Drought Tolerant Shrubs for Your Garden

Want shrubs that can last even in dry climates? Below are good selections to help you choose the best one for your application. Planting instructions and thorough descriptions of each drought tolerant shrub are given.

Amorpha fruticosa L. (Lead Plant, Desert False Indigo, Indigo Bush)

Kingdom Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta - Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta - Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae -

Order Fabales -

Family Fabaceae - Pea family

Genus Amorpha L. - false indigo

Species Amorpha fruticosa L. - desert false indigo

This deciduous native shrub gets 10-12 feet tall and needs spacing of at least 12-15 feet apart. It prefers full sun to partial shade and is drought tolerant. It is this tolerance to drought that makes it an excellent selection for xeriscaping. Desert False Indigo has green hairy twigs with 13-25 leaflets per leaf. Its fragrant blue-violet flowers bloom in mid-summer from June to July. Fruits that are green and 1/4 inch long will dry to a brown seed head. To propagate you need to remove the dried seed heads to collect seeds. It is a feathery shrub that will remind you of the Mimosa or Silktree.

Euonymus americanaL. (Strawberry Bush, Brook Euonymus, Hearts a Burstin')

Kingdom Plantae - Plants

Subkingdom Tracheobionta - Vascular plants

Superdivision Spermatophyta - Seed plants

Division Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants

Class Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons

Subclass Rosidae -

Order Celastrales -

Family Celastraceae - Bittersweet family

Genus Euonymus L. - spindletree

Species Euonymus americana L. - strawberry bush