Top 13 Drought-Tolerant Plants That Can Handle Dry Weather
Updated: Nov. 03, 2022
Even when the rain stops, these drought-tolerant plants keep going strong. They’ll survive dry conditions while adding color and texture to your garden.
1. Coneflower
Often self-sowing, coneflowers need little upkeep, are drought-tolerant and thrive in almost any soil with adequate drainage.
2. Catmint
Perfect for borders, rock gardens, and containers, this drought-tolerant plant’s aromatic flowers attract butterflies and bees. Catmint blooms from early summer to early fall, with plants that are 1 to 3 feet tall and wide. To get your garden started, here are some must-have gardening tools.
3. Agastache
A bee’s delight, agastache grows 3 to 5 feet tall and sports purple or white flower spikes. This tall plant is a good choice for the back of a border.
4. Lantana
Abundant blooms make lantana a welcome addition to any sunny garden. Clusters of brightly colored blossoms adorn this plant, which grows 3 to 6 feet tall and wide. With a mounding or trailing habit, it’s a good choice for a container.
5. Salvia
A true attention-getter, this tall drought-tolerant flower produces season-long color in just about any landscape. Its vibrantly colored columns range from 8 to 30 inches tall. These summer to fall bloomers are also striking when confined to containers.
6. Lavender
It’s no wonder lavender tolerates drought, since the fragrant plant is native to the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The mounding plants make attractive specimens or borders.
7. Russian Sage
With 2- to 5-foot stems in shades of purplish blue, Russian sage is a real garden trouper: It tolerates cold, drought, and poor soil. As long as you grow it in a sunny spot, it won’t disappoint. Check out these houseplants that anyone can grow.
8. California Poppy
If your yard isn’t the most fertile, look no further than California poppies. They grow best in full sun but don’t mind poor soil a bit.
9. Artemisia
Reliable artemisia is valued for its beautiful, slender gray to silver leaves on tall, arching stems or in low mounds, which range from 1 to 5 feet high and wide. These plants are tough and trouble-free.
10. Licorice Plant
Licorice plant’s fuzzy, silvery foliage grows long enough to trail, readily weaving throughout surrounding plants. This vine thrives in partial shade to full sun and spreads out to 6 feet.
11. Veronica
This easy-to-grow favorite boasts beautiful white, purple, pink, or blue spikes and has a long bloom time. It reaches 1 to 2 feet high and thrives in well-drained soil and full sun.
12. Yarrow
These easy-care, long-lasting flowers come into their own once spring bulbs are past their peak. No matter what garden space you’re looking to fill, yarrow is a prime candidate.
13. Portulaca
This easy-care, drought-tolerant annual is a sure source of perky color. Portulaca grows in low clusters, bloom in a rainbow of hues, and thrive in the hot, sunny spots where other flowers might wither.
