By Roslyn Imrie.
We recently had our first member-only discussion time! A small group of board members and Ozark Wild One Chapter Members joined a Zoom discussion on Drought Resistant Native Plants and Tips to Surviving Summer. It was an informal talk, and some people participated and some just listened. Here are some of the highlights shared from the discussion . . .
We had members on the call who irrigate and members who don’t water their native garden unless something is about to die. Regardless of how much gardeners water, everyone agreed that letting your plants suffer a little will help them endure drought and also that newly planted natives will need some help in their first year. It is important to let native plants endure periods of not being watered because it will encourage the roots to dig deep looking for water. Those deep roots will help the plant survive the next drought. Of course, you want to be careful and give newly planted natives a drink during droughts because before they have deep roots established, they are not likely to survive a harsh August.
It was also noted that ground cover, even if the ground cover is grass, is super important. Bare, exposed soil threatens even the most hardy plants. While it might seem like grass growing up around your native plants would harm the plant, many people on the call shared examples of when they weeded around a native plant during drought times and it did more harm than good! Many in the group also thought that plants with more slender leaves, rather than broad leaves, survived droughts better. This would be with the obvious exception of our native cactus and succulent species, which are well adapted to dry conditions.
We discussed native plants that look good in the dead of summer.
- Perennials: cup plant, echinacea, sunflowers, milkweeds, partridge pea, goldenrods, bearded beggarticks, ironweed, native succulents like widow’s cross, rock pink, columbine, fire pink
- Grasses: little bluestem, big bluestem, switchgrass, Indian grass
- Trees: oak, persimmon, cherry, shortleaf pine
- Shrubs: ninebark, Ozark witch hazel, lead plant, wild rose
Next month we will discuss Seed Collection! We will share a Zoom invitation by email to members for the meeting, which will be Tuesday, September 3, at 6:30 pm. It won’t be a specific lesson on seed collecting, but everyone will share tips and advice and questions too. Remember, these discussions are for members only but membership starts at just $25 a year. Become a member and we hope you will join us next month!