Gareth Carter: Best planting choices for our dry weather

metrosideros tahiti

2020 has so far been much drier than many other years. The Far North, Hawke's Bay and Auckland are suffering. Whanganui, although not drought stricken to the degree of other areas, is also drier than normal.

Parts of Whanganui are on lighter sandy soils that naturally tend drier. This leads to the frequent inquiry we have in the garden centre of: "What plants will withstand a dry situation?" A good range of plants is available that, once established, will be far hardier to withstanding dry summer conditions than others.

The right plant in the right spot will give a garden that will thrive for years providing great aesthetic value, as well as environmental benefits.

These steps are simple but will make the difference between a job done once or a job that has to be done again.

1. Select dry-loving plants.

2. Dig a hole 2-3 times the size of the root area of the new plant and plant into a mixture 50:50 of compost such as Natural Bark Poultry Compost and soil.

3. Use an appropriate root establishment fertiliser for the plant (check with the shop when buying) such as Ican Slow Food.

4. Mulch around the completed planting with newspaper and bark chip, using Feeding Mulch or similar.

5. Deep water weekly in December, January and February in the first two years while these plants get their roots established to source their own water.

Dry-loving garden plants you should consider:

Bottlebrush (Callistemon) thrives in dry, sunny areas of the garden. There are a number of varieties that grow to different heights suitable for small or large garden situations.

My favourites that do well in Whanganui gardens are Callistemon Red Clusters and Callistemon Little John.

Callistemon Red Clusters has stunning bright red flower spikes that cover the plant during spring and summer, though it usually has a few flowers on it throughout the year. This variety grows approximately 3m high.

Callistemon Little John; is a compact dwarf bottlebrush. It only grows around 1m x 1m so is suitable for smaller gardens and shrub plantings. It is often used in traffic islands and other public areas where growing conditions are tough. It produces masses of deep red flower brushes tipped gold mainly through spring and early summer with occasional blooms almost year round.

Coprosma Inferno

Strappy leaved plants such as flaxes, Dianella and Lomandra are useful in dry environments and can form colourful contrast and structure to a garden.

They look good when used with smaller grass varieties. Species such as the mini toe toe and the brilliant orange foliaged Carex testacea provide excellent landscaping in groups of three, or in larger mass plantings, using the colours of the grasses to contrast against one another.

Lomandra grasses have come to recognition in New Zealand in the past five years or so. They are being for their hardiness, the attractive form and structure they can bring to a garden through the movement they offer in the wind, the range of colours available and the ease of care.

Lomandra grasses are generally self cleaning, meaning that old foliage shrivels and disappears from the plant rather than needing to be removed by hand for the plant to look good. Many plantings in the past have used Carex-type grasses, but the Lomandras are now being used to great effect with a much lower maintenance requirement.

Standout varieties would have to be Lomandra Lime Tuff and Lomandra Nyalla. Lime Tuff has a spiky fresh green appearance and its growth and survival in tough situations can best be described bullet proof.

It grows to a useful 50cm x 50cm in sun or part shade situations. In summer it produces sweetly fragrant flower spikes that sit down among the foliage. This plant can be used to highly attractive effect among a larger growing darker-coloured flax.

As well as a garden specimen in groups of three or five or more, Lime Tuff is the perfect pot specimen. Being so drought tolerant it is great for a sunny patio or outdoor living area.

Nyalla is the same in its hardiness. It has a soft bluey-green hue and it is slightly taller, growing to approximately 80cm.

A favourite for coastal gardens is a dwarf variety of pohutukawa called Meterosideros Tahiti. This plant grows approximately 1m by 1m and has brilliant orange-red flowers during summer and into the autumn. It makes an excellent plant in the garden or in pots and handles the tough conditions we are talking about today.

Another of the best-performing small growing plants for dry areas is the Morning Glory Convolvulus cneorum, not to be confused with the problem weed of the same name. This plant is not invasive and offers almost year-round colour - it is seldom without a flower.

callistemon little john

White trumpet flowers are 3-4cm across with bluish tingle, shaded yellow in the throat. It grows 60cm high by 1m wide. The foliage is a stunning silvery-grey.

A family of NZ natives that perform well in the drier environment are Coprosmas, which have many varieties that excel in dry, hot conditions. They also attract birds with berries that develop each year. The range of varieties is diverse with a number of colourfully leaved shrubs growing about 1m-1.5m high. One of the most popular of these is Inferno.

Coprosma Inferno was released in 2010. It quickly raced into the bestsellers list. Its orange, red and pink foliage of summer deepens dramatically as the weather turns cold, changing to deep reds.

A number of varieties have divaricating-type foliage. This is typified with small leaves on branches that have a tangled appearance. Coprosma Taiko is a good one to grow in the home garden. It has tiny green leaves on blackish stems offering an attractive appearance that can be used to good visual effect when contrasted with other plants. It has a spreading habit, and is excellent for holding sand and banks together in harsh conditions.

A NZ native tree that thrives in dry conditions is the pohutukawa. These are one of the most popular when a large tree is needed. Other NZ natives include some of the Pseudopanux varieties and Griselinia.

A number of other plants that originate from the hot, dry climates of Australia and South Africa are suited to these garden situations. Some of these include Leucadendrons, Protea, Banksia, Westringia, Grevillea to name a few.

Ceanothus, rock rose, escallonia and feijoa do well in the coastal and dry environment too. So don't despair if you have had a few failures in a dry situation – there is quite a variety of things that you can grow. Many of these plants are attractive to birds, providing flowers containing nectar as well as good foliage cover in which to nest.

•Gareth Carter is general manager of Springvale Garden Centre