7 Favourite Drought Tolerant, Australian Natives Plants.

The words “drought tolerant plants” have different meanings to different gardeners. I once knew a gardener who believed if a plant was considered to be drought tolerant it meant that once you’d planted it you could then walk away and never have to water it again. The funny thing about it, in some respects this can be the case with some drought tolerant plants, in some situations.

If you are a gardener though who wants to give your plants a better that even chance of surviving their first summer then here is the best way to go about it.

I’ve always found that the best time of the year to plant is in autumn. This gives the roots some time to get established over winter and spring before the following summer. It also gives the plant a head start, especially if you have a large garden full of drought tolerant plants that rarely get watered over summer. The next important thing to do is then water the plant for the first summer and after that it should be able to survive just from the water that falls from the sky. This to me is what the term “drought tolerant plant” means. It describes plants that have evolved in their natural environment to withstand long periods without rainfall and as a consequence can do the same when introduced into a garden situation.

Over the years I’ve grown lots of drought tolerant plants and as a consequence I’ve got just a few that are favourites and if I was to start a new garden tomorrow from scratch then these one’s would be definite starters. It’s also important to point out that this list isn’t a list of the seven most drought tolerant plants you can find. Instead it is a list of seven very garden worthy plants that will look and perform very well in the home garden and once established, survive on a very minimal amount of water. So here they are;

1. Alyogyne hakeifolia. The best feature of this plant would have to be the deep purple tulip type flowers which occur on mass over summer. It is a plant that comes from the desert areas of South and Western Australia. It fairly quick growing, has narrow needle like leaves, is extremely drought tolerant and actually seems to flourish on a lack of water. It also comes in a variation with soft creamy flowers which can add to the variety of your garden but for me the purple flower is definitely the standout.
2. Eremophila Calorhabdos is a shrub that grows to about 2m in height and has lots of long vertical branches that are covered in pinky red tubular flowers over winter and spring. It’s a great plant to place in a confined area as it grows tall and narrow or can easily be pruned to form a long narrow hedge.
3. Banksia Ericifolia is made up of several subspecies. It has long orange, or burgundy candle like flowers that occur over winter and into spring. It normally grows to 3m but there are also varieties that only grow to 1.5m. Despite coming from an area that gets up to 1000mm of rain per year it is still very drought tolerant, adaptable and easy grow in the home garden.
4. Grevillea “Ned Kelly” is a hybrid between Grevillea Banksii and Grevillea bipinnatifida. The one that I had growing in my first garden was always covered in flowers and was a major draw card for bringing birds into the garden. In fact it flowered so often it was always difficult to find a suitable time to give it a prune. There are also several other hybrid grevilleas that are very similar to this one, Grevillea “Superb”, Grevillea “Robyn Gordon”, Grevillea “Coconut Ice” and Grevillea “Peaches and Cream”. All are very worthy garden plants that flower for most of the year and survive on a minimum of water.
5. Eucalyptus caesia "Silver Princess" is a small Eucalypt that has a very ornamental weeping habit. It has a white powdery substance that covers the branches which are covered in red flowers during winter. The other great thing about this plant is that it only grows into a small tree which makes it ideal for smaller gardens.
6. Acacia glaucoptera is a small wattle with an unusual habit. It has long serrated foliage that is a dark greeny, bluey colour that intensifies to a dark red at the tips, so it looks quite attractive even when it’s not in flower. The flowers come over winter and are round yellow wattle type flowers that appear along the length of the long stems, so it will put on quite a display when at the height of its flowering.
7. Callistemon salignus is a bottlebrush that is probably the least spectacular of the bottlebrushes when in flower. The reason why I’ve included it here is because it has so many other special qualities. It grows fairly vigorously, it is very drought tolerant, can be grown in heavy soils that don’t drain very well and the new growth is a dark red colour that can make the plant quite attractive when putting on new growth. This plant grows into a tree of up to 15m or can easily be pruned into quite an attractive hedge.

These are a just a few of the many Australian Natives that are drought tolerant plants. There are many others that could be added to the list but I’ve included them here because I’ve grown them in my garden and are a great starting point for either a new or an existing garden.