you can walk comfortably between them without touching the plants) between the plants. The wildlife likes this and the planting is fairly safe. (As safe you can probably get without paving the whole place. Also search out site for fire.)

In Southern California look at these plants:

Buckwheat

Sages

Penstemon spectabilis

Penstemon centranthifolius

Big Berry Manzanita

Mexican Manzanita

Ceanothus

Drought tolerant plants for many California cities.