Xeriscaping
The Complete How-To Guide
Inside:
• Planning and planting tips • Best trees and shrubs for your area • Regional plant list • Rebate information for Water Authority customers
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XERISCAPING BASICS...........................1-7 Tips on Drip......................................... 5 8 Steps to a Healthy Xeric Plant..... 6-7 RAINWATER HARVESTING...................8-9 TREES.................................................10-14 VINES.................................................14-15 SHRUBS..............................................16-19 FLOWERING PLANTS........................20-27 DESERT ACCENTS.............................28-31 GROUNDCOVER.................................32-34 GRASSES............................................35-37 PLANT LISTINGS...............................38-55
Introduction The Complete How-To Guide to Xeriscaping is published by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority to help people make smart, water-efficient landscape decisions that are appropriate for our arid climate. A list of plants that grow well in the region is provided at the back of this guide. This list provides basic information about each plant, and the plant’s rebate allowance, where applicable. Photos and more detailed descriptions of featured plants from the list are provided in the front and middle portion of the book, along with tips on layout and design, planting, soil preparation, mulching, drip irrigation and more. If you are a customer of the Water Authority, you may qualify for one or more of our outdoor rebates. Please visit our landscaping website, www.505outside.com, for more information and instructions on how to apply.
XERISCAPING BASICS
Why Xeriscape? It’s Beautiful and Saves Water and Money A xeriscape is a landscape designed for arid climates that uses water-conserving elements, such as droughttolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation. The term is derived from the Greek word xeros, meaning dry, and should not be confused with the misnomer “zero-scape.” A well-designed xeriscape is anything but a zero – it can be a shady refuge filled with many colors, scents and textures. A xeriscape can save water and money, and is easier to maintain because it works with the local ecology. So how does someone go from the turfgrass of less water-savvy times to a sheltered garden for outdoor living or an urban wildlife oasis?
There are a number of things to keep in mind:
Have a Plan Before you move a shovelful of dirt or plant a single flower, have an overall plan for your xeriscape. As that great gardener Yogi Berra once noted, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you might end up someplace else.” Look at your site from a perspective of what it has to offer and what you want it to provide. reas already shaded by the walls of the building A or existing trees might become additional patio space to take advantage of existing cool spots, or you may want to plant trees or vines to shade existing patios where summer sun makes them less usable because of the heat. o you need a small lawn as a play space for D young children, or is your water budget better invested in vegetable or flower gardening? ainwater from the roof and large paved R surfaces can be collected and/or diverted for plants to use. This important source of “free” water may also help determine the placement of large shade trees. lant large shrubs with views, privacy screening P and wind protection in mind.
Consider the mature size of plants when you include them in your garden. Well-adapted plants will reach their maximum size fairly quickly. Over-planting wastes water and money. If you have limited time or energy to invest in gardening, the places where you spend the most time or that you can see through your windows may be the focal points for color and accent, while the rest of the landscape is planned for very low maintenance. Whether you’re an avid do-it-yourselfer who designs and plants your own garden or you use the services of a landscape design professional, the most important things to consider are how you want to use the space and how you want the space to look and feel. By considering these two key items, you are more likely to develop a well-designed xeriscape that meets your needs and provides beautiful, water-wise outdoor living space for you and your family. 505Outside.com • 1
XERISCAPING BASICS bluegrass is a cool season grass that requires a minimum of 40 inches of rainfall a year to stay lush and green. The Albuquerque area receives 8-12” of precipitation annually. That’s why we have to water bluegrass so much here in the high desert.
Digging the Dirt If you’re planting a lawn, a vegetable garden or fruit trees, you may need to add compost to your soil before you plant so that the soil absorbs and holds water more efficiently. If you’re landscaping with native and xeric plants, you probably don’t need to add any compost to the soil as these plants prefer our native soils. For arid-adapted plants, usually all you’ll need to do is loosen the soil well before you plant, and water deeply enough to encourage them to root extensively.
If we’re going to be serious about saving water, we have to rethink our lawns. The greatest value of cool season turf is its resilience as a play surface. Communities maintain public parks and playing fields with taxpayer dollars, and these cool amenities serve the citizens well. Homeowners generally don’t need a soccer field of turf in their backyards, and no one needs a huge expanse of water-guzzling turf in their front yard where its main use is outdoor carpeting. There are hundreds of plants recommended for their medium- and low-water use in this guide including native grasses that can create a lush-looking green cover or gorgeous tapestry of color with less water than it takes to maintain a lawn.
Desert Friendly Plants
Rethinking Our Lawns New Mexico is the land of enchantment. The bluegrass state is Kentucky. People love our sunny skies and low humidity; bluegrass does not. How much thirsty lawn is appropriate here? Kentucky 2 • 505Outside.com
Choose native and desert friendly plants whenever possible. From the low desert of southern New Mexico to the foothills of the northern mountains, there is an amazing diversity of water-wise plants that we can use in our gardens. Whether you want to have year-round green, blazing flowers or a subtle blend of texture and color that changes through the seasons, there are well-adapted plants that can fill the space on a modest water budget. Grouping plants of like requirements also makes zoning irrigation easier and more efficient.
XERISCAPING BASICS
Water Smart Efficient irrigation saves water. When plants are grouped by their water needs, plants that need water more often in summer, such as vegetable gardens, fruit trees or turf, can be accommodated while desert natives with the lowest water needs can be watered less often or not at all once they are well-rooted. hoose sprinkler nozzles that deliver water C efficiently and make sure there is not excessive pressure in the system that causes misting. Sprinkler heads should have a low spray angle and be operated at the coolest, least windy times of day to minimize evaporative loss. ost other plants should be watered with bubblers M or drip irrigation, applying water only where plant roots can access it, and only as often and as deeply as the plants require. Such careful application of water has the added advantage of minimizing weeds and preventing pest problems. Plants use the least amount of water when they are dormant during the coldest winter months and the most water when they are actively growing, blooming and producing fruit in summer. In spring, as temperatures rise, and in autumn, as temperatures fall, watering times should be adjusted to keep plants healthy without waste.
Plants pushed with extra water in spring may leaf out or flower earlier, making them more vulnerable to late spring frosts. Likewise, watering too much in autumn can keep plants soft going into cold weather and make them more vulnerable to frost damage. automatic irrigation controller is only as efficient An as the program that runs it – and the programmer who sets the run times – so program only to deliver as much water as the landscape needs. R emember, too, that even the best-designed irrigation system must be maintained to retain its optimum efficiency. Fix leaks and make sure water lines are clean and unobstructed for peak performance.
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XERISCAPING BASICS rganic mulches such as pecan shells O and wood chips improve soil fertility and water holding capacity by adding organic material into the soil. Landscape fabric deprives the soil of these benefits by blocking the soil-mulch interface. S tone mulches such as crusher fines and gravel of various sizes and colors, can be used as pathways, lining rainwater catchment, streambeds and basins, and to add texture to planting areas where desert plants prefer improved drainage.
Mulching Mulches are blankets of loose material that cover the soil to minimize evaporation, keep roots cool in summer, suppress weed growth and slow erosion. Mulches can also provide visual interest and make the landscape more cohesive until young plants mature to fill the space.
ever use impervious plastic sheeting N under mulches as it blocks air movement needed for healthy root growth. If a barrier between mulch and soil is required, select a landscape fabric made of pervious material.
“Low Maintenance” is Not “No Maintenance” Xeriscapes can be designed to require very little maintenance, to be healthy and attractive with seasonal cleanup and pruning rather than weekly mowing, but no garden is completely maintenance-free. To ensure that your landscape looks its best and stays water-wise, you may need to: • Remove fallen leaves, • Trim off old flower stems, • Pull a few weeds, • Observe insect activity and decide when • intervention is warranted and what the least • invasive and most effective approach might be, • Monitor watering and • Fertilize plants that need supplementing. 4 • 505Outside.com
While this may seem like a long list of tasks, in real time most of these may amount to a few hours every two or three months. The preventive pest patrol and irrigation check can be done in the evening every week or two with a cool drink in your hand – a relaxing reminder to stop and smell the roses.
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XERISCAPING BASICS
Tips on Drip: The Basics of Drip Irrigation 1
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Filter keeps sand and silt from clogging small drip lines and is part of a valve assembly. Filters are also available for hose bib attachments.
Pressure Regulator lowers the water pressure to the ideal setting for a drip system – approximately 20-30 pounds per square inch (PSI).
Distribution Tubing is typically ¾” or ½” polyethylene tubing, also known as poly pipe, shallowly buried in the soil or simply covered with mulch.
¼” Barbed Fittings are used to connect Microtubing, also known as spaghetti, to the main distribution line.
Drip Emitters connect to microtubing and deliver water to specific plants at a slow, consistent rate. They come in a variety of styles and rates of flow, measured in gallons per hour (GPH). In-Line Drip Tubing, also known as dripline, has integrated pressurecompensating emitters at regular intervals of 12” or 18”, providing a standard rate of flow.
Flush Caps are installed at the end of each lateral line and allow particles and debris to be flushed from the system.
Drip irrigation systems can play an important water-saving role in the xeric landscape. When properly designed, installed and maintained, drip irrigation efficiently maintains the optimal range of moisture in the soil because it applies water in precise quantities on a set schedule. Other drip irrigation advantages include:
• Easy installation and modification
• Relatively low cost
• Reduced weed growth
• Minimal runoff
A drip system is easy for most home owners to install. A point of connection can be made to a hose bib or, for a more permanent installation, the water mainline. On mainline connections a shutoff valve is necessary for winterization and maintenance access. In all cases a backflow prevention device is required to prevent contaminated water from siphoning back into the drinking water supply. More basic drip irrigation system components are described to the left. Adding a Smart Controller to a drip system enhances water savings. Smart Controllers use local weather and landscape conditions to tailor watering schedules to actual conditions on the site. The Water Authority offers a rebate for EPA WaterSense Smart Controllers. Visit www.505Outside for details. Follow these basic principles for drip success: • Understand hydrozoning. Group plants with similar watering needs on the same line. • Make sure enough water gets to the end of the line – factor in pipe diameter, elevation changes, and number of emitters. • Lay out microtubing and emitters to encourage regular inspections, and to make adjustments as plants mature. The Water Authority and many local nurseries offer free classes nearly every spring and summer to help do-it-yourselfers get started. Local irrigation supply stores also provide a wealth of resources and highquality components. If you choose to hire a professional landscaper visit www.abcwua.org for information about contractors who have participated in Water Authority landscape irrigation efficiency training. These contractors are trained to follow landscape best management practices and to promote efficient watering. 505Outside.com • 5
XERISCAPING BASICS
8 Steps
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2 SELECT THE RIGHT PLANT FOR THE RIGHT SPOT
Sun-loving plants should go into sunny spaces. Shade-loving plants should be placed under trees or beside walls where they’ll be protected from our harsh New Mexico sun. Also make sure the area is big enough to accommodate the plant when it’s reached its full mature size. (Remember, too, to place plants with similar water needs together.)
5 GIVE THE PLANT A GOOD SOAKING
Even water-thrifty xeric plants need a healthy drenching when transplanted. Make sure you soak the plant’s entire root zone. (Keep in mind, too, that your new plants will need more frequent waterings during their first year than during subsequent years.)
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DIG THE RIGHT SIZE HOLE AND LOOSEN THE SOIL
The “right size” for trees and shrubs is about three times wider and just a few inches deeper than the depth of the root ball. For annuals and perennials, the soil should also be loosened up three to five times the diameter of the container you’re planting from. If you dig a hole that’s just big enough for the plant’s root ball, you greatly limit how far the roots can easily grow and spread.
6 MULCH IT!
A thick layer of mulch (2-4” deep depending on the size of the plant) will minimize evaporation, cool the soil and reduce weed growth. Crushed 3/8” or 3/4” gravel, pecan shells, coarse textured compost and bark are four commonly used mulches.
XERISCAPING BASICS
to a Healthy Xeric Plant
3 CAREFULLY REMOVE PLANT FROM CONTAINER AND SEPARATE MATTED ROOTS
Turn small plants upside down, supporting the soil with your hands. Tap the pot to loosen the soil from the sides of the pot, then lift the pot off the root ball. Pulling annuals and perennials out by the stems and leaves can damage the plant. Use a knife or sharp trowel to cut four vertical slits, one on each side of the root ball. Make several similar cuts on bottom of root ball. Use your fingers to “rough out” matted roots on sides and bottom.
7 USE EFFICIENT IRRIGATION
The majority of xeric plants suitable for New Mexico landscapes can be most efficiently watered using drip irrigation. Drip emitters save water because they deliver a slow, steady dose of water directly to a plant’s root zone, significantly reducing water lost to evaporation.
4 PLACE PLANT AND BACKFILL THE HOLE
Place the plant in the hole, making sure that the top of the root ball is about level with the surrounding soil. Shovel the soil around the plant’s roots to fill the hole and tamp gently to remove any large air pockets. When plants will be watered by hand or will be supplemented with rainwater, they should be planted in broad, shallow basins (at least 4” deep and as wide as possible) to hold water so it soaks in deeply.
8 MAINTAIN YOUR XERISCAPE
Even a low-maintenance xeriscape requires some maintenance. Periodically check your irrigation system for leaks or clogs. Clean filter and check drip emitters to prevent plugging. For trees and large shrubs, you may need to move emitters outward and add extra emitters as plants grow so the water soaks the entire root zone. 505Outside.com • 7
RAINWATER HARVESTING
Making a plan for rainwater harvesting Rainwater is a gift. Desert-adapted landscapes should be designed to capture and retain as much rain and snow as possible. A smooth roof surface on a 3,000-square-foot home can shed more than 12,000 gallons of water per year and a system of attractivewhen-dry streambeds, large rain barrels or a cistern can distribute it to the plants, the first step toward a truly water-efficient garden. Contouring the soil so runoff flows away from walls and paving into planting areas is the simplest way to use every drop of rain. A system of shallow streambeds and basins (A) distributes water from downspouts or canales (gutters) and from paved surfaces (B) directly to the plants nearby. The streambeds need to be lined with stone heavy enough to stay in place when flooded. The plants noted as Rainwater Only on the plant list can thrive in or near water catchments without additional irrigation once they are well rooted. Rain barrels (C) are the next step up in water harvesting, but are only effective if they are large enough to hold most of the output from the drainpipe or canale they serve. A thousand square feet of roof can shed more than 500 gallons of water per inch of rain, so on a 2,400-square-foot home, if there are 8 downspouts of equal output, each rain barrel needs to hold at least 200 gallons of water, and should have an overflow draining into a shallow streambed that carries any excess directly into nearby planting basins. Cisterns (D) are the most sophisticated level of water harvesting. Again, the capacity of the tank should be large enough to contain the output of the roof surface it serves with an overflow outlet into a shallow streambed to carry any excess directly into nearby planting basins. Because an 1,100-gallon cistern may be 5 feet in diameter and 6 feet tall and, when full, can weigh several tons, cisterns are easier 8 • 505Outside.com
to design into new construction than they are to retrofit. Capacious cisterns can supply all the water disbursed via drip irrigation that a diverse garden will use throughout the year. Lawns are the only landscape features that require so much water that even a good cistern is not sufficient. To learn more about the mechanics of water harvesting go to https://www.ose.state.nm.us/WUC/wuc_rainwater.php.
