Drought-tolerant plants still a wise choice for local gardens

The Central Coast doesn’t always get a lot of rain during the winter, but it consistently sees warm, dry weather come summertime. For those who have a garden to tend to, this can be problematic. Not enough water, and the plant dies. Too much time in the sun, and the plant dies. So what should locals keep in their gardens that can survive California’s climate?

Lauren Withers, one of the owners of the Nipomo nursery Birch Wood Garden Barn & Home, recommended a variety of plants that are adapted to dry climates, especially those native to California.

click to enlarge Drought-tolerant plants still a wise choice for local gardens
PHOTO BY CARMEN AGUILA-TORNERO
WATER AT THE CENTER: Succulents that were freshly watered at Birch Wood Garden Barn & Home still have a bit of red coloring on the tips of the leaves.

“Drought-tolerant plants do great here all year,” Withers said. “They’ll bloom or do their best at certain seasons, and right now, when it’s getting hotter is when they are actually coming alive and blooming.”

Drought-tolerant plants are good for anyone starting up a garden for the first time, she explained, because they require so little care. Someone just starting out can make a few mistakes, she said, like forgetting to water a few times, without ruining the plant’s chances of survival.

Withers said that drought-tolerant plants could withstand a lot of “torture.” Succulents, for example, turn red when not watered, she said. Some of the succulents at her nursery hadn’t been watered for three weeks, she explained, and were a vibrant red. Others that had been watered were a light green. She said that the more dry, red succulents would turn green again with just a bit of watering.

California native plants and succulents don’t need a lot of care, she said. “They want you to kind of forget about them, give them some space.

“It’s actually more beautiful than a rose because a rose needs special care to do well,” she continued. “This is like, you do worse with it and it’s better.”

One common mistake Withers sees with new gardeners is overwatering. It’s understandable, Withers said, when they “try to love them too much.”

click to enlarge Drought-tolerant plants still a wise choice for local gardens
PHOTO BY CARMEN AGUILA-TORNERO
COLOR CORRECTION: Succulent plants like those available at Birch Wood Garden Barn & Home turn red when not watered, owner Lauren Withers explained, but after watering just a little bit, some green returns to their leaves.

In the case of drought-tolerant plants, if over watered, they won’t thrive as they should, she said. A good way to tell if the plant is being overwatered, she explained, is if leaves turn yellow and either soften or start to fall off.

“What you want is to water them like succulents,” she suggested. “Water them, let them dry out completely, water them, let them dry out completely, not always keeping them damp.

“They are not from one second to the next going to die,” she added. “They ask and ask and ask and then they’ll give up.”

With native plants, Withers suggested watering them 15 minutes a week. If it gets hotter, water them twice a week, she said.

The reason California native plants do so well locally is because they are used to the state’s Mediterranean climate. The weather is steady throughout the year, she said, with hardly any extreme weather like heavy snow or scorching heat.

“They want to be here,” she said. “They are going to thrive here with or without us.”

Withers said locals are lucky to live in such a climate. It’s actually made up of smaller microclimates, she said, with shady areas for some plants and breezier ones for others. It can get cold, but usually not too cold, she explained. And it can get warm, but usually not too hot.

“It’s the sweet spot of anywhere really,” she said.

Intern Carmen Aguila-Tornero can be reached through Managing Editor Joe Payne at [email protected].

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