If your garden
has all day sun exposure, your landscape does not include irrigation, or there
are water restriction concerns, consider a garden that focuses on
drought-tolerant plants. However, a perennial plant will require water to
establish itself, only when they have well-established roots will they tolerate
drought.
While many drought-tolerant plants are also tolerant
of poor-to-average soils, soils that are high in organic matter will help plants
both establish themselves and survive periods of drought. Spending efforts to
improve soil conditions will improve the gardens performance, but most drought
tolerant perennials prefer soils that are well-drained.
Mulches are a prime gardening technique to reduce
water evaporation. Not only will mulch assist the water problem, it adds organic
matter to the soils and reduces weeds.
Water less often, with more water. Increasing the amount of water, when you do water, allows it to penetrate deeper and naturally improves the depth of the plants root system. Water early in the morning when temperatures are cooler to minimize evaporation.