RAINWATER HARVESTING
Planting sustained by rainwater harvesting Using precipitation effectively involves keeping as much surface area permeable as possible, and collecting and distributing runoff from the roof and other hard surfaces where it can be absorbed by a network of plant roots. Not only does this prevent storm damage, but the hard surfaces then supply moisture to grow trees and other plants that keep the surrounding spaces cooler in summer. Because rain in the high desert is feast or famine, often an inch or more at a time and sometimes months between downpours, combining passive collection with active storage that can be meted out during dry periods allows you to grow a much broader selection of plants. First allocate spaces for the activities you’d like to accommodate. Define the areas that need to be hard-paved such as the driveway, patios and high-traffic walkways (1) and grade them to drain into planting areas. Then define areas such as secondary paths, storage and utility spaces (2) that can be paved with fine crushed gravel or other pervious material. The paved spaces and the spaces planted with the most arid-adapted plants are the driest zones in the garden. Note the places where trees or vines are needed for shade (3), where large shrubs are needed for screening (4), and where vegetable beds (5) will be: these will be the places you will want to divert the most water consistently via drip irrigation and can also keep the spaces fed by overflow streambeds and basins adjacent to rain barrels or cisterns. The rest of the landscape can be planted with low and medium-water-use plants (6) that may need supplemental water monthly or less once established. The location of cisterns is a compromise between where there is enough space, where the water is easiest to collect from the roof and where it is most needed in the landscape. Whether building a new home or remodeling an existing one, when cisterns are part of the roof and window plan of the house, it’s easier to site them in the best locations. 505Outside.com • 9
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Plant Water Use Plant water needs are dependent on a number of factors, including season, microclimate, plant type, soil texture, and weather. Additionally, new plantings must be watered more frequently while establishing their root systems. The plant water use legend is provided as a general guide for assessing the relative water demand of plants in the Xeriscape Guide. For more detailed information on how to water, refer to the Watering Recommendations for the Greater Albuquerque Area on our website www.505Outside.
Rainwater Only
These plants are the most arid-adapted and can survive on rainfall alone, especially if planted in rainwater catchments, once plants are established.
Low Water
Infrequent supplemental watering is needed to keep these plants looking their best, once plants are established.
Medium Water
Consistent watering is needed to maintain optimal plant health.
High Water
Frequent and consistent watering is needed to maintain optimal plant health.
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Plant Light Exposure Requirements Full Sun
These plants need strong sunlight to thrive and flower well. They are often the most xeric plants as they are also adapted to the heat and low humidity that accompany intense high desert sun.
Full Sun, Part Shade
These are the most adaptable plants; they will grow and bloom well in either blazing sun or filtered light, but are not suited to deep shade. These plants may take more water when grown in full sun than they do with some shade.
Full Shade
These plants prefer cooler, moister conditions more easily provided in shaded spaces. The leaves of some shade-lovers will burn if the light or heat is too intense; others many endure stronger light but will need much more water to thrive. 10
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TREES
Trees
Well-adapted and well-placed trees can be an excellent landscape investment. One strategically placed tree can transform a scorching hot section of your yard into a cool oasis, or help reduce air-conditioning costs by shading your home from the sun. When deciding which trees to plant, consider the typical mature size of the specimens as noted in the following plant list, and make sure you provide enough room for future growth. Don’t plant in areas where branches will grow into power lines or block solar panels.
Planting new trees • Find the root collar on the tree where the stem flares out into the roots, and prepare the planting hole to the same depth as the roots, so the root flare will be visible when the backfill is added. The root collar should be at the level of surrounding soil. • The planting hole should be three times wider than the rootball. • Place the tree in the hole; remove rope, wire, burlap and any other wrapping that could obstruct new roots. • Backfill with the loosened native soil that was dug out of the planting hole and water thoroughly. • If staking is necessary due to high wind exposure, be sure to remove after one year. Do not use wire ties as they will cut into tender stems, and avoid rigid staking as trees need to move in the wind.
Watering for healthy growth • For newly planted trees, water should penetrate the soil 6 inches or deeper than the depth of the rootball. As the tree becomes established, gradually water deeper and less frequently to a depth of 24 inches. • Plan for healthy growth and development by including an emitter wetting pattern as shown in the illustration. Rootball must be kept moist at time of planting. • T he roots that absorb moisture are located at the edge and beyond the branch canopy of a mature tree, so as a tree grows it will need more emitters located farther and farther from the trunk. For more detailed information on how to water, refer to the Watering Recommendations for the Greater Albuquerque Area on our website:
www.505Outside.com.
• All trees grow best with organic mulch. Add a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch over the disturbed soil, keeping mulch a few inches away from the trunk. 505Outside.com • 11
DECIDUOUS TREES CELTIS RETICULATA Netleaf Hackberry
Full Sun
PROSOPIS VELUTINA Velvet Mesquite Low Water
Mature Size: 25’ X 25’ A young Netleaf Hackberry passes through a rather ungainly adolescence, but with a little pruning, like a butterfly from a chrysalis, it emerges as a sculptural small shade tree that provides habitat for butterflies and songbirds as well as cooling our patios and decks on a very modest water budget. Deep roots allow its use close to walls and paving without risk.
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 15-30’ X 10-25’ Blooming Season: May-June Flower Color: Yellow
FORESTIERA NEOMEXICANA New Mexico Olive
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 12-18’ X 10-15’ Blooming Season: Early Spring Flower Color: Yellow-Green Depending upon your landscape needs and preferences, this native species can be pruned upward to form an attractive small tree or left in its natural, rounded shrub-like shape. The bark of its multiple trunks is a smooth pale gray, and its branches fork at odd, interesting angles. Clusters of small yellowish-green flowers appear early in spring; female plants produce small fruits that attract songbirds. Tolerates drought, but does best when roots receive a deep soaking once or twice a month.
The various species of mesquite are trees synonymous with the desert Southwest. All are slow to leaf out in the spring, but they make up for their tardiness with fragrant yellow flowers. Small, blue-green leaflets give Velvet Mesquite a soft, lacy appearance. Flat, narrow bean pods hang from the tree throughout the summer. Its limited cold-hardiness makes it a good choice where average annual minimum temperatures stay above 5 degrees F; other mesquites found in the Plant List are about 5 degrees F more cold hardy.
KOELREUTERIA PANICULATA Golden Raintree
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 8-20’ X 10-15’ Blooming Season: May-July Flower Color: Pale Pink to Rosy Purple A sturdy, heat-loving tree that’s native to warm deserts, especially in arroyos. Grows well in New Mexico’s lowlands, but may not be suited to elevations above 5,500 or where its cold hardiness is challenged. Compact and shrubby in appearance, its leaves are long and thin and its profusion of pink trumpet-shaped flowers puts on quite a show. Long, pencil-like pods give the tree year-round character. Fast growing as a young tree, its growth slows as it matures. 12 • 505Outside.com
Medium Water
Mature Size: 25’ X 25’ Blooming Season: Early summer Flower Color: Yellow
CHILOPSIS LINEARIS Desert Willow
Full Sun
The dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy of Golden Raintree is dense enough to substantially cool the air in summer, but bright enough to allow a wide range of groundcovers to share space and water below. Rust-colored paper lantern seed husks add contrast to the yellow gold fall foliage. This is a great tree for shading a driveway or streetside parking.
QUERCUS SPP. Oak
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 25-60’ X 15-60’ Many species of oak grow well throughout most of New Mexico. Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) is a moderate-sized tree that’s native from Southern Colorado through the canyons and foothills of New Mexico and Arizona. It grows slowly to 30 feet tall, sometimes taller when water is available. Most other oaks grow taller, including Valley Oak (Quercus lobata), which can reach 40 feet, and Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii), which can reach 60 feet with a 60-foot spread. Most oaks have lobed leaves that turn from dark green to yellow-orange in the fall.
DECIDUOUS TREES PISTACIA CHINENSIS Chinese Pistache
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 40’ X 30’ Blooming Season: Mid- to Late-Spring Flower Color: Reddish A wonderful shade tree when mature, the Chinese Pistache can handle hot, dry desert conditions because it roots deeply. Its glossy dark leaves put on a delightful fall show turning bright gold, orange or crimson. (Wait to select your tree in autumn if red foliage is important.) The pea-sized red fruit of female trees add color in fall. Young trees may have a slightly awkward form when young, but the canopy fills out gracefully as trees mature. Tolerant of virtually all soil conditions except soggy clay.
VITEX AGNUS-CASTUS Vitex or Chaste Tree
ULMUS PARVIFLORA Lacebark Elm
Full sun
Medium water
Mature Size: 40’ X 40’ So called because of the patchy mosaic bark on their trunks as they mature, Lacebark Elms are moderate in size and growth rate with a majestic form that offers plenty of cool shade. With elm beetle-resistant leaves and no tendency to form a forest of weedy seedlings, this elm is a long-lived asset best planted in broad, shallow basins that capture rainwater.
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 15-25’ X 10-15’ Blooming Season: July-August Flower Color: Blue-Lavender Multibranched, spreading, large shrub or small tree that features distinctive dark green palmate leaves. Its low, open form can be pruned to grow more treelike to create a small and lovely shade tree. In mid-summer a profusion of 7-inch-long blue flower spikes creates a sweet aroma that attracts bumblebees. Does best in hot areas.
EVERGREEN TREES PINUS ARISTATA Bristlecone Pine
Full sun
Medium water
Mature Size: 30’ X 20’
JUNIPERUS (FEMALE CULTIVARS ONLY)
Female Juniper Trees
Full sun
Medium water
Mature Size: 25-60’ X 10-40’ depending on variety Blooming Season: Spring Fruit: All female varieties have blue- or copper-colored berries Although some may argue that there are already enough Junipers in New Mexico gardens, it is important to note that these adaptable conifers are the survivors of the transition from water-soaked landscapes to more sustainable ones. We are lucky to have many new xeric options, but the pollenless female forms of Juniper provide food and cover for songbirds as well as interesting foliage color and texture.
This is one of the oldest known trees on earth, and its resilience and adaptability might explain how a tree normally found in the high mountains of the West grows so well thousands of feet lower in elevation and many degrees hotter in temperature. Shortneedled and slow-growing, the resinous aroma of Bristlecone Pine fits smaller garden spaces with grace and limited water.
PINUS EDULIS Pinon Pine
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 30’ X 20’ Blooming Season: Early Spring Pinon Pines are one of New Mexico’s most recognizable native trees. Horizontal branches make for a bushy, domed shape when mature. Its needles, which grow in pairs, are short, stiff and dark green. Its spherical cones produce seeds (also known as Pinon Nuts) that are prized by wildlife—and humans as well. Pinons are often used as accent plants, and specimens with gnarled trunks are especially prized. It grows best in foothill elevations, but can stand up to the heat and cold of most New Mexico locations. 505Outside.com • 13
VINES
EVERGREEN TREES
PINUS ELDARICA Afghan Pine
Full Sun
PINUS PINEA Stone Pine Medium Water
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 40’ X 18”
Mature Size: 60’ X 50’
Pine trees provide visual interest in a landscape and much-needed greenery in the coldest, most barren months. Afghan Pine is one of the best desert pines. It thrives in heat, wind, poor soil — and it is relatively drought tolerant. However, it cannot tolerate temperatures below 0 degrees F. Its evergreen leaves (needles) grow in pairs and reach 5-6 inches long. This relatively fast-growing tree is great for windbreaks and for creating a “visual screen” between properties.
This majestic round-crowned conifer is found growing along the Mediterranean coast in hot, dry places subject to salty sea breezes. Ponderosa Pines, native to the mountains of the Southwest, are moving higher upslope as bark beetles cull those too stressed to thrive in increasingly hot environments, but Stone Pines seem perfectly content as the urban temperatures creep to new highs.
QUERCUS FUSIFORMIS Escarpment Live Oak
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 25’ X 30’ While the deciduous oaks offer seasonal leaf color in addition to their shade, the evergreen oaks provide year-round visual screening and wind protection. There are several Western Live Oaks with similar attributes including Gray Oak and Emory Oak. They grow somewhat larger than Escarpment Live Oak, while Shrub Live Oak stays slightly smaller, so there is a Live Oak just right for a wide range of garden spaces.
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AKEBIA QUINATA Chocolate Vine
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: Climbing X 15’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Red What’s not to love about a plant named for one of the major food groups? Alas, the common name refers to the brownish red flower color rather than the flavor of its tasty (but not even remotely chocolate) purple-brown fruits. This graceful vine with slender stems and finely divided leaves is semi-evergreen in warm microclimates, and an asset where a light shade canopy or tracery of foliage against a north-or-eastfacing wall are needed.
VINES
Vines The Wisteria shown here (see the plant list on page 55) is one of the largest vines; a single plant is capable of shading a large arbor, and though it takes ample water to establish, once it roots deeply it can be quite drought tolerant.
CAMPSIS RADICANS Trumpet Vine
Full Sun
Medium Water
When you don’t have the time or space needed to grow shade trees but you can’t live comfortably outdoors in the blistering sun, building an arbor and planting a vine to provide a cool leafy canopy may be the solution. Many vines grow quickly and become quite large, so don’t plant four vines where one will serve better over time. Be sure to build the shade cover large enough to shelter the space needed and high enough, typically 9 feet above the patio floor, so that as the vine drapes there’s still plenty of headroom underneath. Vines wrapped around a trellis against a wall can fit spaces too narrow for shrubs of the same height. Just remember to check the mature sizes so that you don’t plant a Great Dane where you needed a Chihuahua.
LONICERA SEMPERVIRENS Coral Honeysuckle
ROSA BANKSIAE Lady Banks Rose
Full Sun, Part Shade Low Water Mature Size: Climbing X 40’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: Pale Yellow or White
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: Climbing X 40’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Orange
Mature Size: Climbing X 8’ Blooming Season: Spring into summer Flower Color: Coral Orange
Trumpet Vine is a hummingbird’s delight with brilliantly colored, luscious nectarrich flowers produced over a long season. From a human point of view the caveat is to provide a strong enough support and enough space for this vigorous rambler. This is one of the Great Danes alluded to in the introduction.
If the sweet scent and rampant growth of honeysuckle are too much of a good thing in your opinion, Coral Honeysuckle may be the vine for you. It is unscented and one of the least aggressive members of the family, yet its brilliant flowers provide plenty of nectar for hummingbirds. If you’d like a smaller sized but fragrant vine, try the hybrid Lonicera x heckrottii, Goldflame Honeysuckle, which differs in having clusters of scented gold and coral-pink blossoms.
Rarely do you find a plant that is fast growing, evergreen and long-lived. Lady Banks Rose is all those things and it produces a beautiful if brief show of flowers in spring using surprisingly little water. This plant grows large and, unlike most roses, blooms on old wood. It produces the best flower show when pruned sparingly, removing a few of the oldest canes every few years.
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SHRUBS
Shrubs
Shrubs are a mainstay of xeric gardens. Rooting deeply, they often require less water per square foot of the space they cover than other plants. They shade the soil, and some have colorful flowers, foliage and fruit. Native shrubs also provide layers of cover as well as nectar and seeds that make habitat for birds and butterflies. Shrubs can become the walls of the garden, creating smaller outdoor rooms within the larger landscape, screening utility areas that you need but would rather not look at most of the time. They provide wind protection and many shrubs have aromatic leaves and scented flowers that perfume the air around them.
