Drought tolerant plants that need little water
Great for wallets and hot summers: we show you which plants are drought tolerant and how you can save water in the garden.
17.07.2023
Overview: Drought tolerant plants
As a rule, garden plants with small leaves or deep roots need less water. Thick silvery or grey leaves protect plants from drying out, as do downy leaves, so look out for plants with these types of leaves too.
Silver birch, walnut, hornbeam, Irish oak, robinia and maple species are all great drought tolerant trees.
The perennial coneflower needs little water, has pink, red, white or orange flowers, and grows up to 70 cm high. Helenium is another perennial that can tolerate drought and direct sunlight and bears colourful blooms. Alpine rock thyme requires little water and is bee-friendly.
One shrub that needs little water is the rock pear. It places no great demands on its location and produces edible fruit too. Beauty bushes (Kolkwitzia amabilis) can also survive on less water, are easy to grow and tolerate dry spells. The Judas tree has spectacular blooms and is both hardy and drought tolerant.
There are some flowers that need little water – find out more about drought tolerant flowering perennials and bushes here. For example, roses need less water because of their deep roots. Lavender, bougainvillea and sunflowers can also cope well with drought.
- Hoe between perennials regularly to reduce evaporation.
- Spread mulch made from grass clippings or shredded plant matter between the plants to prevent the soil from drying out.
- Plant hedges and bushes as windbreaks.
- Collect rainwater and use it for watering.
Why some plants need little water
A plant’s structure defines how much water it needs; for example, plants with small leaves need less water. This is because small leaves have a smaller surface area, which reduces evaporation.
Garden plants with particularly thick leaves also need less water. These thick-leaved plants store water in their leaves, which is then available to them over time.
Deep roots also help save water. Plants with deep roots do not rely on water supplies in fast-drying topsoil. Instead they can reach the water deeper in the soil.
When buying plants, look for types with silver or grey leaves or a fine down on them. The down stops leaves from drying out, and light colours reflect sunlight, which means that the plant does not overheat.
Flowers that are drought tolerant
If you want to create a drought tolerant garden, here's our guide to the garden plants that require less water.
Drought tolerant flowers that don’t need a lot of water
The term flower is rather colloquial and actually refers to herbaceous flowering plants; in other words, flowering bedding plants and pot plants as well as hardy perennials. Flowering perennials and shrubs can be found below, so we have put together a small selection of classic flowers here.
Even though they require much care and attention in other respects, roses are among the flowers that need less water. The bush’s deep roots supply the plant with sufficient moisture even in sunny locations.
Wild roses (Moyes’ rose or multiflora rose) are generally very hardy, though some more prized types also cope outstandingly well with drought.
The moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora) blooms with colourful white, yellow, pink or variegated flowers and is easy to tend.
The flower copes well with dry spells, as it is good at storing water in its thick leaves.
The bright-yellow flowering sunflower (Helianthus annuus) roots almost as deeply as it is tall and, as such, reaches deeper into the soil.
Its seeds make good bird feed, and some varieties have plate-sized flowers.
Privet (Ligustrum vulgare) can be planted not only as a hedge, but also as a fast-growing shrub in the garden. This evergreen shrub doesn’t need much water but can withstand flooding and grows well in both sun and shade.
Privet grows to a height of up to four metres and is an ideal companion for flowering plants.
Summer lilac (Buddleja davidii) is a butterfly magnet and provides food for bees, meaning that the flowering shrub is good for the environment in two ways: it needs less watering and helps make the garden bee-friendly.
Depending on the variety, summer lilac grows to a height of two to three metres and is the perfect choice for stony ground and intense sunlight.
Other shrubs that need little water:
- Ninebark (Physocarpus)
- Rock pear (Amelanchier lamarckii)
- Lilac (Syringa vulgaris)
- Judas tree (Cercis siliquastrum)
- Christmas berry (Photinia fraseri)
- European hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia)
- Beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis)
- Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)
- Smoke bush (Cotinus coggygria)
- Spindle tree (Euonymus europaeus)
- Rose acacia (Robinia hispida)
- Rowan (Sorbus aucuparia)
- Common wayfaring tree (Viburnum lantana)
Drought tolerant perennials
Drought and poor soil? No problem for hardy plants, which cope better with summer heat than damp, wet winters. If you have heavy clay soil, you should add coarse sand to make it more suitable for prairie grasses and perennials that need little water. This prevents waterlogging at the roots.
Blooming in shades of pink, bergenia is a hardy perennial that doesn't need much water.
It flowers better in the sun, but also tolerates shade well and is ideal as a wall shrub.
The roots of the bloody cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum), also known as the bloody geranium, extend deep into the ground, which is why this perennial copes well with drought.
The bloody cranesbill grows to around 40 cm and is broad and bushy enough to provide perfect ground cover. In sunny locations, it bears carmine red flowers from June to August.
