Conserving Water With Xeriscapes

Large swaths of ruggedly beautiful sand cord (Spartina bakeri) replace turfgrass in this landscape reducing maintenance (no mowing and litter and debris is trapped and hidden from site by the thick foliage) while creating wildlife habitat.

Xeriscaping is quite the buzzword lately. The term was invented by the Denver (yes, Colorado!) water department when they were trying to get folks to use less water on their lawns and gardens during a drought in 1981.

Xeriscaping is nothing more than designing and maintaining yards and gardens in a way that minimizes the need for supplemental watering. It does not mean growing only cactus!

If you use the methods of xeriscaping for your home landscape, you will be conserving water resources and making life easier for yourself.

There are dozens of books, magazine articles, newspaper stories, reports from extension agents, and internet sites about how to xeriscape, but it all comes down to a few simple rules:

A large flower bed of native perennials, purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in this photo, reduces the lawn area and related maintenance time and effort (with flowers for cutting and arranging as a bonus).

1. Reduce areas of turfgrass.
Who wants a yard that looks like a golf course? Lawn grasses are water hogs. Our biggest mistake is treating turfgrass as the background or matrix that surrounds the rest of our plants. Instead, we need to think of the areas that have turfgrass as beds, like flower beds, and keep them only where we actually need grassy areas for recreation. Instead of trying to maintain a yard of “artificial Astroturf”, use organic mulch or drought tolerant ground covers.

2. Use native plants. If a plant occurs naturally in your region, it follows that it must be adapted to the climatic conditions of your region, including the occasional drought. Native plants have the additional benefit of attracting native birds and butterflies.

Many of the drought tolerant species like the maypop passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) are spectacularly beautiful and many also attract butterflies (like the gulf fritillary in the photo), birds and other desirable wildlife.

3. Match a plant’s preferred soil conditions to its placement in your landscape. Most plants that occur naturally in poorly-drained or wetland soils will not be suitable for use in well-drained soils and vice-versa. Do a little research before you plant that new shrub or add flowers to your beds and borders. (Floridata plant profiles are a good place to start!)

4. Of course you can use plants that are not native to your region, but try to select those that are drought tolerant. Floridata plant profiles always indicate whether a plant is drought tolerant. Look for this icon:

5. You can also use plants that are not drought tolerant, but group them together in the landscape so that when they must be watered, you won’t be wasting water on plants that really don’t need it. Divide your landscape into zones, based on the water requirements of your plants. Place the zone with plants that need the most water (the oasis zone) in the center of the yard or near the house so it will be easy to water and you can keep an eye on its condition.

The 'Gold Garland' selection of Adam's needle (Yucca filamentosa) makes a showy addition to the xeriscape requiring nothing from the gardener but space in which to grow.

6. Use organic mulch to reduce evaporation from the soil, reduce competition from weeds, reduce soil erosion, and add nutrients to the soil. A two to six inch layer of pine straw, hay, leaves or shredded bark will hold in soil moisture and still let rainwater drip through. It will prevent weeds from using up the moisture in the soil. It will protect the topsoil from washing away during heavy rains. And as it decomposes, organic mulch adds nutrients to the soil. Surround all you flowers, shrubs and trees with organic mulch, and it use it instead of turfgrass wherever possible.

7. Water only when needed. Don’t use timers or automatic watering systems. Wait until plants begin to wilt before watering, and then water thoroughly and deeply. Frequent watering will cause plants to develop shallow roots which are susceptible to drying out. Infrequent, deep watering encourages plants to develop deep roots which will allow them to withstand longer periods without water. It’s a win-win deal!

8. Water efficiently. Irrigate trees, shrubs, ground covers and flower beds with soaker hoses or drip micro-irrigation systems. Don’t use sprinklers which let much of the water evaporate into the air before it even reaches the ground. Areas of turf grass will still have to be watered with sprinkler systems, but do so in the evening or early morning when temperature and evaporation are minimal.

See Floridata's Bookshop's Xeriscape Reading List for more information .

Steve Christman 10/04/99; updated 4/27/06, 6/2/06

© 1996-2008 Floridata.com LC
Tallahassee, Florida USA