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DECIDUOUS SHRUBS
CHAMAEBATIARIA MILLEFOLIUM Fernbush CARYOPTERIS CLANDONENSIS Blue Mist Spirea
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 2’ X 3’ Blooming Season: July-August Flower Color: Blue-Purple A very popular, low-care shrub that’s perfect for landscape or flower beds. It needs only average garden soil to thrive. Hundreds of purple-blue flower spikes cover the mature plant in late summer. Cut back 1/3 of its previous year’s height in spring to encourage heaviest flowering. Butterflies love this shrub!
CAESALPINIA GILLIESII Yellow Bird of Paradise
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 10’ X 10’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Yellow with Thread-like Red Stamens Yellow Bird of Paradise is a favorite of hummingbirds and provides months of color with a miserly amount of water. Plant it where it receives extra runoff from a canale or gutter downspout, and within a few growing seasons, you can put away the hose and enjoy the show.
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 4-6’ X 5’ Blooming Season: Mid-Summer Flower Color: White Fernbush is an unusual native rose that’s great used as a single specimen or clustered in groups or rows for visual screening and hedges. The showy flower spikes resemble those of white lilacs and attract butterflies all summer. Its aromatic olive green foliage is soft and fernlike and its upright stems with their peeling bronze bark create a pleasant, rounded silhouette without shearing. This hardy plant loves south- and west-facing exposures and well-drained soil.
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 3-6’ X 3-6’ Blooming Season: April Flower Color: Yellowish-Green An ornamental native shrub that is well adapted to a wide range of soils from sandy to rock to heavy clay. Three-Leaf Sumac is a moderate to fast grower, depending on how much water it receives. The unremarkable tiny flowers are followed by tart, red berries that are much sought after by wild birds. A good choice for screening and wind breaks, its leaves turn glorious shades of red and orange in the fall.
FENDLERA RUPICOLA Cliff Fendlerbush
SALVIA GREGGII Autumn Sage Full Sun, Part Shade
RHUS TRILOBATA Three-Leaf Sumac
Low Water
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 24” X 36” Blooming Season: May-September Flower Color: Red
Mature Size: 6’ X 4’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: White
Autumn Sage (sometimes called Cherry Sage for its cherry-red blossoms) is a valued xeric plant for its twiggy mounded form and its profusion of flowers that begin in early summer. Culturally undemanding, Autumn Sage tolerates a wide range of soils — as long as they are quick draining. Just a bit of extra water during dry spells encourages more flowers.
Cliff Fendlerbush grows wild in rock outcrops where it is a pleasantly compact shrub with small pale green leaves. Plant it near a window or patio where you can observe its pink buds as they open to pure white flowers. It is an elegant complement to summer flowering plants. Some plants shout out their presence, but Cliff Fendlerbush whispers that it’s finally spring. 505Outside.com • 17
EVERGREEN SHRUBS
CERCOCARPUS LEDIFOLIUS Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 10’ X 6’ Blooming Season: Early Spring Flower Color: Yellowish
COTONEASTER BUXIFOLIUS Grayleaf Cotoneaster
A shrublike tree that’s native to dry mountain slopes between 4,000 and 9,000 feet in elevation. Because it is very slow growing, it can make an excellent hedge or small character tree. Small flowers appear briefly in spring, then yield to seeds with 2- to 3-inch-long plumes. The bark is light gray, almost white, and the small leathery leaves are dark green above and fuzzy white below. Water to establish, then the tree can go unirrigated except in the hottest, driest weather.
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 2’ X 4-6’ Blooming Season: Spring-Summer Flower Color: Pink Grayleaf Cotoneaster, like most species of Cotoneaster, is a low-spreading shrub that is sometimes used as an informal groundcover. Can be pruned back to create a more formal hedge shape. The small pink flowers become red berries that persist throughout fall. Its small gray leaves clothe 3- to 6-foot arching stems year-round. Grows well in moderately fertile soil.
EPHEDRA SPECIES Joint-Fir
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 2-6’ X 3-5’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: Yellow Joint-Firs are grown for the color of their broomy evergreen stems which, depending upon the species, may be pale blue (Ephedra equisetina), blue-gray (Ephedra nevadensis) or bright green (Ephedra viridis). All add year-round color and interesting texture to gardens and require minimal water once established. Joint-Firs native to the Southwest have brown papery seed-cones while the Asian species have pea-sized red fruits that are quite showy.
PURSHIA SYN COWANIA Cliffrose
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 8’ X 6’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Yellow
FALLUGIA PARADOXA Apache Plume
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 4-5’ X 4-5’ Blooming Season: April Flower Color: White This is one of the showiest of our native shrubs. In spring it’s covered with tiny white, five-petaled flowers that look like miniature white roses. (Apache Plume is in the rose family.) But this shrub really stands out when the pink, silky-plumed seed heads cover the tips of its branches from late summer through fall. Plant it in well-drained soil in any hot, sunny location. Needs virtually no supplemental water once established. 18 • 505Outside.com
MAHONIA FREMONTII Blue Algerita
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 5’ X 7’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: Yellow The masses of fragrant yellow flowers that grace this native barberry are enough to earn it a place in the garden, but by midsummer its bright red fruits attract the attention of songbirds for another season of interest. Although the stems aren’t thorny, the beautiful but prickly blue holly-like leaves of this Algerita offer feeding birds a safe haven from predators.
Cliffrose makes an excellent companion for perennials because its openbranched form casts light shade. Its irregular shape lends a native touch to landscapes— which is appropriate since this plant is a New Mexico native. Fragrant flowers cover the branches in early summer, a few of which remain virtually all summer long. Feathery plumes form in mid-summer and persist into winter (consequently, Cliffrose is often mistaken for Apache Plume). It can handle the hottest south- and west-facing garden locations.
ROSMARINUS OFFICINALIS “ARP” “ARP” Upright Rosemary
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 6’ X 6’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Light Blue Known primarily as an evergreen shrub, Rosemary is a bushy plant featuring stiff upright stems and soft blue flowers in summer. Rosemary officinalis “Arp” has proven itself to be a cold-hardy selection, extending its use into New Mexico’s higher elevations. It’s a great choice for hot walls and corners and other areas that get intense reflected heat. Plant in combination with other heat-loving plants like Zauschneria californica (Hummingbird Plant), Lavandula and Calylophus (Sundrops).
VAUQUELINIA CALIFORNICA Arizona Rosewood
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 12’ X 10’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: White Arizona Rosewood is a handsome large shrub at its best in open windy spaces where evergreen wind protection is especially welcome. Extreme exposures seem to increase its density and, unlike most broadleaf evergreens, its foliage stays crisp and attractive through heat and cold. Lacy umbels of small white flowers crown Rosewood in summer, turning a deep cocoa brown and persisting well into winter. This is a useful native rose with no off season.
Creating Habitats that Attract Wildlife There are several garden amenities that both wildlife and people find especially important: L ayers of planting from tall tree canopies to lowgrowing groundcovers. T he protection of dense vegetation in some areas and open spaces in others: groups of shrubs, flowers and grasses of different heights clustered along the edges of open space. diverse community of plants with colorful, A fragrant, nectar-rich flowers, edible fruits and seeds. T he cooling presence of water — a small water feature, especially one located in a shady spot that trickles water into a covered reservoir so evaporation is minimized, will attract wildlife and people without wasting water. Gardens that serve wildlife are maintained a bit differently: ird seed and nectar feeders should be refilled and B cleaned regularly. ectar- and seed-producing plants provide N sustenance with a modest amount of water and seasonal pruning/deadheading after the birds have taken all the food. L earn to manage with little or no pesticide use, which is good for your health and your pets as well as that of your wild guests. ccasionally wash away bird droppings (free O fertilizer—think of it as their way of saying thanks). eed out some plants that germinate too W successfully after being processed by our feathered friends. 505Outside.com • 19
FLOWERING PLANTS
Flowering Plants Color is one of the great benefits of xeriscape. In the plant list you’ll find more than 200 flowering perennials, bulbs, annuals and groundcovers that can brighten and perfume your garden whether it’s sunny or shady, add flavor to your table and attract hummingbirds and butterflies with their nectar. With so many options to choose from, use the mature size, light exposure, water use and region-adapted information in the plant list to narrow down the combinations of flowers best suited to your planting spaces. While many of these flowering plants are nearly as long-lived as shrubs and take up nearly as much space, others are smaller in stature and have a two- to 10-year lifespan that allows you to change the look of some spaces without a big investment in time or money. Xeric flowering plants are also ideal for planting in pots to dress up your patio or front entrance when that uncontrollable urge to play in the dirt strikes.
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FLOWERING PLANTS AGASTACHE CANA Giant Hyssop
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: July-September Flower Color: Rose-Pink
ACHILLEA AGERATIFOLIA Greek Yarrow
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 6” X 12” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: White This slow-growing little plant is equally at home in the rock garden or perennial border when used as a groundcover or edging plant. Greek Yarrow is a reliably heavy bloomer, covering itself with bright white clusters of tiny flowers for many weeks in late spring. The dense gray-green foliage is tidy and evergreen (particularly in milder climates), which gives the plant season-long interest.
Tubular, raspberry-pink flowers make Giant Hyssop a favorite of New Mexico’s gardeners and hummingbirds. The flowers are prolific and continue through the fall. Native to the mountainous areas of southern New Mexico and western Texas, Agastache cana does well in average garden conditions, mixing well with other late-blooming perennials. It’s cold hardy to -20˚ F and also remarkably heat tolerant as long as it gets adequate water.
AQUILEGIA CHRYSANTHA Golden Columbine
ARMERIA MARITIMA Thrift
Full Sun
Full Shade
AGASTACHE RUPESTRIS Licorice Mint Hyssop
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: July-September Flower Color: Orange This Southwestern native originates from the mountainous regions of southern Arizona and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. It blooms from mid-summer through the fall with numerous spikes of gorgeous orange flowers. The threadlike, gray-green leaves give the entire plant a very soft, wispy look. The fragrance of this plant is also wonderful, so place it where you will brush against it when you walk by. Loves well-drained soil with plenty of summer heat. It’s also a must for hummingbird gardens!
Medium Water
Mature Size: 2’ X 2’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: Yellow Medium Water
Mature Size: 12” X 12” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Pink This plant is a rock garden favorite with its tidy mound of grassy foliage and profusion of rose-pink spherical flowers. Kept deadheaded, flowering will continue throughout much of the summer. Well-drained sandy or loamy soil is best for Armeria maritima. It appreciates regular watering during the heat of summer, although drier conditions are fine for cooler times of the year. Armeria is perfect for interplanting with blue flowering Veronica and white Greek Yarrow, among others, for outstanding rock garden color combinations.
Golden Columbine is the most heattolerant of any high mountain Columbines, allowing it to bloom longer in the season. Even after the last flowers fade, its lacy blue-green leaves are pleasant company for summer flowers. In a shaded runoff basin, Golden Columbine will self-sow, making a casual groundcover.
ARTEMISIA VERSICOLOR Seafoam Artemisia
Sun or Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 8” X 18” The fine-textured swirling silver green foliage of Seafoam Artemisia suggests cool water running through a dry desert garden. Although it has no showy blossoms of its own, it mixes well with Salvias, Penstemons and other brightly colored flowers and with ornamental grasses such as Little Bluestem for a subtle blend of textures. Seafoam Artemisia holds up well in winter and needs less trimming than its sprawling cousin, Powis Castle Artemisia. 505Outside.com • 21
FLOWERING PLANTS
BERLANDIERA LYRATA Chocolate Flower
CALLIRHOE INVOLUCRATA Poppy Mallow, Winecups
CALYLOPHUS SPECIES Sundrops
Full Sun
Low Water
Full Sun
Low Water
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 16” X 16” Blooming Season: Early Spring-Summer Flower Color: Yellow
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: Late Spring-Summer Flower Color: Red-Pink
Mature Size: 18” X 18” Blooming Season: Spring-Summer Flower Color: Yellow
Step out into your garden on a clear summer morning and delight to the scent of chocolate that perfumes the air. This native wildflower blooms profusely all season with cheery light yellow daisies; the sweetly fragrant blossoms really do smell just like chocolate! Easily grown in a variety of soil types, this drought-tolerant species readily reseeds itself, making it a desirable addition to any wildflower meadow or informal garden area. Surround Chocolate Flower with Callirhoe (Poppy Mallow) for a bright summer-long show of color.
The five-petaled flowers of Poppy Mallow (also known as Winecups) are a rich pinkish-red color with a white eye, and cover the plant all summer. The low-spreading stems make this plant useful on slopes or cascading over retaining walls and a valuable plant for hot south- or west-facing beds. Grows well in a wide range of soil types including clay. Gently reseeds itself and will slowly spread if you let it. Recommended companion plants are Berlandiera lyrata (Chocolate Flower), Nepeta x faassenii (Catmint) and Gray Santolina.
This spectacular native wildflower is everblooming with a profusion of large, bright yellow, four-petaled flowers. The narrow gray-green foliage gives the plant a lacy look in the garden. Calylophus thrives in the heat, and grows well in a wide range of soils, as long as they’re well drained. This tough plant is the star of any dryland rock garden or xeriscape. A good shearing before the growing season starts in late spring will keep it looking tidy and loaded with flowers.
CENTRANTHUS RUBER Red Valerian
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 36” X 36” Blooming Season: Late Spring-Summer Flower Color: Red Red Valerian is a versatile plant, being equally at home in both the xeric garden and traditional perennial border. Not fussy about its growing conditions, the showy rose-red flowers are continuous from late spring through summer. A willing reseeder under favorable conditions, Centranthus ruber prefers well-drained garden soil — not clay. 22 • 505Outside.com
COREOPSIS VERTICILLATA Threadleaf Coreopsis
DIANTHUS GRATIANOPOLITANUS Garden Pinks
Full Sun
Medium Water
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Yellow
Mature Size: 1’ X 2’ Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Light Pink to Bright Rose Pink
Coreopsis is a carefree perennial with fine, threadlike foliage and pale, 2-inchwide yellow flowers that cover the plant all summer. Performs best in compostenriched soil. Add soil sulphur to keep the foliage nicely green. It is relatively late to awaken from its winter dormancy, so be patient! The “Moonbeam” cultivar is one of the most drought-tolerant varieties and bears flowers that are pale yellow.
Garden Pinks have single flowers on short slender stems with a light clove scent. They form dense cushions of pale blue-gray leaves that make attractive groundcovers even when the plants are not in bloom. The named varieties such as “Firewitch” have darker flower colors and bloom longer than other species, and all are beautiful growing along paths, spilling around boulders and in large pots on the patio.
FLOWERING PLANTS
ERIOGONUM SPECIES Wild Buckwheat
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 1’ X 18” Blooming Season: Spring into Summer Flower Color: White, Pale Pink or Yellow No matter where you live in the arid Southwest, there is probably a Wild Buckwheat native nearby. All have nectar-rich flowers that attract butterflies, and their nectar also supports the tiny parasitic insects that help rid our gardens of pests such as aphids and thrips. After blooming, they develop seed heads of rust brown or deep red that provide color well into autumn. Luckily several species are offered as garden plants at nurseries that specialize in native plants.
