Drought tolerant plants for the San Jose area.
In the 1500's California went through an 80 year drought. During the winter there were blizzards in Central California, the Salinas river froze solid where it flowed into the Monterey Bay. During the summer there was no humidity, no rain, and temperatures in the hundreds for many months. During one year in the 1840's there was no measurable rain in Santa Barbara. (The highest measured rainfall in an hour also was in Southern California, 11 inches in an hour) The same native plants that lived through that are still on the hillsides of California. California native plants that do not normally live in the creeks and ponds are very drought tolerant.The best way to find your plant is to check www.mynativeplants.com and do not water at all. But if you want a simple list of drought tolerant plants that can work for your San Jose garden here are a few of the hundreds you can choose from.
Manzanitas
are easy and lively in most Bay area gardens.
Milkweeds
can jazz up a native garden.
Pigeon
Point Dwarf Coyote bush can make the appearance of a lawn with no
irrigation system.
Calystegia
purpurata Purplish Morning Glory is a perennial vine well enough
behaved to use on a trellis next to your house.
Ceanothus,
California lilac is a show stopper.
Monkey
flowers for California gardens
Pictures of California monkey flowers. Hummingbirds will love your flowers, and so will you.
Pictures of California monkey flowers. Hummingbirds will love your flowers, and so will you.
Elymus triticoides, Creeping wild
rye can be found locally inland or on bluffs where there is seasonal moisture.
Fremontodendron
californicum, California Flannel Bush (Fremontia) is an evergreen
shrub fast to 5', can grow to 10 ft.
Grindelia
stricta venulosa Coastal Groundcover Gum Plant
is a great plant to mix with Baccharis Pigeon Point and Penstemon Margarita BOP t ...
is a great plant to mix with Baccharis Pigeon Point and Penstemon Margarita BOP t ...
Lepechinia
calycina California Pitcher Plant
California Pitcher Sage is a 5-8' tall and 3-6' wide evergreen perennial or shrub with white digitalis-like flowers in April to June.
California Pitcher Sage is a 5-8' tall and 3-6' wide evergreen perennial or shrub with white digitalis-like flowers in April to June.
Monardella
villosa Coyote Mint
is a two-foot-high perennial with gray-green leaves and
light purple clusters of flowers in summer. This Monardella is native
to the California coast ranges. This coyote mint likes part ...
Muhlenbergia
rigens Deer Grass is a 3 foot perennial with 2 foot plumes rising above the
plant. It looks like a small pampas grass but without the bad leaf cuts
and the aggressive seeding. Native to much of Calif. up int ...
Penstemons
for California gardens
California Penstemons that grow in DRY areas. These Penstemons will grow in California without much water.
California Penstemons that grow in DRY areas. These Penstemons will grow in California without much water.
Rhamnus
californica Eve Case Eve Case, is a lower form of Rhamnus
californica that grows slightly slower, and has a more refined and
formal look.
Satureja
douglasii Yerba Buena
Yerba Buena, is a creeping flat perennial that can spread to 3' but is easily held to 1'.
Yerba Buena, is a creeping flat perennial that can spread to 3' but is easily held to 1'.
Sisyrinchium
bellum Blue-Eyed Grass is a 1 foot tall perennial.
Symphoricarpos
albus laevigatus Common Snowberry is a chin-high, deciduous shrub
Zauschneria
septentrionalis, Mattole River White Leaf Fuchsia is a three-six
inch tall perennial with grey-white foliage forming a
clump 2-3 foot across.
California Fuchsia attracts more than hummingbirds.
