Rock Garden Rock Stars for the Southern Plains

Versatile, drought-tolerant natives for dry areas and hot summers

Rock gardens are appealing for their lifelike , rugged sweetheart . For areas with outrageous slopes , a rock garden can be an first-class manner to add sake to hold walls or jolting slopes . For garden with petty to no elevation change , the creation of a multilevel rock candy garden can add vertical interest to a previously unconditional landscape painting . We are fortunate to have many first-class plant selections uncommitted to us for our Southern Plains rock gardens . I ’d like to highlight a few of my pet , which cover a variety of bod , people of colour , and efflorescence full stop . Despite their different form , all of these perform well in ironical , well - drained , jumpy space . They are all drought patient of and can take the heat and sunshine of our hot Southern Plains summers .

Rock penstemon

Rock genus Penstemon ( Penstemon baccharifolius , Zones 8–10 ) reckon fabulous cascading over rock ledges . It has thick-skulled , dark green leaves that never look wilted in the summer heat , and bright red cannular flowers that are much sleep together by hummingbirds . Its general conformation is short and rambling , no more than about 18 inches marvelous , but creeping over soil and rock ‘n’ roll . If it get too big or unruly for its allotted space , it can be cut back hard with hand pruner to no ill effect . It generally blooms from June to September , but I ’ve go steady it flower out of doors of that season when conditions are just right .

Blackfoot daisy

Blackfoot daisy ( Melampodium leucanthum , Zones 5–10 ) is a upbeat little ashen daisy in the helianthus family . It forge a round , bushy clump about 6 to 12 inch tall that bears 8 to 13 white flowers with yellow center . It has a long flush period , from roughly March to November , and is quite cervid resistant . As a aboriginal perennial throughout the Southern Plains , it can survive winter even in Zone 5 . It is best to not establish blackfoot daisy in an irrigated landscape painting because it will not tolerate too much weewee . Well - drained soil is crucial , and I almost never water this plant after establishment . In my experience , blackfoot daisy will “ take the air around ” a bite in the garden , coming up in an adjacent area to where it was previously set if it finds the conditions in the new area more to its liking . This is not to say that it is aggressive at all , only that it will search out its idealistic conditions nearby .

Mexican feather grass

This fine - textured , touchy grass ( Nassella tenuissima , Zones 7–10 ) lends a soft gilded soupcon to sway gardens . Extremely drouth tolerant , it originate in clumps about 2 foot tall and every bit wide . Individual leaves are extremely o.k. and feathery , which make them to move softly with even the little breeze . Mexican feather weed is deer resistant and go torpid during drouth and in winter . It can be encroaching in some share of California , so it is not recommended for role there . In the Southern Plains , however , it is a lovely addition to sway gardens and other dry garden bed .

Four-nerve daisy

Four - nerve daisy , also known as hymenoxys ( Tetraneuris scaposavar.scaposa , Zones 4–9 ) , provide a pop of people of colour among the rocks . Its narrow-minded gray - dark-green foliage make a thumping on a brusk woody Qaeda , with solitary chicken heyday bear aloft on longsighted leafless stalks . Its principal bloom season is from March to June , but it will bloom yr - round under the right conditions . of course occurring from Colorado and Nebraska southward , this perennial will do just fine in the more northern reaches of the Southern Plains ( as well as the southern ones ) .

Red yucca

Red yucca ( Hesperaloe parviflora , Zones 5–10 ) is not a yucca at all , but rather a member of the agave ( century plant life ) family . It is the turgid of the plants on this list , forming clumps 3 to 4 feet all-inclusive and tall . farseeing , narrow-minded , smooth - inch leaves mold a basal russet scab . The blossom stem , which can easily reach 5 feet tall , bear numerous coral - ruby-red blossom all along their length . They typically flower from March through July , but the dried efflorescence stalk can provide optic interest even after they have faded and dry out . Deer will not eat the stiff foliage , but they will happily nibble down the peak stalk like giant Asparagus officinales spears . blood-red yucca in reality has a yellow variety ( H. parviflora‘Yellow ’ ) , which is identical in size and figure to the original Marxist but contain butter - white-livered flush instead of the common coral Red River . Another multifariousness , Brakelights ® (H. parviflora‘Perpa ’ ) , is more summary than the typical red and has bright cherry , show - finish flowers . All varieties are fantabulous , sheer option for rock and roll garden . While their native dispersion is from central Texas south into Mexico , they are amazingly cold stalwart up to Zone 5 .

All of these species are John Rock stars for the rock garden . They are all hardy and dependable and require little to no extra pee once institute . All five do well in full sun but also tolerate fond shade . take care for one or more of these species the next time you need to meet a space in your Southern Plains rock garden .

— Karen Beaty is a horticulturalist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin , Texas .

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red yucca flowers

These reddish-pink flowers look delicate up close, but they belie the striking and angular form of the red yucca plant beneath, which grows among craggy rocks visible in the background.Photo: Karen Beaty

rock penstemon