GAILLARDIA GRANDIFLORA Indian Blanketflower
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Yellow/Orange/Red Blanketflower is one of the most dependable perennial bloomers. It’s easy to grow and tough enough to handle hot microclimates. The flowers sport red centers; the petals are orange with yellow tips. The flowers keep coming all summer — just remove the spent blooms and another crop of flowers will appear in a couple of weeks. Although fairly droughttolerant, regular watering produces the most prolific blooms.
GAURA LINDHEIMERI Gaura
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 48” X 48” Blooming Season: June-September Flower Color: White or Pink A native to the Southwest, Gaura gives the garden a wonderful informality with its long, wispy stems of spider-like flowers. It responds with a profusion of flowers when watered regularly during the summer. Most varieties of Gaura feature white flowers, but a new variety called Siskiyou Pink features pink blooms. Other native perennials that enjoy similar garden conditions and combine well with Gaura include Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) and Agastache cana (Giant Hyssop).
HELIANTHUS MAXIMILIANII Maximilian Sunflower
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: Up to 120” X 120” Blooming Season: September-October Flower Color: Yellow Maximilian Sunflower produces one of the most spectacular late-season bursts of color. The tall flowering spikes, up to 20 or 30 in a mature clump, are covered with up to 30 or more yellow, closely spaced daisies. Place Helianthus against walls or fences or make a hedge with it, but don’t put it in the middle of your most fertile flower beds, as it will crowd out weaker neighbors. The more water it receives, the taller it gets. (Growing Tip: put it in a tomato cage early in the season and let the tall stems grow up through it so they don’t flop over with the weight of their flowers later in the fall.)
TETRANEURIS SYN HYMENOXYSIS Perky Sue
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 12” X 12” Blooming Season: April-August Flower Color: Yellow A wonderful everblooming yellow daisy that is both heat-loving and droughttolerant. The narrow, silver-green foliage is evergreen and supports short stems of yellow daisies starting in spring. A vigorous reseeder, it quickly colonizes harsh areas of the garden. Use it to interplant with cold hardy cacti. Provide lean, welldrained soil. Once established H. scaposa is very xeric and needs little extra water.
KNIPHOFIA UVARIA Red Hot Poker
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 36” X 36” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Orange A sturdy South African native known for its tough, easy-to-grow nature. It has long grasslike foliage and unusual bicolor flower spikes in shades of orange and yellow. A substantial plant that looks great alone or in long beds lining driveways or entrances where dryness and alkaline soils might defeat even a daylily. Particularly attractive with Yarrow. 505Outside.com • 23
Flower Fitness Many flowers will have multiple blooms throughout the season if the spent flower stems are removed once the blossoms fade. Some flowering plants may be longer-lived if the spent flower stems are removed before the plants put energy into producing seeds. Unwanted self-sowing can be prevented by cutting back plants after they bloom but before they form seeds. Flowers in habitat gardens may be allowed to set seeds to provide food for wildlife and cut back after the banquet is over. An extra deep watering or two may keep plants in bloom longer, especially if the weather has been hot and windy with little rain.
LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA English Lavender
NEPETA X FASSENII Catmint
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 36” X 36” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Lavender
Mature Size: 8” X 24” Blooming Season: May-August Flower Color: Blue
An old favorite, Lavender is a dependable performer, blooming with pleasing purple flower spikes. In fact, this is the kind of plant that quickly becomes a favorite of everyone who grows it. Its compact silver-green leaves and gorgeous flowers combine well with many xeric and hardy garden perennials. A superb plant for edging walks and paths and wherever the aromatic flowers and foliage can be enjoyed.
Catmint has become a cornerstone in many xeriscapes because of its hardiness and long period of bloom. The first flush of blue flowers comes in late spring. When deadheaded promptly, a second flush blooms in late summer. Out of flower, the neat mound of graygreen foliage has a pleasing fragrance and texture. Adaptable to any welldrained soil, Catmint can handle a range of light from full sun to light shade. Trim back in late winter for prolific blooms the following spring.
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OENOTHERA MACROCARPA SYN MISSOURIENSIS Yellow Evening Primrose
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 1’ X 2’ Blooming Season: Late spring Flower Color: Yellow Yellow Evening Primrose is a prairie wildflower that looks anything but wild. Its 4 inch-wide clear yellow flowers are nestled among shiny green leaves growing in a compact cultivated-looking mound. In addition to the species, there are interesting varieties including Comanche Campfire with silver leaves and red stems for added contrast. Deeply rooted and long-lived, Yellow Evening Primrose pairs nicely with Leadplant or Lavender.
FLOWERING PLANTS
Summer Blooming Lavender The genus Lavandula is a favorite group of ornamental herbs native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean. These are sun-loving plants that thrive in hot weather and grow well in the West in a wide range of soils, even compost-enriched garden loams, as long as they are well drained. Heavy, poorly drained clay soils can be fatal to lavenders. In spring, before the plants begin to show signs of new growth, cut back the old stems by one-third to re-invigorate the plant and encourage a good show of summer flowers. Lavender plants require two to three growing seasons to reach mature size. The two major groups of Lavenders include the English Lavenders (L. angustifolia varieties) and the Lavandins (L. x intermedia varieties), which are hybrids between English lavender and another species, Lavandula latifolia. Generally speaking, the English Lavenders have the deepest flower color, while the Lavandins are taller plants with larger flowers and longer flower stems. The English Lavenders are often preferred as a source of dried flowers while the Lavandins are typically used for oil production, potpourris and lavender wands.
PENSTEMON STRICTUS Rocky Mountain Penstemon
PENSTEMON PINIFOLIUS Pineleaf Penstemon
Full Sun
Medium Water
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: May-June Flower Color: Purple
Mature Size: 12” X 20” Blooming Season: June-July Flower Color: Orange
A native Penstemon of the foothills and mountains of the southern Rockies (sometimes known as Beardtongue), this plant grows well in central New Mexico. It grows well in full sun, yet can tolerate some shade. Its tall, showy spikes of purple flowers last for over a month in the late spring. Spreading steadily via stolons to form large clumps of dense green foliage, Rocky Mountain Penstemon is one of the longest lived and most easily grown of the Penstemons.
Pineleaf Penstemon is an outstanding but often overlooked species from southern New Mexico and Arizona. Blooming for 6-8 weeks in mid-summer, the tubular orange flowers are profuse, attracting hummingbirds from miles around. P. pinifolius is long-lived and grows easily in both xeric and traditional perennial gardens. As the plant matures, the stems become woody, forming an attractive evergreen shrublet with bright green needlelike foliage.
PENSTEMON PSEUDOSPECTABILIS Desert Beardtongue
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 3’ X 3’ Blooming Season: Spring into summer Flower Color: Rose Pink Penstemon species exhibit a wide range of flower and leaf colors, but most share a strong preference for lean, well-drained soils and modest amounts of water. Desert Beardtongue is valuable for its deep rose pink flowers that can bring hummingbirds to dine near your patio and for its persistent silver or blue-green leaves that add garden interest long after the flowers have faded for the year. 505Outside.com • 25
FLOWERING PLANTS RATIBIDA COLUMNIFERA Prairie Coneflower, Mexican Hat
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 32” X 32” Blooming Season: June-September Flower Color: Yellow-Orange The roadsides of northeastern New Mexico light up with color in midsummer when large stands of Prairie Coneflower come into bloom. This drought-tolerant plant is easy to establish, and it naturalizes readily so you can grow your own stand of wildflowers. Prairie Coneflower (Mexican Hat) is a heavy bloomer, with a mature plant producing hundreds of flowers with distinctive mahogany-red petals edged in yellow. Cold hardy and able to handle hot summers as long as it gets deep watering twice a month when flowering.
SAPONARIA OXYMOIDES Soapwort
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 9” X 24” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Pink Soapwort’s bright pink flowers make it a terrific border plant in a flower garden as well as a beautiful flowering ground cover. A vigorous grower, it readily reseeds itself and will spread rapidly in a favorable situation. (Be sure the neighboring plants are large, robust growers so they don’t get smothered!) Prompt shearing as the flowers fade keeps it tidy and prevents reseeding. 26 • 505Outside.com
SALVIA OFFICINALIS Garden Sage
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: August-October Flower Color: Violet-Blue Yes, Garden Sage is an aromatic herb. Its leaves can be used to flavor meats such as pork, goose and sausage. Equally impressive is its beauty in the garden. The fuzzy leaves of Garden Sage are a delightful gray-green. Two-foot-tall spikes covered with violet-blue flowers appear in late summer and last until fall. Handles drought well once established.
SANTOLINA CHAMAECYPARISSUS Gray Santolina
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 18” X 36” Blooming Season: June Flower Color: Yellow A terrific evergreen perennial known for its button-like yellow flowers and its unique aromatic silver-green foliage that looks great all year long. Its woody stems are densely covered with fine, whitish gray leaves (which is why it’s sometimes known as Lavender Cotton). Can be used as a groundcover or as a foreground planting in a bed of perennials or shrubs. With a little extra shearing to remove faded flowers and tighten up the shape in early spring, it gives a garden the look of age and maturity. Very cold hardy and heat tolerant.
SPHAERALCEA AMBIGUA Desert Globemallow
SEDUM TELEPHIUM Autumn Joy Sedum
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Red Once you have gone through the fall with Autumn Joy in your garden, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Not what you typically think of as a Sedum, this tall upright variety blooms with large flower heads that start pink and age gracefully to a rich bronze. Nice as a dried everlasting flower.
Full sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 2’ X 2’ Blooming Season: Spring and Late Summer Flower Color: Pink, Lavender and Coral There are at least a dozen species of Globemallow native in the arid West, and Desert Globemallow is one of the finest as it produces a strong show of colorful flowers against the backdrop of pale green leaves. It is one of the earliest and longest blooming in spring and after a rest may bloom again with late summer rains. It will self-sow in gravelly or sandy soil.
FLOWERING PLANTS
WYETHIA SCABRA Desert Mule’s Ears
TANACETUM DENSUM-AMANI Partridge Feather
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 12” X 12” Blooming Season: Early Summer Flower Color: Yellow Partridge Feather’s incredible silver-white leaves attract the attention of everyone; you can’t help but pet the soft foliage. The plant forms a dense carpet of foliage topped with clusters of yellow button flowers in early summer. It thrives in the sunniest, hottest spot you can find. Needs well-drained soil.
DESERT GLOBEMALLOW
Full Sun
EPILOBIUM SYN ZAUSCHNERIA Hummingbird Plant Rainwater Only
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 2’ X 3’ Blooming Season: Spring into Summer Flower Color: Yellow
Mature Size: 24” X 36” Blooming Season: Late Summer-Early Fall Flower Color: Red
The rather odd name of this dryland perennial sunflower refers to its sandpapery stiff leaves held upright on slender white stems; this eye-catching long-lived sunflower has vanilla-scented showy yellow flowers and large dark brown seed heads with seeds sought after by songbirds. Desert Mule’s Ears prefer lean, unamended soil at planting time and very little water once they are well rooted.
Along the front range in Colorado, gardeners have come to associate fall and the buzz of busy hummingbirds with the blazing scarlet Zauschnerias. Hummingbird Plant puts on an extravagant display of red-orange flowers. It thrives planted in front of hot south- and west-facing walls and walks, in areas that might fry less heat-loving plants. Plant in well-drained soil; not too much clay. Hummingbird Plant appreciates regular watering the first year or two, particularly during dry winters, to help get it established.
Xeric flowering plants offer a host of opportunities for combining colors, textures, shapes and fragrances in garden beds and borders. This early summertime trio includes top to bottom: Gaura lindheimeri, Penstemon pinifolius and Lavandula angustifolia.
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Cacti and succulents are among the most xeric plants on earth. Those noted in the plant list are either native to the high desert Southwest or arid areas of South Africa. Luckily for local gardeners they are among the easiest plants to grow and the larger specimens are among the boldest in architecture.
Desert
Agaves, called Century Plants because it can take decades for them to flower, are prime examples of the sculptural qualities of these desert accents. When it rains, watch the wide Agave leaves funnel rainwater toward its roots. It’s an elegant water-harvesting device. The unexpected bonus of these rugged survivors is the brilliant show of flowers they produce. From tree-sized to tiny, with flowers from screaming scarlet to hot magenta to soft pink and lemon yellow, there are cacti and succulents for every hot dry spot in the garden.
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DESERT ACCENTS
AGAVE PARRYI Parry’s Century Plant
CORYPHANTHA VIVIPARA Clustering Pin Cushions
ECHINOCEREUS COCCINEUS Spiny Hedgehog
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 30” X 30” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Yellow
Mature Size: 4” X 6” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Pink
Mature Size: 5” X 15” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Red
An impressive species from western New Mexico and eastern Arizona, Parry’s Century Plant is one of the most cold hardy of the Agave family. Forming large, heavily toothed rosettes, the swordlike leaves are blue-green. When the plant decides to bloom (after many years of slow growth), it sends up a huge 12- to15-foot flowering spike that will attract hummingbirds from miles around. Agaves need a long period of hot summer weather to regrow their fleshy roots after transplanting.
Coryphantha is a very adaptable species, making it a fine choice if you’ve never grown winter-hardy cacti before. Its dense gray-white spines obscure the stem and show off the large rose-pink flowers, which cover the plant in late spring. Clustering Pin Cushions are equally at home in the rock garden or in a xeric landscape planted with Penstemons, Zinnia grandiflora (Prairie Zinnia) or Calylophus (Sundrops).
Spiny Hedgehog is often found nestled in rocky ledges under the shade of pines throughout its habitat in New Mexico and southern Colorado. The spines are needle-sharp and caution should be used in planting this showy hedgehog out of harm’s way. Being a mountain dweller, Spiny Hedgehog doesn’t mind being under snow for much of the winter.
Accents DASYLIRION WHEELERI Sotol
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 60” X 48” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: White Sotol is a very handsome, rather slow-growing succulent with large rosettes of long, flexible halfinch-wide blue-green leaves edged with white teeth. With age, the plant develops a woody trunk (up to 4 feet high) and eventually blooms, producing narrow 10-foot-tall white-flowered spikes. An invaluable xeric ornamental for use all across the Southwest. 505Outside.com • 29
DESERT ACCENTS
ECHINOCEREUS REICHENBACHII Oklahoma Hedgehog
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 4” X 6” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Pink Native to a limited area in the mountains of southwestern Oklahoma, this is one of the most beautiful of the Echinocereus species. The albispinus variety, shown here, features long, pure white spines and large, soft pink flowers. At maturity, it forms tight clusters of numerous stems.
ECHINOCEREUS TRIGLOCHIDIATUS Claret Cup Hedgehog
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 6” X 18” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Red Claret Cup Hedgehog is a substantial plant that forms large clusters of thickspined stems. The glowing red-orange cupped flowers come in early summer, making Claret Cup the star of the garden when it blooms. It thrives in hot, sunny locations in well-drained, rocky soil.
FOUQUIERIA SPLENDENS Ocotillo
ECHINOCEREUS VIRIDIFLORUS Green-Flowered Hedgehog
ESCOBARIA ORCUTTII Clustering Snowball
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 5” X 5” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Green
Mature Size: 5” X 8” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Pink
This small hedgehog forms small clusters of two or three stems. Bright red and white spines contrast nicely with the bright green flowers that ring the stem in late spring. Flowers are fragrant, often with a hint of citrus. These plants thrive throughout central New Mexico.
