You can beat the upcoming summer heat with some advance planning. Last summer you promised yourself that a bedraggled garden of scorched foliage and crispy blooms would NOT be your future! Here are a few tips to help you achieve your goal and maintain a garden throughout the summer.
Mulch … mulch …. mulch. Hopefully you did this over the fall and winter, but it is not too late to mulch your spring garden thoroughly in anticipation of the summer heat. Using plants in our gardens, suited for our Mediterranean climate (Sacramento region and many others throughout the country) will certainly go a long way.
Heat and drought tolerant perennials will always work well in our Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Roseville, Rocklin, Sacramento, Fair Oaks and Orangevale gardens. Southern California gardeners as well, will benefit from the following suggestions.
Not surprisingly, lavenders top the list for heat tolerance. A favorite of mine is Lavandula ‘Goodwin Creek Grey’ which has deep violet-blue flowers that appear in spring and go all the way into late fall. They are a bit larger than most lavenders and has very dense foliage. ‘Munstead‘ is an English lavender that has a very long bloom period, is a heat lover and makes a wonderful low hedge. Another particularly good heat-loving lavender is one of the Spanish ones – Lavandula stoechas ‘Otto Quast’ which tends to be very long-lived.
Teucrium chamaedrys or Germander is a tough plant that holds up well in hot weather. At our former home in El Dorado Hills I had Germander where it got full sun exposure all day and now flourishes with very sporadic water; in fact, it cannot tolerate wet soil.
Origanum laevigatum ‘Hopley’s’ is an oregano that bears dense heads of purple-pink flowers and self-sows freely. It’s a native of Turkey, so that should speak volumes for its ability to survive our summer heat. Another oregano that does well is the ‘Betty Rollins’ cultivar which spreads in a low-growing mat to make a wonderful groundcover. The photo below reflects ‘Hopley’s’ oregano accompanied by Blue Oatgrass, ‘Corbett’s Red Heather’, New York Aster, ‘Paigei hebe’, Euphorbia, Artemesia, and ‘Vera Jamson Sedum’.
Phlomis fruticosa, commonly known as Jerusalem Sage, is another Mediterranean native that is an easy perennial shrub to grow. It grows about 4′ tall and wide and has deep golden yellow flowers that appear in ball-shaped whorls. This perennial looks wonderful when paired with lavenders.
Nepeta x faassenii, or Catmint, is a low-growing, bushy perennial that can be mowed down to the ground periodically to keep it looking good. It makes a great border or edging plant.
One of the salvias – Salvia officinalis ‘Berggarten’ – is a particularly good choice for hot, dry climates. It is more compact, has denser growth and tends to be longer-lived than some of the other salvias.
If you like ornamental grasses, Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ is a true workhorse where summers are hot and dry. It is a sturdy, clumping-type grass with feathery, buff-colored flower plumes that persist into winter. A great choice for mass plantings.
These are just a very few examples of drought and heat tolerant perennials you can plant keep looking good all summer long. The plants listed above are only watered every 14 days (once established), even during the hottest periods. A plant is considered established after about two growing seasons. At that point you can cut back on watering. July and August are not the best times for planting, but if you can’t wait until the cooler days of fall, do your planting in the early morning hours when the heat is not so intense. You will have to baby them more than if you waited until fall, but by next summer, they will have enough of a head start to perform well.
In the Sacramento area, the free Master Gardener groups provide classes for gardeners. If you need more information about these groups, including contact information, just let me know!
I wish you a great beginning of spring and the many opportunities you will have to “play” in your garden! And to my fellow designers … use these heat and drought tolerant plantings in your clients landscapes and you will continue to receive compliments, season after season.