The Adria bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana) makes an attractive alternative or addition to popular aubretia in a sunny to semi-shaded location as it blooms from June to August when the aubretia has already turned green again after flowering.
These hardy perennials, that need little water, shed their leaves in winter.
Other perennials that need less water:
- Blue spire (Perovskia superba)
- Yarrow (Achillea clypeolata ‘Moonshine’ or ‘Parker’)
- Large-flowered tickseed (Coreopsis grandiflora)
- Macedonian widow flower (Knautia macedonica ‘Melton Pastels’)
- Evening primrose (Oenothera types and varieties)
- Peonies (Paeonia species and varieties)
- Purple coneflower (Echinacea)
- Sneezeweed (Helenium varieties)
- Alpine rock thyme (Calamintha nepeta)
- Day lily (Hemerocallis hybrids)
- White coneflower (Echinacea purpurea ‘Alba’)
- Siberian spurge (Euphorbia seguieriana)
Drought tolerant ground cover
On average, ground cover contributes more to water conservation than other plants, as it means less bare soil between plants so less water can evaporate. You can find out more about ground cover and how to maintain it in our article specifically on the topic. A few outstanding examples of attractive ground cover can be found below.
Red barrenwort (Epimedium x rubrum) grows to around 30 cm, thrives best in shade and semi-shade, and is ideal for planting under trees as it swallows up their fallen leaves.
This ground cover is extremely tolerant of summer dryness. Cut back leaves in spring using a hedge trimmer to enjoy the full splendour of its flowers in April and May.
Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum) is particularly suitable for dry, permeable, thin soils.
The ground cover plant blooms from June to August and is an attractive bee magnet and fragrant plant.
Other drought tolerant ground cover plants:
- Dwarf Schmidt wormwood (Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Nana’)
- New Zealand bur (Acaena buchananii)
- Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina)
Drought tolerant trees
Trees that need little water often originate from hot and dry regions, but these drought tolerant trees are usually not frost-resistant and would not fare well in our gardens. Conversely, our native trees are the most hardy.
The floriferous robinia comes in many varieties, all of which need little water and prefer a sunny location. Its fragrant blooms provide ideal bee fodder.
However, seeds and bark from the robinia are poisonous, so be careful with children and pets, especially horses.
Other trees that need less water:
- Sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus)
- Field maple (Acer campestre)
- European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
- Silver birch (Betula pendula)
- Larch (Larix)
- Common walnut (Juglans regia)
- Sour cherry (Prunus cerasus)
- Large-leaved lime (Tilia platyphyllos)
- Norway maple (Acer platanoides)
- English oak (Quercus robur)
- Irish oak (Quercus petraea)
- Small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata)
USEFUL HELPERS FOR GARDENING
7 Tips to Save water in the garden
Regardless of which plants you choose, you can do many things to save water in the garden. With a few simple steps, you can, for example, stop water from evaporating and therefore keep the ground moist for longer.
Our tips can help you grow healthy plants without wasting water.
Improving the soil around perennials improves the soil structure which helps it to store water. Work humus-rich or potting soil into your flower beds. For sandy soils, clay minerals or bentonite are also suitable.
With the help of quick tests for soil analysis, you can determine the soil type and its rough composition. This makes it possible to find out which treatment is the best for the soil.
Mulching with grass, leaf mould, bark or shredded material provides a steady supply of nutrients during decomposition. However, its primary function here is to save water, as mulch acts like a parasol on the ground and protects it from drying out.
Remove weeds before mulching and apply a layer just a few centimetres thick so that colonies of snails cannot make a home in it. Thinly mulch vegetable patches and berry bushes between rows with dry grass to prevent water evaporation. Tall grass that you have cut with a clearing saw is ideal for this purpose.
Mulching film is also suitable for short-lived vegetable crops, as it provides excellent protection against evaporation. However, it is not recommended in beds or for permanent crops, as it prevents soil cultivation. Instead, use a layer of composted bark, shredded material or cheap soil about 5 cm thick in beds with flowers and perennials.
Mulch is great for the soil: it protects against direct sun, absorbs the impact of heavy downpours, and allows significantly less water to evaporate.
They don’t always have to be metres high: even small hedges act as a break against hot winds in summer and can reduce water evaporation from the ground.
If you don't collect enough rainwater or it has not rained for a long time, you can, of course, use water from the garden hose. But how much water does your garden hose actually supply?
The quantity varies depending on pressure and hose. You may be able to get up to 18 litres of water per minute or much less. That’s why it’s hard to estimate the right amount of water for your plants. Plants need around 10 litres of water per square metre. But if you water your garden purely by gut instinct, the beds will usually receive less than this.
So you should let the hose run into a vessel for one minute, collect the water and measure the quantity. Alternatively, you can use a water meter, which is more accurate but also far more expensive.
With our tips and lists of garden plants that need little water, you can easily save water in your garden. Watering with rainwater and lowering your overall water consumption are both sustainable ways to help the environment.
