January 1st, 2009
Saving Water in the Garden ? Do You Have to Rely Only on Slow-Growing Plants?
Slow growing plants are often synonymous with water-conserving ones in many gardeners’ minds. Some Species of Rhus though, develop quickly, requiring modest amounts of water at the same time.
Many of the water-conserving plants available to gardeners in dry climates are slow growing. It is one of the prices that has to be paid for growing beautiful landscape ornamentals that require little or no irrigation through the year. The dry climate garden would be all the poorer without species of Grevillea, Myrtle, Pistachio, and Melaleuca, which are excellent plants but take a few years to reach the desired size. A number of species, particularly Grevilleas, actually suffer and decline following the gardener’s attempt to speed up their rate of growth by generous amounts of water and fertilizer.