Clustering Snowball has glistening whitespined stems that ring themselves with pink- or salmon-colored flowers. Native to southwestern New Mexico, it thrives in baking heat but has remarkable cold tolerance. Quick-draining soil is a must for this plant.
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Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 96” X 60” Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Red Ocotillo’s slender, whiplike green stems provide an excellent accent in a xeric landscape. After spring or summer rains, the thorny stems sprout fleshy green leaves and scarlet flowers. Ocotillo is a slow grower, usually growing a foot or less each year. It requires well-drained soils and will thrive in hot, sunny microclimates.
DESERT ACCENTS
OPUNTIA ENGELMANNII Engelmann Prickly Pear
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 5’ X 8’ Blooming Season: Late Spring Flower Color: Yellow or Orange In high desert gardens, Engelmann Prickly Pear is one of the largest reliably cold-hardy cacti. Its dinner plate-sized pads stand perpendicular to the sun in summer, one of the ways it minimizes its water needs by avoiding the direct rays of the sun. Its flowers can be either yellow or a spectacular red-orange, and the same plant may have one color or the other in different years, but luscious red fruits always follow.
HESPERALOE PARVIFLORA Texas Red Yucca
Full Sun, Part Shade
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 36” X 36” Blooming Season: May-June Flower Color: Reddish-Orange Hesperaloe is a very showy plant native to southern Texas and northeastern Mexico. Not only does it thrive in hot, dry summers, it is also remarkably tolerant to subzero winter temperatures. Evergreen clumps of narrow, dark bluish-green leaves make a great accent of year-round texture. In early summer it sends up 3- to 4-foot stalks covered with reddish flowers. A great-looking, low-maintenance plant that attracts hummingbirds.
PHEMERANTHUS SYN TALINUM CALYCINUM Flameflower Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 8” X 8” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Bright Pink
YUCCA GLAUCA Soapweed Yucca
Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 3’ X 3’ Blooming Season: Early Summer Flower Color: White-Tinged Pink There are many species of Yucca that are native to the Southwest. They vary in height, leaf width and color but they are all reliably heat- and drought-resistant. Soapweed is one of the toughest; it is one of the smaller, narrow-leafed species that given enough time develops short stems and several clustered heads. Its bellshaped, waxy white, fragrant flowers are borne on short candelabra-like stems, the buds sometimes tinged rose-pink. FLAMEFLOWER
This perennial relative of moss rose grows neat tufts of narrow succulent leaves topped with a continuous show of rose pink flowers every afternoon throughout the hot summer months. The flowers float above the leaves on wiry gold stems giving them a delicate appearance completely at odds with their resilient nature. They reseed easily in gravelly or sandy soil without becoming weedy. With Flameflower you can’t have too much of a good thing. 505Outside.com • 31
Groundcovers A groundcover can be any plant or group of plants that is low-growing and aggressive enough to compete strongly with nearby plants. They can be carpet-like, growing only a few inches high and a few feet wide, or they can be large shrubs that grow only knee-high but spread several feet wide. There are groundcovers that prefer deep shade and others that grow best in full sun, and many that grow in dappled shade. Grasses grown as lawns are the groundcover most resistant to foot traffic, but even lawns wear thin in soil compacted from frequent heavy use. Lawns are also a very high-water-use groundcover compared with the plants described in the plant list as even the medium-water-use groundcovers can be drip irrigated. The aggressive nature of the plants themselves, as well as the strategy of limiting watering to points at soil level where the roots can make good use of it, and mulching deeply to further reduce evaporation has the net result of minimizing weed invasion and reducing maintenance time. For best results match the spread indicated in the plant list with the size of space you want to cover. The smallest mat-forming plants work well between stepping stones where the paving buffers foot traffic and collects extra moisture for the groundcover. Perfect for replacing lawns under mature trees and shrubby groundcovers, shade-loving groundcovers with the greatest spread are a great way to reduce watering and eliminate mowing in large open areas. 32 • 505Outside.com
GROUNDCOVERS
ANEMOPSIS CALIFORNICA Yerba Mansa
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium water
Mature Size: 1’ X 3’+ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: White Widely regarded as a medicinal plant, and often found in the bosque as the wild groundcover under Cottonwoods, the landscape value of Yerba Mansa is finally being recognized. Its white coneflowers stand a foot above a dense carpet of large thick leaves that are deep green during the growing season, turning red and then a rich rusty brown through winter.
MAHONIA REPENS Creeping Mahonia
Full Shade
CERATOSTIGMA PLUMBAGINOIDES Hardy Plumbago
Medium Water
Mature Size: 1’ X 2’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: Yellow The shade of a tree or large shrub along the north side of a courtyard wall with the runoff from a nearby downspout is the ideal setting for this high-elevation evergreen groundcover. Given the right spot, your reward will be year-round color— yellow flowers among the bright green leaves in spring, deep blue-green leaf color turning red-purple in cold weather. In larger spaces where a bit more height is needed, the closely related Compact Mahonia is another option.
Full Sun, Part Shade
DELOSPERMA COOPERI Hardy Purple Iceplant Medium Water
Mature Size: 12” X 24” Blooming Season: Early Fall Flower Color: Blue An outstanding, long-lived groundcover that slowly weaves itself into the garden, creating large drifts of fall color. The deep blue flowers, which begin as the weather begins to cool and days grow shorter, are numerous and long-lasting. As the plant’s flowering finishes, its leaves begin a month-long change to a vivid mahogany-red color. Plumbago is extremely adaptable, growing equally well in sun or shade, and thriving in a wide range of soil types.
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 6” X 18” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Purple-Pink Purple Iceplant is another fine South African introduction, valued for its shimmering fuchsia-purple daisies that keep coming all summer. A vigorous spreader, it forms a dense mat of succulent, linear green leaves in any well-drained soil. Stop watering in mid-fall to harden for winter. This plant has become a staple in xeric gardens. Right at home where planted to spread on top of gravel mulch, it helps to cool down these hot areas.
MARRUBIUM ROTUNDIFOLIUM Roundleaf Horehound
MIRABILIS MULTIFLORA Giant or Wild Four O’clock
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Mature Size: 10” X 24” Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: White
Mature Size: 2’ X 5’ Blooming Season: Spring to Autumn Flower Color: Rose Pink
Its soft silver-green foliage and its preference for dry shade earn Roundleaf Horehound a special place in the garden. Not as aggressive as its weedy cousin, Common Horehound, or the much-used Wooly Lamb’s Ears, it is much more attractive in winter and fills an important niche as living mulch under trees and large shrubs and as contrast for spring bulbs and shadeloving ornamental grasses.
As soon as the soil warms up in spring, the strong new shoots of Giant Four O’clock emerge and, within a few weeks’ time, the first magenta blooms appear. Like clockwork, every afternoon a new flush of flowers opens from May until October, making this a colorful companion for evergreens and small trees such as Vitex. After frost, the stems detach from the starchy roots making cleanup quick and easy. 505Outside.com • 33
GROUNDCOVERS
PRUNUS BESSEYI Pawnee Buttes® Sand Cherry
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 2’ X 6’ Blooming Season: Spring Flower Color: White This low-spreading form of Sand Cherry is as rugged as it is handsome. Sprays of fragrant white flowers in spring, succulent fruit for wildlife and glossy green leaves that turn deep mahogany red before they drop in autumn give Pawnee Buttes® appeal year-round with only deep monthly watering once plants are well established.
VERONICA PECTINATA Woolly Speedwell
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 3” X 18” Blooming Season: Early Spring Flower Color: Blue This is another great groundcovering Speedwell, unique because of its densegrowing woolly gray-green foliage. The 4-inch-tall spikes of deep blue flowers with a white eye appear in early spring — usually a few weeks before Veronica liwanensis. A good rebloomer in late summer when given encouragement with a bit of extra water. A very vigorous, long bloomer when planted into good garden soils enriched with compost. 34 • 505Outside.com
RHUS TRILOBATA ‘Autumn Amber’ Prostrate Sumac
VERBENA PERUVIANA Verbena
Full Sun
Low Water
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 2’ X 6’+ Blooming Season: Early spring Flower Color: Yellow
Mature Size: 9” X 18” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Lavender to Red
‘Autumn Amber’ is a low-spreading form of Threeleaf Sumac with a similarly clean appearance and equally tough disposition. Covered with tiny honey-scented flowers in spring, crisp green leaves turning rusty gold in autumn and smooth purplish stems in winter, a few plants can replace a front lawn using a fraction of the water and none of the mowing time.
Verbena is a vigorous spreading groundcover. Extensive trials across the U.S. have proven its value as a heat-loving, profuseblooming favorite. The large bright lavender-purple flower clusters keep coming all summer. Let it go dry as fall comes to a close to harden off for winter. Makes a colorful foundation for taller growing perennials like Achillea “Moonshine” and Coreopsis “Sunray.”
ZINNIA GRANDIFLORA Prairie Zinnia Full Sun
Rainwater Only
Mature Size: 4” X 6” Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Yellow This diminutive wildflower thrives in some of the most inhospitable terrain imaginable. This plant can be a challenge to get established, but it will delight you with its bright yellow flowers in late summer. Prairie Zinnia is long lived and spreads slowly by rhizomes. This plant has interesting needlelike foliage on trailing stems. It won’t green up until early summer arrives, so be patient. Once it starts to bloom it’s colorful through summer and early autumn.
PRAIRIE ZINNIA
Grasses Turf Non-native turf grasses such as Kentucky Bluegrass, fescues and even Bermuda Grass require tremendous amounts of water to thrive—a minimum of 40 inches of water per growing season, in the case of Bluegrass. The Water Authority’s xeriscape rebate is based on the square footage of turf removed. Albuquerque’s annual rainfall can be less than 8 inches; clearly, Kentucky Bluegrass is not well-suited to our environment. In fact, homes built since 1995 in Albuquerque are allowed no more than 20% turf. Lower-water alternatives include Buffalo Grass (Bouteloua dactyloides) and Blue Grama Grass (Bouteloua gracilis). These can be augmented with ornamental grasses, but regardless of the types of grasses you plant, remember to maximize watering efficiency: repare the soil before planting by tilling a large amount of P high-quality compost as deeply as possible, to improve fertility and water-holding capacity.
Ornamental Grasses Ornamental grasses, unlike lawns, serve as horticultural exclamation points and can add interest in areas that need a bit of sprucing up. Summer through early winter is the prime time for the soft textures and colors of ornamental grasses. They should be cut down to a height of 6-12 inches each spring. Because this leaves gaps in the planting for several weeks, place the larger grasses as you would shrubs of the same size, mixing in some evergreens or grassy succulents such as Yucca or Beargrass to create interest while the grasses regrow.
etween April and October, water during the coolest part B of the day. Avoid watering in windy conditions to minimize evaporation and overspray. 505Outside.com • 35
GRASSES, TURF
Turf
BOUTELOUA GRACILIS Blue Grama Grass
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 4-12” Blue Grama is another warm-season grass that thrives in New Mexico. Its thin palegreen blades give a Blue Grama lawn a pleasing, fine texture. Its distinctive seed heads, which appear in mid to late summer, resemble tiny purplish eyelashes. Blue Grama thrives in hot microclimates, and it’s tough enough to survive subzero winter weather. It establishes most quickly in well-drained soil. A dense lawn of Blue Grama will need watering only about once a week during the hottest summer months. Blue Grama establishes itself faster than Buffalo Grass, so the two species are often combined to quickly form a thick, drought-tolerant lawn.
BOUTELOUA SYN BUCHLOE DACTYLOIDES Buffalo Grass
Full Sun
Medium Water
Mature Size: 3- 8” This native prairie grass is an excellent replacement for water-thirsty Kentucky Bluegrass. Buffalo Grass doesn’t tolerate a lot of shade, but when grown in a sunny location it forms a durable turf able to withstand moderate foot traffic, pests and diseases. It is a robust, sod-forming species that spreads quickly with vigorous runners, creating an inviting soft blue-green lawn. When dormant in late fall through spring it turns a soft beige color. Buffalo Grass requires minimal mowing and fertilizing once in spring. It’s a warm-season grower perfectly adapted to central New Mexico. To stay green in the hot summer months, this grass needs only two inches of water per month!
Many lawns actually receive too much supplemental water! Collectively, we tend to pour more water on our lawns than is necessary for healthy growth and maintenance. (The same is true for many trees, shrubs and flowering plants.)
Buffalo Grass grows quickly. It can be planted using seed or “plugs” of starter plants. Seed should be sown in the spring or early summer; plugs can be planted in spring or in the fall, four to eight weeks before the first expected frost date. Once established, you’ll enjoy a beautiful, low-maintenance lawn with drastically lower water bills for years to come.
Some studies show that typical lawn sprinklers apply water at the rate of about 1 1/2” per hour. Unfortunately, the typical lawn can only handle about 1/2” per hour before becoming saturated. So, leaving your sprinklers running longer usually doesn’t help your lawn a bit, and usually increases runoff waste.
Buffalo Grass grows best on heavier soils. Use Blue Grama on sandy soils or mix Buffalo Grass and Blue Grama. 36 • 505Outside.com
If runoff is a problem in your landscape, try two short waterings of 10 minutes or less each spaced at least 30 minutes apart. This method gives the first dose of water a chance to soak in. The second watering pushes the first dose deeper into the soil.
GRASSES, ORNAMENTAL
Ornamental Grasses PANICUM VIRGATUM Switchgrass
Full Sun, Part Shade
Medium Water
Mature Size: 4’ X 3’ Blooming Season: Summer Flower Color: Hazy Pink-Purple
NASSELLA syn STIPA TENUISSIMA Silky Threadgrass
Full Sun
Low Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” Plant this ornamental grass where a gentle breeze will sway it as the late afternoon sun shines through from behind. Stipa grows well in all kinds of soils and is very water thrifty once established. Good in wildflower gardens, this plant will readily reseed itself among its neighbors.
There are many named cultivars of Switchgrass, all variations on the theme of tall upright leaf blades crowned in late summer with a haze of lacy seed heads. The leaves may be green or blue-green in summer, changing to a range of pinks and reds as temperatures cool and the days get shorter at the end of the growing season. Switchgrass can be grouped between evergreens or stand alone as an accent. Songbirds will love you for adding it to your garden.
SCHIZACHYRIUM SCOPARIUM Little Bluestem
Full Sun
Mature Size: 2’ X 2’ Blooming Season: Fall Color: Pink to Red Little Bluestem is a key component of much of the prairie grassland throughout the West, where it goes unnoticed until late in the year when its strong color contrast of scarlet or pink leaves among the blond seed heads of other native grasses gives it the impact of a wash of wildflowers long after the growing season has ended. Easily grown from seed or plants, the slender upright clumps sway in the breeze.
CALAMAGROSTIS ARUNDINACEA ‘Karl Foerster’ Feather Reedgrass
HELICTOTRICHON SEMPERVIRENS Blue Avena Grass
Full Sun, Part Shade
Mature Size: 30” X 2’ Blooming Season: Spring Seed Head Color: Pale Tan Surprisingly heat- and drought-tolerant for a cool season grass, the dark green color of ‘Karl Foerster’ leaves topped with its pale straw-colored seed heads is a large part of the appeal of this cool season bunchgrass. Its vertical form adds exclamation points in the midst of cool, low-slung flowers such as Catmint and Winecups, or amplifies the upright lines of Penstemons and Salvias.
