Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
jessica_918

Perennials that do well in Central Valley?

jessica_918
15 years ago

Hi all, I'm starting up my garden and I'm looking to put in perennials that tolerate the hot, dry weather of the Central Vally (I live near Modesto). All the seeds at the stores here are not really from here (they sell Delphiniums, Lupine, Columbine, etc.) and I can't find anything that will do survive here. I have no shade in my yard (we have planted trees, but they're young and don't shade anything yet), so I need heat and drought-tolerant, hardy perennials. Any and all advice is appreciated!

Comments (7)

  • keeversgirl
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I know rose moss (aka portulaca) does really well. Do you own a sunset garden book? they have a lot of ideas....
    African Daisies do well too, and can be found at any local lowes/home depot or nursery. Some more to try would be poppies, oregano, lavender, asters, etc. I know a LOT more that survive in zone 9 (I live in zone 9 just south of you), but their not really drought tolerant. Email me if you have any questions!

  • wanda
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Check out the link below for suncrest nursery. They grow lots of perennials...not all for sun...but the descriptions are included.

    Some that I can think of off the top of my head are:

    Yarrow
    lavenders
    salvias
    Epilobium (CA fuchsia)
    Euphorbias
    penstemons
    Tagetes (Mexican Marigold)

    Another good source to check would be High Country Gardens catalogue. Just type it into your browser.

    Hope this gives you a start

    Here is a link that might be useful: suncrest's perennials

  • Central_Cali369
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Why don't you try gardening with succulents? They are very versatile, offer extreme drought tolerance, and many of them bloom really nicely. Aside from that, they are very low maintenance plants. You could mix them in with other plants such as rosemary and other mediterranean style plants (or plants from places with similar climates as ours, such as South Africa, Australia, Chile and the Mediterranean). There's a great book called Landscaping with Succulents by an author from San Diego. There are really great suggestions and great photos to inspire.

    In the meantime, here are some great landscape ideas that fit the description of what you need.

    Here is a link that might be useful: real, californian, drought tolerant landscapes

  • CA Kate z9
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not too far away east of Clovis.

    My gardens are now 12 years old. Many plants have come and gone. WIth gallardia being the exception, which was seeded, all my plants started out in 1 gal cans.... even the Irises.

    Irises
    Roses
    Many Salvias, but not all
    Jerusalem Sage
    Agapanthus
    Oleander
    Agaves
    Bougainvillea
    Boxwood
    Camellia
    Canna
    Carpenteria californica
    Cistus (Rock Rose)
    Datura (Jimeson Weed)
    Gaura
    Hesperaloe (Red Yucca)
    Ilex
    Juniper
    Rosemary
    Lantana
    Lavander
    Oregano
    Thyme
    Matilja Poppy
    Russian Sage (Perovskia)
    Streptsplen (Orange Marmalade Bush)
    Teucrium fruticans (Bush Germander)
    Texas Ranger (Leucophyllum frutescans)
    Vitex
    CA Fuschia (Zauschneria)

    I f you want specifics on which Salvias do well here send me your email address thru' GW.
    What I have in my gardens now survives heat, drought and critters. If it didn't survive it didn't get replanted.

  • gardenguru1950
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here's some good flowering perennials for the Valley:

