Discovering Drought-Tolerant Plants At The UC Davis Arboretum
DAVIS (CBS13) – These plants are not soaking in water, but they are soaking-in the beauty of a drought-resistant garden.
The demand for these types of plants has never been higher. So we dig-in to find out which plants are guaranteed to survive our drought.
As a female carpenter bee goes to work, the flowers dance in the breeze and we take a walk through one of the most drought-resistant gardens you'll ever see: the UC Davis Arboretum teaching nursery.
Director of Public Horticulture Ellen Zagory's strong desire to educate is "on" – and the faucets, you'll notice, are "off."
But what exactly does "drought-tolerant" mean?
"They need almost no water, a little bit of water," Zagory said. "They've been scientifically testing the amount of water that a lot of these plants need."
The conclusion? Most drought-tolerant plants only need to be watered every two to three weeks.
"And some have been able to go with only one watering in summer and I can show you that plant. Wow!" Zagory said.
"Wow" is right. From a decorative desert spoon to a Spanish lavender beauty, the colors pop in purple, yellow and red.
"And this one is called gruson aken and as you can see it's a beautiful bloomer," Zagory said.
From a gruson aken to a china rose; from a tough tree called a marina to a golden pearl and a dwarf germander, this garden stands tall.
As the need for drought-resistant plants blooms like never before.
"I would say it's growing and more because of the drought. I think more and more people will be asking for them," Zagory said.
But we wanted to know something.
"Now, are drought-resistant plants more costly?" we ask.
"No, not necessarily," Zagory said.
The ones that are higher in price? It's not by much.
"But just another dollar and you're gonna save that on water right away," Zagory said.
And right away, it's hard not to notice. The variety of these drought-busting beauties jumps out at you.
One is called a 7-Up plant.
"Because they say if you rub the leaves it smells like 7-Up. Some people smell it but I don't," Zagory said.
Then there are those you can taste, like the pineapple guava.
"It's kind of fleshy and furry," Zagory said.
You know what else is good? What some of these plants can attract.
"So this right here, this is an autumn sage," Zagory said.
It's guaranteed to bring out the hummingbirds, which – like our friend the carpenter bee – feeds off this drought-resistant garden.
Soaking in beauty, in the face of an ugly drought.