Medium Water
Full Sun, Part Shade
Low Water
Medium Water
Mature Size: 24” X 24” This evergreen plant adds texture and color over the entire growing season. The stiff gray-blue leaves are very striking and provide the foundation for the ornamental 4-foot-tall flower spikes that shoot up and ripen to a soft brown by mid-summer. Cut back in April to encourage vigorous new growth.
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PLANT LIST
Desert Friendly Xeriscape Conversion Rebate
How to Use the Plant List
Water Authority customers may qualify for rebates for the replacement of high-water-use turf grass with xeriscaping. If you are interested in participating in the Xeriscape Conversion Rebate, please do not start your turf removal project until you have applied online to the program and received an official Notice to Proceed. Several conditions must be met in order to qualify for the rebate. Rebates appear as credits on Water Authority customers’ bills.
This plant list includes hundreds of plants suited to central New Mexico, but many are adaptable elsewhere in the state. We strongly recommend that you consult additional references for more detailed information, and check your neighborhood’s landscape covenants before you design your landscape.
Treebates The Water Authority has a “Treebate” program to help cover the purchase of new trees that appear in this plant list. Treebates can also be used to cover the costs associated with installation, including mulch and compost. Other costs that may qualify for the rebate are professional tree care such as pruning and pest management, and irrigation upgrades for trees such as in-line drip tubing.
Irrigation Efficiency Rebates Rebates are available for EPA WaterSense-labeled irrigation controllers on the Water Authority’s pre-qualified list. We also offer rebates for flow sensors to measure water flow and provide alerts on broken pipes and system leaks, pressure regulators, WaterSense Spray Sprinkler Bodies, and High Efficiency Rotating Sprinkler Nozzles.
Rainwater Harvesting Rebates Rain barrels and cisterns qualify for the Rainwater Harvesting Rebate. Rebate amount is based upon the total amount of rain that can be stored - minimum 50 gallons.
Ready to get started on your project or want more information? Visit www.505Outside.org
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The City of Albuquerque has a pollen control ordinance that prohibits the planting of cypress, mulberry and Siberian elm trees. Juniper is limited to female plants only, and Cottonwood varieties are prohibited (except for Rio Grande cottonwood and lanceleaf cottonwood).
Plant Points The plant points column is used to calculate desert friendly xeriscape conversion rebate requirements. Points must add up to more than half of the square footage of the turf area being converted.
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
DESERT ACCENTS Agave americana
Century Plant
6’ x 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
Agave chrysantha
Golden-Flowered Agave
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Agave havardiana
Harvard Agave
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Agave lechuguilla
Lechuguilla
1’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
30
Agave palmeri
Palmer’s Agave
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Agave Parryi/ neomexicana
Parry’s / Mescal Agave
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
20
Agave parviflora
Dwarf Agave
6” X 8”
Evergreen
Sun
RW
15
Agave scabra
Rough Agave
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Agave utahensis
Utah Agave
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Agave victoria-reginae
Queen Victoria Agave
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Aloinopsis spathulata
Hardy Living Stones
1” X 6”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
5
Coryphantha vivipara
Clustering Pin Cushions
4” X 6”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Cylindropuntia imbricata
Walkingstick Cholla
8’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Cylindropuntia kleiniae
Candle Cholla
8’ X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
25
Cylindropuntia leptocaulis
Desert / Christmas / Pencil Cholla
4’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Cylindropuntia spinosior
Cane Cholla
8’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Dasylirion leiophyllum
Green Sotol
5’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
Dasylirion texanum
Texas Sotol
5’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
30
Dasylirion wheeleri
Blue Sotol / Desert Spoon
5’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
20
Echinocereus coccineus
Spiny Hedgehog Cactus
10” X 15”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
10
Echinocereus fendleri
Strawberry Hedgehog
10” X 12”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
10
Echinocereus reichenbachii
Oklahoma or Lace Hedgehog
4” X 6”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
5
Echinocereus triglochidiatus
Claret Cup
12” X 18”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Echinocereus viridiflorus
Green-Flowered Hedgehog
5” X 5”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
5
Escobaria orcuttii
Clustering Snowball
5” X 8”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
10
Fouquieria splendens
Ocotillo
12’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
35
Grusonia syn Cylindropuntia clavata Club / Dagger-Spine Cholla
3” X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Hesperaloe capanulata
Bell-flowered Hesperaloe
4’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun
RW
25
Hesperaloe funifera
Giant / Coahuilian Hesperaloe
5’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun
RW
25
Hesperaloe parviflora
Red/Yellow-Flowering Yucca
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
20
Nolina lindheimeriana
Dwarf Beargrass / Ribbongrass
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun
RW
15
Nolina microcarpa
Beargrass
5’ X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
35
Nolina nelsoni
Blue Nolina
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun
RW
30
Nolina texana
Beargrass
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
30
Opuntia ellisiana / cacanapa
Spineless Prickly Pear
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
Opuntia engelmannii
Desert or Engelmann Prickly Pear
4’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Opuntia macrocentra
Purple Prickly Pear
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
505Outside.com • 39
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
DESERT ACCENTS Opuntia violacea
Santa Rita Prickly Pear
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Opuntia phaecantha
Brownsprine Prickly Pear
3’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
Opuntia hystricina
Porcupine Prickly Pear
1’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Opuntia polycantha
Starvation Prickly Pear
1’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Yucca aloifolia
Spanish Dagger
5’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Yucca baccata
Datil / Banana Yucca
4’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
Yucca baileyi
Bailey Yucca
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Yucca brevifolia
Joshua Tree
12’ X 12’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
45
Yucca elata
Soaptree Yucca
15’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Yucca faxoniana / carnerosana
Palm Yucca
12’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Yucca filamentosa
Adam’s Needle Yucca
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
15
Yucca glauca
Soapweed
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Yucca harrimaniae
Harriman Yucca
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Yucca neomexicana
New Mexico Yucca
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Yucca pendula syn recurvifolia
Soft-Leaf Yucca
4’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
25
Yucca rigida
Blue Yucca
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Yucca rostrata
Beaked Yucca
12’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Yucca schidigera
Mojave Yucca
5’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Yucca schotti
Mountain Yucca
5’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
RW
25
Yucca thomsoniana
Thompson Yucca
6’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Yucca torreyi
Torrey Yucca
12’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
FLOWERING BULBS Allium sp.
Ornamental Onions
varies
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Belamcanda chinensis
Blackberry Lily
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Colchicum autumnali
Autumn Crocus
6” X 6”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
3
Crocus spp.
Crocus
6” X 6”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
3
Hyacinthus orientalis
Hyacinth
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Iris (rhizome-type)
Bearded Iris
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Iris spp. (bulb-type)
Bulb Irises
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Muscari armeniacum
Grape Hyacinths
10” X 10”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Lycoris squamigera
Pink Amaryliis
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Narcissus spp.
Daffodil
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Tulipa spp.
Tulips
1’ X 8’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Zephyranthes sp.
Rain Lily
6” X 6”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
3
FLOWERING PLANTS Abronia sp.
Sand Verbena
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Acantholimon sp.
Prickly Dianthus
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
40 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
Achillea ageratifolia
Greek Yarrow
6” X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Achillea taygetea
Moonshine Yarrow
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Aethionema sp.
Persian Rockcress
6” X 1’
Evergreen
Full sun
Low
10
Agastache aurantiaca
Coronado Hyssop
2’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full sun
Low
10
Agastache cana
Giant Hyssop
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Agastache rupestris
Sunset Hyssop
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Alcea rosea
Hollyhock
5’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Aloinopsis spathulata
Hardy Living Stones
1” X 6”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
5
Alyssum montanum
Basket of Gold
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Amsonia species
Sand Stars
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Anacyclus depressus
Mat Daisy
6” X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Antennaria rosea
Pussytoes
6” X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Antirrhinum hispanicum
Spanish Snapdragon
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Anthemis tinctoria
Golden Marguerite
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Aquilegia chrysantha
Golden Columbine
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
10
Aquilegia sp.
Columbine Species
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
5
Argemone sp.
Prickly Poppy
3’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Armeria maritima
Sea Thrift
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
5
Artemisia abrotanum
Southernwood
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
12
Artemisia x Powis Castle
Powis Castle Artemisia
2’ X 3’
Semi-Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
20
Artemisia stellariana
Beach Wormwood
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Artemisia versicolor
Seafoam Artemisia
8” X 18”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Asclepias tuberosa
Butterflyweed
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Berlandiera lyrata
Chocolate Flower
1’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Callirhoe involucrata
Winecups
1’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Calylophus species
Sundrops
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Castilleja spp.
Indian Paintbrush
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Centaurea dealbata
Persian Cornflower
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Centtranthus ruber
Red Valerian
18” X 30”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
12
Cerastium tomentosum
Snow-In-Summer
8” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Chasmatophyllum masculinum
Hardy Tiger Jaws
2” X 6”
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
5
Chrysanthemum maximum
Shasta Daisy
4’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Convolvulus cnoreum
Silver Bush Morning Glory
1’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Consolida ambigua
Larkspur, Annual
2’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Coreopsis grandiflora
Sunray Coreopsis
2’ X 18’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Coreopsis lanceolata
Coreopsis
3’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Coreopsis verticillata
Threadleaf Coreopsis
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Dalea purpurea
Purple Prairieclover
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Datura wrightii
Sacred Datura
2’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
20
505Outside.com • 41
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
20” X 20”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
FLOWERING PLANTS (continued) Dianthus barbatus
Sweet William, Biennial
Dianthus deltoides
Maiden Pink
6” X 8”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Dianthus gratianopolitanus
Cheddar Pink
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Dictamnus spp.
Gas Plant
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Duchesnea indica
Mock Strawberry
8” X 2’
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
5
Echinacea purpurea
Purple Coneflower
3’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Echinops species
Globe Thistle
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Epilobium syn. Zauschneria sp.
Hummingbird Plant
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Erigeron spp.
Fleabane Daisy
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Eriogonum herbaceous species
Wild Buckwheat
1’ X 18”
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Erysimum hieraciifolium
Siberian Wallflower
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Erysimum linifolium
Wallflower Bowles’ Mauve
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
10
Euphorbia antisyphilitica
Candelilla
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Euphorbia myrsinites
Blue Spurge
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Euphorbia rigida
Gopher Plant
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Gaillardia x grandiflora
Gaillardia
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Gaura lindheimeri
Gaura
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Geranium macrorrhizium
Bigroot Geranium
4” X 18”
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
0
Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’
Johnson’s Blue Geranium
12” X 18”
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
10
Glaucium flavum
Horned Poppy
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Gypsophila paniculata
Baby’s Breath
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
12
Gypsophila repens
Creeping Baby’s Breath
4” X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Helianthemum spp.
Sunrose
6” X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
10
Helianthus annuus
Sunflower
Varies
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Helianthus maximilianii
Maximilian Sunflower
6’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
Helianthus tuberosus
Jerusalem Artichoke
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Hemerocallis hybrids
Daylilies
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Heterotheca syn. Chrysopsis villosa Golden Aster
18” X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Heuchera sanguinea
Coral Bells
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Hosta spp.
Plantain Lily
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
5
Hypericum calycinum
St. Johnswort
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
5
Iberis sempervirens
Candytuft
1’ X 18”
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
5
Ipomoea leptophylla
Bush Morning Glory
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
20
Kniphofia uvaria
Red Hot Poker
3’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Leuchanthemum x superbum
Shasta Daisy
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Liatris punctata
Gayfeather
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Liatris scariosa
Tall Gayfeather
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
42 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
Linaria spp.
Butter and Eggs/Baby Snapdragon
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Linum perenne
Blue Flax
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Lobelia laxiflora
Mexican Lobelia
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
12
Lupinus argenteus
Silverstem Lupine
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Lychnis sp.
Rose Campion, Maltese Cross
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Manfreda maculosa
Texas Tuberose
3’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Melampodium leucanthum
Blackfoot Daisy
1’ X 16”
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Mirabilis jalapa
Garden Four O’Clock
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Monarda spp.
Beebalm / Lemon Mint
Varies
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
0
Nepeta x faasseni
Catmint
8” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Nierembergia hippomanica ‘Violacea’
Cup Flower
10’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Oenothera berlandieri
Mexican Evening Primrose
1’ X 3’
Semi-Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Oenothera caespitosa
White Evening Primrose
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Oenothera hookerii
Hooker Primrose, Biennial
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Oenothera macrocarpa syn. missouriensis
Yellow Evening Primrose
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Oenothera organensis
Organ Mountain Evening Primrose
2’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Oenothera pallida
Pale Evening Primrose
18” X 18”
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Origanum sp.
Ornamental Oregano
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Osteospermum barberiae
Hardy African Daisy
4” X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
5
Paeonia sp.
Peony
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Penstemon ambiguus
Bush Penstemon
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Penstemon angustifolius
Narrowleaf Penstemon
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
10
Penstemon barbatus
Scarlet Bugler Penstemon
3’ X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Penstemon cardinalis
Cardinal Penstemon
3’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Penstemon clutei
Sunset Penstemon
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Penstemon jamesii
Penstemon, James
10” X 10”
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
10
Penstemon palmeri
Palmer Penstemon
3’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Penstemon pinifolius
Pineleaf Penstemon
1” X 20”
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Penstemon pseudospectabilis
Desert Beardtongue
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Penstemon secundifloris
Sidebells
1’ X 8”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
10
Penstemon strictus
Rocky Mountain Penstemon
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Perovskia atriplicifolia
Russian Sage
3’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Phemeranthus syn. Talinum calycinum
Flameflower
8” X 8”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Phlomis sp.
Jerusalem Sage, Kashmir Sage
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
12
Phlox subulata
Creeping Phlox
6” X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
3
Phyla nodiflora
Creeping Lippia
3” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Physalis lobata
Purple Groundcherry
4” X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low 15 505Outside.com • 43
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
FLOWERING PLANTS (continued) Platycodon sp.
Balloon Flower
2’ X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Psilostrophe tagetina
Paperflower
16” X 16”
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Ratibida columnifera
Coneflower, Mexican Hat
32” X 32”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Rudbeckia fulgida
Goldsturm Rudbeckia
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Ruellia humilis
Wild Petunia
6” X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Ruta graveolens
Rue
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
10
Salvia azurea grandiflora
Pitcher Sage
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Salvia daghestanica
Dwarf Silver Leaf Sage
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
10
Salvia darcyi
Texas Red Sage
30” X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Salvia nemerosa
May Night Salvia
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Saponaria ocymoides
Soapwort
9” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Scabiosa columbaria
Pincushion Flower
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Sun
Medium
10
Scutellaria resinosa & wrightii
Plains Skullcap
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Sedum spectabile
Stonecrop
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Sedum telephium
Autumn Joy Sedum
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Sempervivum tectorum
Hen and Chicks
6” X 6”
Evergreen
Shade
Low
5
Senecio flaccidus syn. longilobus
Silver Groundsel
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Solidago dwarf sp.
Dwarf Goldenrod
18” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Solidago hybrids
Goldenrod
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Sphaeralcea spp.
Globemallow
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Stachys byzantina
Woolly Lamb’s Ear
1’ X 18”
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Stachys coccinea
Scarlet Nettle
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Stanleya pinnata
Prince’s Plume
3’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Tagetes lucida
Mexican Marigold
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Tanacetum densum-amani
Partridge Feather
8” X 18”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Tanacetum vulgare
Tansy
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Tetraneuris syn. Hymenoxys sp.
