Austin landscaping schemes and drought-resistant plants harmonize like milk and cookies. If we don’t consider our climate and choose Texas-friendly plants, our green spaces soon resemble barren wastelands flourishing with tumbleweeds. It’s not pretty. These three plants, however, require very little water and add an abundance of glorious color to any space.
Portulaca Grandiflora
Also called the moss rose, portulacas grow six to 10 inches tall, but this plant sprawls outward more than upward. If you want a flowering plant that loves high heat, can withstand Austin’s sun and has very little water requirements, this is your plant. Additionally, it doesn’t need fertilization or have special soil requirements.
Moss roses produce intensely vivid blooms through spring, summer and fall. The blooms continue to show and add color to your space after the stems and leaves appear to have withered from heat.
Asclepias Tuberosa
You might better recognize this plant by the name pleurisy root or butterfly milkweed. It grows 12 to 24 inches tall and fills your garden space with a delightful contrast of green and bright orange. The orange flowers grow in clusters. Pleurisy root must have been created with Austin landscaping in mind: It needs little water and has a high tolerance for heat, sun and drought.
This plant produces flowers through spring, summer and fall, and the blooms attract butterflies, hummingbirds and bees. In addition to adding a burst of color to your garden, butterfly milkweed makes a beautiful cut flower to adorn indoor spaces.
Pavonia Lasiopetala
Growing from one to five feet tall and two to five feet wide, the rockrose is an ideal drought-resistant shrub if you want greater coverage than flowers provide. Rockrose shrubs add an attractive splash of green dotted with pink, five-petal flowers that resemble hibiscus.
This plant blooms during spring, summer and fall, and it easily tolerates our Texas heat and abundant sunshine. It requires little water and doesn’t require soil amendment.
Each of these three drought-resistant plants add splashes of beautiful color to your landscaping, and they’re also endorsed by the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension as being suitable for our low-water plant climate. Contact us at ABC Home & Commercial Services for a free estimate or to ask how we can beautify your space with Texas-worthy plants.