WATERWISE PLANTS FAQ

Jump to a Frequently Asked Question to find your answer:

• How do I choose the right waterwise plants? What plants are best for dry areas?
• How much rainfall do I get in my area?
• What is the difference between Very Waterwise Plants, Waterwise Plants, Average Moisture Plants, and High Moisture Plants? 
• Do you offer design services for xeriscapes?
• How do I prepare my soil for planting waterwise plants? 
• How do I plant waterwise perennials in a dry area? 
• Do I need to water drought-tolerant plants? What’s the best way to water waterwise perennials?
• Should I water my plants in winter? 
• How long will it take for my plants to reach full size? 

How do I choose the right waterwise plants? What plants are best for dry areas?

With waterwise plants, also called drought tolerant or xeric plants, your garden can do more than just survive dry conditions - it can thrive. Choosing low-water and xeric plants helps to protect and conserve our precious water sources, which is especially important ss drought conditions and water restrictions increase across the country.

How do I know how much rainfall I get in my area?

See our annual precipitation chart within our How To Choose Waterwise Plants Guide to see your area’s average rainfall - and find the right selection of plants that are best suited to your water levels.

What is the difference between Very Waterwise Plants, Waterwise Plants, Average Moisture Plants, and High Moisture Plants? 

Shop Very Waterwise Plants | Mature xeric plants tolerate dry, arid, desert-like climates with fewer than 10 inches of annual precipitation. 

Shop Waterwise Plants  | Mature waterwise plants tolerate dry climates and require just 10-25 inches of annual precipitation. 

Shop Average Moisture Plants | These plants thrive in more temperate climates with annual precipitation between 25-40 inches.

Shop High Moisture Plants | Plants with high moisture requirements thrive in humid, rainy climates that receive more than 40 inches of annual precipitation. 

Do you offer design services for xeriscapes?

We do not offer landscape planning services, but we do have many resources that will help make planning your waterwise garden easy. 

Our Waterwise Plants Learning Center is the perfect place to start. There you'll find a guide for How To Plan A Waterwise Garden or Xeriscape, plus "Get This Look" guides and inspiring stories of our customers' gardens, complete with their planting lists. 

We also offer easy-to-grow Shop Pre-Planned Gardens & Collections, which are a simple, affordable way to bring professional landscape design home.

• Pre-Planned Gardens have been designed by our Heroes of Horticulture, and they feature printed garden layout maps to make planting easy.
• Perennial Collections have been curated to solve common garden challenges, such as shade, high elevation, clay soil, and more.

How do I prepare my soil for planting waterwise plants? 

In the garden, healthy living soil is the foundation for resilient, vigorous plants. Ensuring healthy soil in your new transplant’s root zone is the key to long-term success. Our guide will show you how.

In the garden, healthy living soil is the foundation for resilient, vigorous plants. Ensuring healthy soil in your new transplant’s root zone is the key to long-term success. Our guide will show you how.

In the garden, healthy living soil is the foundation for resilient, vigorous plants. Ensuring healthy soil in your new transplant’s root zone is the key to long-term success. Our guide will show you how.

How do I plant waterwise perennials in a dry area? 

For decades, we’ve been growing and gardening with perennial plants in the challenging high desert climate. Our planting guides feature the best tried-and-true techniques for successfully transplanting and growing our hearty plants. 

Do I need to water drought-tolerant plants? What’s the best way to water waterwise perennials?

For new transplants, even xeric plants, regular watering during the first growing season is essential to grow a strong, deep root system. But, you don’t want to water too much and stress young plants.

By watering deeply, for longer periods of time, and allowing water to soak deep into the ground, you will encourage plants to grow deep root systems; this helps them become more resilient and drought tolerant in the long run.

Frequent, shallow watering means that roots will be shallow too, lending to them being too hot and dry. Watering deeply in the first season when soil is dry, and as needed in long stretches of drought for established plants, will save water in the long run when you have established waterwise plants. 

For mature plants, in general, if you are growing plants that are suited to your average precipitation level, you will need to water very little. That's one of the best advantages of waterwise gardening! However, there are several factors to be considered - your climate, your soil conditions, the plants' water needs, and how much precipitation has been occurring naturally. Plants may need supplemental water in dry spells

Should I water my plants in winter? 

Colder zone ecosystems rely on winter snowfall as a crucial part of their yearly water supply. However, when the weather seems a bit uncooperative in the precipitation department, and there are higher than normal daytime temperatures, your garden may be in need of some healthy watering.

How long will it take for my plants to reach full size? 

In general, perennial plants take about three years to reach their full maturity. The saying goes, plants “Sleep, creep, leap.”

This means in the first year they “sleep” and focus growth below ground in their root systems, in the second year they “creep” and start to fill out, and in the third year they “leap” and reach their full mature size. However, that’s a generalization, and each plant has its own growth rate. Some will mature faster while others will mature more slowly. 

Beyond the dazzling garden designs, our waterwise plants contribute to a robust ecosystem where people, plants, and wildlife thrive.