Angelita Daisy/Perky Sue
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
10
Teucrium chamaedrys
Wall Germander
10” X 18”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Thelesperma ambigua
Rayed or Threadleaf Cota
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Thymophila syn. Dyssodia acerosa
Wild Marigold
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
10
Thymus pseudolanuginosus
Woolly and Dwarf and minus Creeping Thyme
3” X 1’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
5
Tradescantia occidentalis
Western Spiderwort
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Verbena spp.
Verbena
varies
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
10
Verbena bipinnatifida
Fern Verbena
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
10
Verbena rigida
Sandpaper Verbena
1’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
20
Verbena wrightii
Western Vervain
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Veronica incana 44 • 505Outside.com
Silver Speedwell
18” X 18”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
20
Wyethia scabra
Desert Mule’s Ear
Zinnia acerosa
White Desert Zinnia
6” X 10”
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
10
Zinnia grandiflora
Desert Zinnia
8” X 16”
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
GRASSES, TURF (Grasses treated as turf with sprinkler irrigation do not qualify for the desert friendly xeriscape conversion rebate) Agrostis spp.
Bentgrass
Mowed
Evergreen
Full Sun
High
0
Bouteloua gracilis
Blue Grama
Varies
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
0
Bouteloua syn. Buchloe dactyloides Bufflalo Grass
Mowed
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
0
Cynodon dactylon hybrids
Hybrid Bermudagrass
Mowed
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
0
Festuca elatoir and all Festuca
Turf Tall Fescue
Mowed
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
High
0
Festuca ovina ‘Covar’
Covar Sheep Fescue
Unmowed
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
0
Festuca ovina except Glauca
Sheep’s Fescue
Mowed
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
High
0
Lolium perenne and all Lolium
Ryegrass, Perennial
Mowed
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
High
0
Poa pratensis and all Poa
Kentucky Bluegrass
Mowed
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
High
0
Zoysia spp.
Zoysia Grass
Mowed
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
0
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
GRASSES, ORNAMENTAL Achnatherum syn. Oryzopsis hymenoides
Indian Ricegrass
Andropogon gerardii
Big Bluestem
5’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Andropogon hallii
Sand Bluestem
4’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Aristida purpurea
Purple Threeawn
1’ X 1’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Arundo donax
Carrizo Cane
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Blepharneuron tricolepsis
Pine Dropseed/Mountain Mist
18” X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Bothriochloa barbinodis
Cane Beardgrass
24” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Bouteloua curtipendula
Sideoats Gramma
30” X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Bouteloua gracilis
Blue Grama
Varies
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Calamagrostis arundinacea ‘Karl Foester’
Feather Reed Grass
30” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Deschampsia cespitosa
Tufted Hair Grass
18” X 24”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Eragrostis tricodes
Sand Lovegrass
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Festuca idahoensis ‘Joseph’ & ‘Siskiyou’
Blue Idaho Fescue
2’ X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Festuca ovina glauca
Blue Fescue
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Helictotrichon sempervirens
Blue Avena Grass
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Koeleria macrantha
Junegrass
18” X 18”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Leymus cinereus
Great Basin Wildrye
4’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Miscanthus spp.
Maiden Grass
5’ X 5’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Muhlenbergia capillaris ‘Regal Mist’
Regal Mist Muhly
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Muhlenbergia dubia
Pine Muhly
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Muhlenbergia emersleyi
Bull Muhly
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low 15 505Outside.com • 45
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
GRASSES, ORNAMENTAL (continued) Muhlenbergia lindheimerii
Lindheimer Muhly
5’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
20
Muhlenbergia porteri
Bush Muhly
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Muhlenbergia rigens
Deer Grass
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
20
Muhlenbergia rigida
Purple Muhly
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Nassella syn. Stipa tenuissima
Threadgrass
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Panicum virgatum
Switchgrass
4’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Pascopyrum syn.Agropyron smithii Western Wheatgrass Pennisetum alopecuroides
Hardy Fountain Grass
30” X 30”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Phyllostachys aurea
Golden Bamboo
15’ X 15’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Pleuraphis syn. Hilaria jamesii
Galleta
14” X 14”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
10
Schizachyrium scoparium
Little Bluestem
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Sorghastrum nutans
Indiangrass
4’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Sprorobolus airoides
Alkali Sacaton
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Sporobolus cryptandrus
Sand Dropseed
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
15
Sprorobolus wrightii
Giant Sacaton
5’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Thinopyrum ponticum syn. Elytrigia elongata
“Jose” Tall Wheatgrass
4’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Aegopodium variegatum
Variegated Bishop’s Weed
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
5
Achillea Millefolium
Yarrow
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Anemopsis californica
Yerba Mansa
1’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Kinnikinnick
9” X 2’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
10
Artemisia frigida
Fringed Sage
18” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Artemisia ludoviciana
Prairie Sage
18” X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Cerastium tomentosum
Snow-In-Summer
8” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides
Dwarf Plumbago
1’ X 2’
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
10
Cotoneaster dammeri
Bearberry Cotoneaster
1’ X 9’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Cotoneaster horizontalis ‘Perpusillus’
Prostrate Rockspray Cotoneaster
1’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Cotoneaster salicifolius ‘Repens’
Willowleaf Cotoneaster
1’ X 9’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
30
Delosperma congestum & nubigenum
Yellow Iceplant
3” X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
10
Delosperma cooperi
Purple Iceplant
6” X 18”
Evergreen
Full sun
Low
10
Delosperma floribundum
Tufted Iceplant
6” X 12”
Evergreenn
Full Sun
Low
10
Delosperma sphalmanthoides
Dwarf Tufted Iceplant
1” X 8”
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
10
Ephedra minuta
Dwarf Joint Fir
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Erigeron flagillaris
Whiplash Daisy
8” X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Euphorbia cyparissias
Cypress Spurge
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
GROUNDCOVERS
46 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
Juniperus horizontalis
Carpet Juniper
6”-2’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
25
Marrubium rotundifolium
Roundleaf Horehound
10” X 24”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Mirabilis multiflora
Native Four O’Clock
2’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
25
Prunus besseyi ‘Pawnee Buttes’
Spreading Sand Cherry
2’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
Phyla nodiflora
Creeping Lippia
3” X 2’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-low’
Gro-Low Sumac
2’ X 6’
Deciduos
Full Sun
Low
35
Rhus trilobata ‘Autumn Amber’
Prostrate Sumac
2’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
35
Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostrata’
Creeping Rosemary
2’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
Santolina chamaecyparissus
Gray Lavender Cotton
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Santolina virens
Green Lavender Cotton
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Sedum reflexum
Blue Spruce Sedum
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Sedum spurium
Dragon’s Blood Sedum
6” X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Teucrium capitatum ssp. Majoricum syn. T. aroanium
Creeping Gray Germander syn. Greek Germander
4” X 18”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Teucrium chamaedrys “Prostratum” Creeping Germander
6” X 24”
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
10
Thymus pseudolanuginosus
Woolly Thyme
3” X 1’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
5
Thymus serphyllum
Creeping Thyme
3” X 1’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Thymus vulgaris
Culinary Thyme
1’ X 1’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
10
Verbena peruviana
Verbena
9” X 18”
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
12
Veronica liwanensis
Turkish Speedwell
3” X 2’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
10
Veronica pectinata
Wooly Speedwell
3” X 18”
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
10
Veronica prostrata
Harebell Veronica
8” X 1’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
5
Vinca major
Giant Periwinkle
1’ X 4’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
10
Vinca minor
Periwinkle
9” X 2’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
5
SHRUBS, DECIDIUOUS Acacia constricta
Whitethorn Acacia
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
40
Acacia greggii
Catclaw Acacia
10’ X 12’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
40
Aloysia wrightii
Mexican Oregano or Beebrush
5’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
25
Amelanchier utahensis
Utah Serviceberry
8’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
30
Amorpha cana
Dwarf Leadplant
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Amorpha canescens
Leadplant
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
15
Amorpha fruticosa
False Indigo
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Anisacanthus quadrifidus var wrightii
Flame Anisacanthus
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
20
Anisacanthus thurberi
Desert Honeysuckle
5’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
20
Berberis thunbergii
Japanese Barberry
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Berberis thunbergii ‘Atropur. Nana’ Crimson Pigmy Barberry
2’ X 2’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
10
Berberis thunbergii Atropurpurea
Redleaf Barberry
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Buddleia davidii nanhoensis
Dwarf Butterfly Bush
5’ X 7’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
505Outside.com • 47
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
SHRUBS, DECIDUOUS (continued) Buddleia marrubifolia
Wooly Butterfly Bush
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
25
Caesalpinia gilliesii
Yellow Bird of Paradise
8’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
30
Caragana spp.
Peashrub
8’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
Caryopteris x clandonensis
Blue Mist Spirea
3’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
20
Cercocarpus montanus
Montane Mountain Mahogany
10’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
35
Chaenomeles japonica
Flowering Quince
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Chamaebatiaria millefolium
Fernbush
5’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
30
Cotoneaster apiculatus
Cranberry Cotoneaster
4’ X 8’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Cotoneaster divaricatus
Spreading Cotoneaster
3’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Cotoneaster horizontalis
Rock Cotoneaster
2’ X 9’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Dalea formosa
Feather Dalea
2’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
20
Dalea frutescens
Black Dalea
2’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
25
Dalea versicolor
Mountain Dalea
3’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
25
Ericameria syn. Chrysothamnus nauseosus
Chamisa, Rabbitbrush
5’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
30
Fendlera rupicola
Cliff Fendlerbush
6’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
20
Forsythia intermedia
Forsythia
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Genista tinctoria
Summer Broom
2’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Hibiscus syriacus
Rose of Sharon
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Holodiscus dumosus
Rock Spirea
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Jasminum nudiflorum
Winter Jasmine
4’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
25
Kolkwitzia amabilis
Beauty Bush
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Leucophyllum frutescens
Texas Ranger or Ceniza
6’ X 6’
Semi-Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
Leucophyllum langmaniae
Rio Bravo Sage
5’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
25
L. frutescens ‘Compactum’
Compact Ceniza
3’ X 4’
Semi-Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
20
Ligustrum vulgare
Common Privet
8’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Lonicera tartarica
Tartarian Honeysuckle
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
High
0
Parryella filifolia
Dunebroom
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
20
Philadelphus cultivars
Mock Orange
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Philadelphus microphyllus
Littleleaf Mock Orange
4’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Potentilla fruticosa
Shrubby Cinquefoil
3’ X 3’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Prunus besseyi
Western Sand Cherry
4’ X 4’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
15
Prunus tomentosa
Nanking Cherry
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
Prunus x cistena
Purpleleaf Plum Bush
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Psorothamnus scoparius
Broom Dalea
3’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
25
Punica spp.
Pomegranate
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Rhamnus frangula Columnaris
Tallhedge Buckthorn
10’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
12
Rhus glabra var. cismontana
Cutleaf Sumac
3’ X 5’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
48 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
Rhus microphylla
Littleleaf Sumac
8’ x 9’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
35
Rhus trilobata
Three-Leaf Sumac
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
30
Ribes aureum
Golden Currant
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Rosa foetida
Austrian Copper Rose
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Rosa rugosa
Species Rugosa Roses
4’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Rosa spp.
Tea, Floribunda, Grandiflora
6’ X 5’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Rosa woodsii
Woods’ Rose
6’ X 8’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Salix x exigua
Coyote Willow
6’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Salvia greggii
Autumn or Cherry Sage
3’ X 4’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Low
20
Sarcobatus vermiculatus
Greasewood
8’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
35
Shepherdia argentea
Silver Buffaloberry
15’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Symphoricarpos albus
Snowberry
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
Coralberry
6’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Syringa spp.
Lilac
8’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
Syringa laciniata
Cutleaf Persian Lilac
8’ X 6’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
20
Syringa meyeri
Dwarf Korean Lilac
5’ X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Syringa persica
Persian Lilac
8’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
Syringa rothomagensis
Chinese Lilac
8’ X 8’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Syringa vulgaris
Common Lilac
15’ X 15’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Weigela florida
Weigela
10’ X 10’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
25
SHRUBS, EVERGREEN Abelia grandiflora
Glossy Abelia
7’ X 7’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Arctostaphylos pungens
Pointleaf Manzanita
3’ X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
25
Artemisia cana
Silver Sage
3’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Artemisis filifolia
Sand Sage
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
25
Artemisia tridentata
Big Sage
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Atriplex canescens
Fourwing Saltbrush
3’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
30
Atriplex confertifolia
Shadscale
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
15
Baccaris pilularis
Dwarf Coyotebush
18” X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
15
Baccharis x ‘Centennial’
Centennial Broom
3’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Baccharis x ‘Starns’
Thompson Broom
2’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Baccharis salicina
Broom Baccharis
8’ X 8’
Semi-Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
30
Baccharis sarothroides
Desert Broom
6’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
Berberis gladwynensis
William Penn Barberry
6’ X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Berberis julianae
Wintergreen Barberry
5’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
20
Berberis mentorensis
Mentor Barberry
7’ X 7’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Buxus spp.
Boxwood
4’ X 4’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
15
Cercocarpus ledifolius
Curl-leaf Mtn. Mahogany
8’ X 12’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
505Outside.com • 49
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
SHRUBS, EVERGREEN (continued) Cercocarpus breviflorus
Hairy Mountain Mahogany
8’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
Chrysactinia mexicana
Damianita
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Cistus ladanifer & x purpureus
Crimsonspot & Purple Rockrose
4’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Cotoneaster buxifolius
Grayleaf Cotoneaster
2’ X 9’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Cotoneaster congestus
Pyrenees Cotoneaster
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Cotoneaster lacteus
Parney or Clusterberry Cotoneaster
8’ X 10’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Cotoneaster salicifolius
Willowleaf Cotoneaster
6’ X 10’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Cytisus scoparius
Scotch Broom
4’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
30
Elaegnus pungens
Silverberry
10’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
30
Ephedra species
Joint-Fir or Mormon Tea
2’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
35
Ericameria laricifolia
Turpentine Bush
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Eriogonum fascilculatum v. poliofolium
Flattop Buckwheat
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Euonymus japonica
Japanese Euonymus
8’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
25
Euonymous klautschovious
Manhattan Euonymus
6’ X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Fallugia paradoxa
Apache Plume
4’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Garrya wrightii
Wright’s Silk Tassel
5’ X 5’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
Helichrysum angustifolium
Curry Plant
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Ilex cornuta ‘Burfordii’
Burford Holly
8’ X 8’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
20
Ilex altaclarensis ‘Wilsonii’
Wilson Holly
10’ X 10’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
25
Juniperus shrub species female cultivars only
Female Juniper Shrubs
1’ X 4’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Krascheninnikovia syn. Ceratoides syn. Eurotia lanata
Winterfat
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
20
Larrea tridentata
Creosote Bush
6’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Lavandula angustifolia
English Lavender
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Lavandula x Intermedia ‘Grosso”
Fat Spike Lavender
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Lavendula stoechas
Spanish Lavender
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
10
Leucophyllum langmaniae
‘Lynn’s Legacy’ Texas sage
4’ X 4’
Semi-Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Leucophyllum zygophyllum
Cimarron Rainsage
4’ X 4’
Semi-Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
25
Mahonia aquifolium
Oregon Grape Holly
6’ X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Mahonia aquifolium ‘Compacta’
Compact Oregon Grape
2’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Mahonia syn. Berberis fremontii
Blue Algerita
5’ X 7’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
30
Mahonia hamaetocarpa
Algerita
8’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Nandina domestica cultivars
Heavenly Bamboo
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
15
Parthenium incanum
Mariola
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
20
Photinia fraseri
Red Tip Photinia
8’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
25
Photinia serrulata
Chinese Photinia
10’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
25
Picea conica
Alberta Spruce
7’ X 3’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
12
50 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
4’ X 5’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
25
10’ X 10’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Pinus mugo mughus
Mugo Pine
Prunus caroliniana
Carolina Cherry Laurel
Purshia syn Cowania mexicana
Cliffrose
8’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Purshia tridentata
Antelope Bitterbush
6’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Pyracantha coccinea
Firethorn
10’ X 10’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Raphiolepis indica
Indian Hawthorn
3’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Rhamnus californica var. ursina
Coffeeberry
6’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Rhus ovata
Sugarbush
10’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Rhus virens / choriophylla
Evergreen Sumac
8’ X 8’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
35
Rosmarinus officinalis
Upright Rosemary
6’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
30
Sabal minor
Dwarf Sabal Palm
3’ X 3’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
10
Salvia chamaedryoides
Mexican Blue or Chihuahua Sage
1’ X 3’
Semi-Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Salvia dorrii
Desert Sage
2’ X 3’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
20
Salvia lavandulifolia
Lavender Sage
1’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
15
Salvia officinalis
Garden Sage
2’ X 2’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
10
Spartium junceum
Spanish Broom
10’ X 6’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
25
Vauquelinia spp.