    Acanthus mollis (shade) ACANTHUS
    Achillea Moonshine MOONSHINE YARROW
    Achillea fillipendulina GOLDEN YARROW
    Achillea x hybrids HYBRID YARROWS
    Agapanthus LILY-OF-THE-NILE
    Agastache aurantiaca ORANGE HYSSOP
    Agastache hybrids (many) HYBRID HYSSOP-MINTS
    Agastache rupestris SUNSET HYSSOP
    Alstroemeria (shade) PERUVIAN LILY
    Anemone x hybrida (shade) JAPANESE ANEMONE
    Aster x frikartii ITALIAN ASTER
    Bergenia cordifolia (shade) BERGENIA
    Bergenia crassifolia (shade) WINTER BERGENIA
    Centranthus ruber JUPITERÂS BEARD
    Convolvulus sabatius GROUND MORNING GLORY
    Dietes FORTNIGHT LILY
    Eriogonum umbellatum RED-FLOWERED BUCKWHEAT
    Eryngium amethystinum BLUE SEA HOLLY
    Eryngium variifolium MOROCCAN SEA HOLLY
    Euphorbia characias wulfenii CHARTREUSE EUPHORBIA
    Euphorbia myrsinites BLUE EUPHORBIA
    Euphorbia rigida MEDITERRANEAN EUPHORBIA
    Euphorbia x martinii RED EUPHORBIA
    Festuca californica CALIFORNIA BLUE FESCUE
    Francoa ramosa (shade) BRIDAL WREATH
    Francoa sonchifolia (shade) PINK BRIDAL WREATH
    Gaillardia x grandiflora BLANKET FLOWER
    Gaura ÂSiskiyou Pink PINK GAURA
    Gaura lindheimeri GAURA
    Helleborus argutifolius (shade) CORSICAN HELLEBORE
    Helleborus x stearnii (shade) HYBRID HELLEBORE
    Hemerocallis DAYLILIES
    Hesperaloe campanulatus PINK TEXAS YUCCA
    Hesperaloe parviflora RED YUCCA
    Heuchera hybrids (shade) CORAL BELLS
    Iris Louisiana Hybrids LOUISIANA IRIS
    Iris Pacific Coast Hybrids (shade) PCH IRIS
    Iris Siberian Hybrids SIBERIAN IRIS
    Iris Spuria Hybrids SPURIA IRIS
    Kniphofia hybrids RED-HOT POKER, TORCH LILY
    Leucanthemum x superbum SHASTA DAISY
    Mimulus cardinalis (shade) SCARLET MONKEYFLOWER
    Nepeta x faassenii CATMINT
    Nepeta racemosa ÂWalkerÂs Low CATMINT
    Nepeta ÂSix Hills Giant GIANT CATMINT
    Oenothera caespitosa TUFTED EVENING PRIMROSE
    Opuntia microdasys RABBIT EARS
    Opuntia violacea santa-rita BLUE-BLADE
    Penstemon barbatus BEARD TONGUE
    Penstemon eatonii FIRECRACKER PENSTEMON
    Penstemon x gloxinioides (many) HYBRID PENSTEMONS
    Penstemon x mexicali RED ROCKS PENSTEMON
    Penstemon pseudospectabilis DESERT BEARDTONGUE
    Penstemon strictus ROCKY MOUNTAIN BEARDTONGUE
    Penstemon superbus SHOWY PENSTEMON
    Phygelius (shade) CAPE FUCHSIA
    Pyrethropsis hosmariense MOROCCAN DAISY
    Ruellia brittoniana MEXICAN BLUEBELL, DESERT PETUNIA
    Salvia chamaedryoides GERMANDER SAGE
    Salvia daghestanica DWARF SILVER-LEAF SAGE
    Salvia dorrii PURPLE DESERT SAGE
    Salvia ÂRaspberry Delight RASPBERRY DELIGHT BUSH SAGE
    Salvia reptans TEXAS GRASS SAGE
    Scabiosa caucasica PINCUSHION FLOWER
    Scabiosa columbariae PINCUSHION FLOWER
    Scabiosa ochroleuca YELLOW PINCUSHION
    Sisyrinchium striatum SATIN FLOWER
    Stachys albotomentosa HIDALGO
    Stachys coccinea HEDGENETTLE
    Stachys macrantha ÂRobustaÂ, ÂSuperba BIG BETONY
    Stokesia laevis STOKES ASTER
    Tricyrtis (many; shade) TOAD LILIES
    Verbena bipinnatifida SPLIT-LEAF VERBENA
    Verbena bonariensis BUTTERFLY VERBENA
    Verbena hybrids (many) HYBRID VERBENA
    Verbena rigida SANDPAPER VERBENA
    Verbena tenuisecta MOSS VERBENA

    Joe

  • keeversgirl
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    WESTELLE........we are practically neighbors, I live just north of Fresno!

  • CA Kate z9
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    keeversgirl: There are several of us in this area. It might be fun for all of us to meet sometime and swap notes.