Rosewood
12’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
40
Virburnum X burkwoodii
Burkwood Viburnum
6’ X 5’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
25
TREES, DECIDUOUS Acer x freemanii
Freeman Maple
45’ X 30’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Acer negundo ‘Sensation’
Sensation Box Elder
40’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Acer saccharum v grandidentatum Bigtooth Maple
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Acer tataricum ginnala
Amur Maple
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Acer truncatum
Shantung Maple
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
35
Albizia julibrissin Rosea
Mimosa
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Carya illinoinensis
Pecan
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Catalpa speciosa
Catalpa
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Celtis occidentalis
Common Hackberry
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Celtis reticulata
Netleaf / Canyon Hackberry
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
55
Cercis occidentalis
Western Redbud
10’ X 12’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Cercis mexicana
Mexican Redbud
15’ X 12’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Cercis reniformis
Oklahoma Redbud
15’ X 12’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Chilopsis linearis
Desert Willow
20’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
55
Chilopsis x Catalpa
Chitalpa
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Cornus mas
Cornelian Cherry
15’ X 20’
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
35
Cotinus coggygria
Smoketree
15’ X 15’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Crataegus crus-galli Inermis
Thornless Cockspur Hawthorn
15’ X 15’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Crataegus laevigata
English Hawthorn
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Crataegus phaenopyrum
Washington Hawthorn
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
505Outside.com • 51
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
TREES, DECIDUOUS (continued) Crataegus X lavallei
Carriere Hawthorn
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
35
Cratageus monogyna
Single-Seed Hawthorn
30’ X 8’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Crateagus ambigua
Russian Hawthorn
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
45
Ficus carica
Edible Fig
12’ X 15’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Forestiera neomexicana
New Mexico Olive
15’ X 15’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Fraxinus cuspidata
Fragrant Ash
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Fraxinus angustifolia oxycarpa
Claret or Raywood Ash
35’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Fraxinus pennsylvanica x velutina
Fan West Ash
40’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Fraxinus texana
Texas Ash
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Fraxinus velutina
Arizona and Modesto Ash
40’ X 35’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Fruit trees
Fruit trees (Apple, Peach, Pear, Quince)
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Gleditsia triacanthos inermis
Thornless Honey Locust
50’ X 45’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Gymnocladus dioica
Kentucky Coffee Tree
40’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Juglans major
Arizona Walnut
50’ X 50’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Juglans microcarpa
Little Walnut
30’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Juglans regia
English Walnut
60’ X 60’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Juglans regia ‘Carpathian’
Carpathian Walnut
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Koelreuteria paniculata
Golden Rain Tree
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei
Crape Myrtle
6’ X 12’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Leucaena retusa
Golden Ball Leadtree
15’ X 15’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
35
Maclura pomifera
Osage Orange
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Malus cultivars
Crabapple
Varies
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
35
Melia azedarach
Chinaberry
25’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
45
Metasequoia glyptostroboides
Dawn Redwood
60’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Parrotia persica
Persian Parrotia
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Paulownia tomentosa
Empress tree
30’ X 30’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Pistacia chinensis
Chinese Pistache
60’ X 60’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
55
Platanus acerfolia
London Plane Tree
70’ X 50’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Plantanus wrightii
Arizona Sycamore
60’ X 70’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Populus acuminata
Mountain/Lanceleaf Cottonwood
50’ X 50’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Populus deltoides var. wislizenii
Valley Cottonwood
50’ X 60’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Populus fremontii
Western Cottonwood
70’ X 60’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Prosopis glandulosa
Honey Mesquite
25’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
55
Prosopis pubescens
Screwbean Mesquite
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
50
Prosopis torreyana
Western Honey Mesquite
18’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
50
Prosopis velutina
Velvet Mesquite
20’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
RW
50
Prunus americana
American Plum
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Prunus armeniaca
Apricot
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
52 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
Prunus cerastifera
Purpleleaf Plum
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Prunus virginiana
Chokecherry
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
35
Ptelea trifoliata
Hoptree
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Pyrus sp.
Ornamental Pear Varieties
35’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Quercus gambelii
Gambel Oak
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
45
Quercus gravesii Chisos
Red Oak
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus lobata
Valley Oak
45’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Quercus macrocarpa
Bur Oak
60’ X 70’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus muhlenbergii
Chinquapin Oak
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus oblongifolia/engelmannii Mexican Blue / Mesa Oak
25’ X 30’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus robur
English Oak
50’ X 50’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’
Skyrocket Oak
30’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Quercus shumardii
Shumard Oak
60’ X 60’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus texana syn. buckleyi
Texas Red Oak
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Rhamnus cathartica
Common Buckthorn
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Rhamnus frangula ‘Asplenifolia’
Fernleaf Buckthorn
12’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Rhus glabra
Smooth Sumac
12’ X 15
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Rhus lanceolata
Prairie Flameleaf Sumac
25’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Robinia x ambigua
Idaho Locust
40’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Robinia neomexicana
New Mexico Locust
15’ X 10’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
35
Robinia pseudoacacia
Black Locust
40’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Purple Robe’ Purple Robe Locust
30’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Salix matsudana ‘Navajo’
Globe Navajo Willow
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
40
Sambucus mexicana
Mexican Elder
20’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Sapindus drummondii
Western Soapberry
30’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
55
Styphnolobium syn Sophora japonicum
Japanese Pagoda Tree, Scholar Tree
35’ X 35’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Syringa reticulata
Japanese Tree Lilac
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
35
Taxodium distichum
Bald Cypress
50’ X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
45
Taxodium mucronatum
Montezuma Cypress
60’ X 40’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
45
Ulmus crassifolia
Cedar Elm
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Ulmus parvifolia
Lacebark Elm
40’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Ulmus 'Accolade'
Accolade Elm
60’ X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Ulmus 'Allee'
Allee Elm
45’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Ulmus 'Emerald Sunshine'
Emerald Sunshine Elm
35’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Ulmus 'Frontier'
Frontier Elm
40’ X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Ulmus 'Triumph'
Triumph Elm
45’ X 35’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
50
Vitex agnus-castus
Chaste Tree
20’ X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
45
Zizyphus jujuba
Jujube or Chinese Date
25’ X 25’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
45
505Outside.com • 53
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
TREES, EVERGREEN Cedrus atlantica
Atlas Cedar
75’ X 50’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
50
Cedrus deodara
Deodar Cedar
80’ X 60’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
50
Cedrus libani
Cedar of Lebanon
80’ X 50’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Cupressocyparis leylandii
Leyland Cypress
40’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Cupressus arizonica
Arizona Cypress
50’ X 30’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
55
Ilex vomitoria
Yaupon Holly
15’ X 15’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Juniperus chinensis
Juniper Trees, Females Only
25’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
50
Juniperus deppeana
Alligator Juniper
60’ X 40’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
55
Juniperus monosperma
Oneseed Juniper
15’ X 15’
Evergreen
Full Sun
RW
45
Juniperus scopulorum
Rocky Mountain Juniper, Females Only
40’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
50
Juniperus virginiana
Juniper Trees, Females Only
20’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Low
40
Magnolia grandiflora
Southern Magnolia
25’ X 20’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
40
Picea abies
Norway Spruce
50’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
40
Picea engelmani
Engelmann Spruce
50’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
40
Picea pungens
Blue Spruce
50’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
40
Pinus aristata
Bristlecone Pine
30’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Pinus edulis
Pinon Pine
30’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Pinus eldarica
Afghan Pine
40’ X 18’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
50
Pinus flexilis
Limber Pine
30’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Pinus heldeichii
Bosnian Pine
20’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
40
Pinus nigra
Austrian Pine
35’ X 25’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Pinus pinea
Italian Stone Pine
60’ X 50’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
50
Pinus ponderosa
Ponderosa Pine
40’ X 25’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Pinus strobiformis
Southwestern White or Border Pine
30’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
40
Pinus sylvestris
Scotch Pine
45’ X 25’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Pinus thunbergii
Japanese Black Pine
35’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Poncirus trifoliata
Trifoliate Orange
15’ X 10’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
35
Pseudotsuga menziesii
Douglas Fir
50’ X 20’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
40
Quercus emoryi
Emory Oak
35’X 35’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus fusiformis
Escarpment Live Oak
25’ X30’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Quercus grisea
Gray Oak
30’ X 30’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
55
Quercus suber
Cork Oak
30’ X 30’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
55
Quercus turbinella
Desert or Shrub Live Oak
18’ X 20’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
50
Quercus virginiana
Southern Live Oak
35’ X 40’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
50
Thuja or Platycladus species
Arborvitae
15’ X 12’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
45
Trachycarpus fortunei / wagnerianus
Windmill Palm
15’ X 4’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
54 • 505Outside.com
PLANT LIST Scientific Name
Common Name
Average Size
Deciduous or Evergreen
Light Exposure
Water Use
Plant Points
VINES Akebia quinata
Chocolate Vine
Climbing X 15’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Campsis radicans
Trumpet Vine
Climbing X 40’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Clematis ligusticifolia
Western Virginsbower
Climbing X 15’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Euonymus fortunei colorata
Purpleleaf Wintercreeper
Climbing X 6’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Glesemium sempervirens
Carolina Jessamine
Climbing X 10’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Hedera helix
English Ivy
Climbing X 12’
Evergreen
Shade
Medium
25
Humulus neomexicanus
Hops
Climbing X 6’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Lonicera japonica ‘Purpurea’
Purpleleaf Honeysuckle
Climbing X 12’
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Lonicera japonica Halliana
Hall’s Honeysuckle
Climbing X 12’
Evergreen
Full Sun
Medium
25
Lonicera sempervirens
Coral Honeysuckle
Climbing X 8’
Deciduous
Shade/Part Sun
Medium
25
Lonicera x heckrottii
Goldflame Honeysuckle
Climbing X 8’
Deciduous
Shade/Part Sun
Medium
25
Parthenocissus inserta
Woodbine
Climbing X 40’ 30'
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Parthenocissus quinquefolia
Virginia Creeper
Climbing X 40’ 30'
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Parthenocissus tricuspidata
Boston Ivy
Climbing X 40’ 30'
Deciduous
Shade
Medium
25
Periploca graeca
Silkvine
Climbing X 40’ 30'
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
25
Polygonum aubertii
Silver Lacevine
Climbing X 40’ 30'
Deciduous
Full Sun
Low
35
Rosa banksiae
Rose Lady Banks
Climbing X 40’ 30'
Evergreen
Sun/Shade
Low
35
Rosa hybrid and species climbers
Climbing Roses
Climbing X 15’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
20
Vitis arizonica
Canyon Grape
Climbing X 20’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
Vitis labrusca
American Grape
Climbing X 30’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Vitis vinifera
European Grape
Climbing X 20’
Deciduous
Full Sun
Medium
30
Wisteria spp.
Wisteria
Climbing X 30’
Deciduous
Sun/Shade
Medium
30
505Outside.com • 55
TO LANDSCAPE SUCCESS!
SERVICE
Low-maintenance landscapes are great, but there’s no such thing as a "no-maintenance" irrigation system. A single broken sprinkler head flowing at 15 gallons per minute will waste 900 gallons in one hour of use. So service your system regularly, and check it often for leaks and malfunctions.
SETTINGS
Adjust your irrigation timer by season! For turf, water by the numbers: one day per week in March, two days per week in April and May, three days per week in the summer, and ramp down in the fall. For other landscapes, follow the watering recommendations on 505Outside.com
SELECTION
Choose desert-friendly plants that thrive in our dry climate. There are literally hundreds of options to choose from, and rebates are available for replacing turf with a desert-friendly landscape.
56 • 505Outside.com
WHAT IS
WATER WASTE?
Legally, any non-beneficial use of water (either potable or non-potable) is considered water waste. By ordinance the Water Authority can levy fees against customers who are observed wasting water. These fees appear on the customer's water bill and can result from any of the following types of water waste:
FUGITIVE WATER (no malfunction)
Flow resulting from the pumping, release or escape of water from a pipe, valve, faucet, connection, diversion, well, or any facility for the purpose of supply, transport, storage, disposal, recreation, or cleaning processes that delivers water onto adjacent property, the public right or way or an impermeable surface.
OVERSPRAY/OVERFLOW (no malfunction)
Occurs when an irrigation system delivers water onto adjacent property, the public right of way or an impermeable surface.
MALFUNCTION (irrigation)
Waste caused by sprinklers, irrigation systems or irrigation lines that are broken or otherwise in need of repair.
MALFUNCTION (non-irrigation)
Photo Credits Thanks to the following for the use of their beautiful landscapes and photos throughout this publication:
Any non-irrigation-related equipment or pipe failure. Sources include plumbing and air conditioning leaks.
Cover:
OTHER
Inside:
The water source is unknown or undetermined.
TIME-OF-DAY VIOLATION
By ordinance, the use of spray irrigation is not allowed between 11 AM and 7 PM from April 1 through October 31. Spray irrigation is recommended only during the coolest hours of the day.
To learn more about the Water Waste Reduction Ordinance, visit abcwua.org
Hunter Ten Broeck
Hunter Ten Broeck
David Cristiani
Charles Mann
Michael Melendres
David Morris
Judith Phillips
Janet Rademacher
David Salman
Š Produced by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (2010); revised 2020.
Call 842-WATR (842-9287) to: • Pay a bill over the phone • Set up new service • Get conservation rebate information • Report a water or sewer emergency • Report water waste
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 568 • Albuquerque, NM 87103-0568 City/County Government Center • One Civic Plaza NW • Albuquerque, NM 87102 abcwua.com