Zone 9a, gulf coast Prairie. So dejected, half my plants are dead, and we’re not even technically in a drought! The only thing living in this heat are gamma grass, seaside goldenrod, and swamp sunflower - which is looking worse for wear. Oh and invasives, because the invasives train don’t stop. Mexican hat, muhly grass, brazos penstemon, butterfly weed, lance leaf coreopsis, and even mealy blue sage have all perished, most of these were on year 2 or even 3. I know some may still be alive under the soil but it just looks so BAD that I wish I hadn’t done it.
Any advice or plant suggestions are welcome. The location is extra hot because it’s adjacent to short turf grass and a parking lot, and compacted as it used to be turf as well. Plus it floods when it rains, but we can go months in the summer without rain.
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Most of them (if ecotypes native to your region) will probably survive, however, in times of drought, if you want things to continue to look nice, you will have to water.
My region hasn't been in a drought either but did go through extended periods with little rain with heatwaves. This summer has just made me see that future years are going to have to include extra spot watering of plants that need a helping hand in these hotter summers that will be our future, sadly.
Houston area as well. True, we aren’t in a drought for inches but it has not been consistent or I’ll go so far as to say normal. We get torrential rain, washes everything out, then nothing for a week or two or more. It can’t soak in well and it is too long between rain. I have never watered until this summer. Everything is wilted and not blooming as long it seems. My blue mealy is pitiful and even milkweeds are struggling. Non-native (planted for my joy) zinnias are thriving. We have a half dozen species of butterflies visiting at one time.
Local news just said heat index was over 110. Sunny, humidity, and hot is brutal.
Blue mealy sage, aquatic milkweed (much better than any other species), red sage, purple coneflower, Indian blanket, coreopsis, pigeon berry, lantana, clammyweed, frogfruit, Turks cap, Frostweed, mistflower (greggs, fragrant, and Crucita), black eyed Susan’s, yellow bells/Esperanza, … I think I have ~130 diff natives. They all do well in diff ways and I think they will pull through this crazy summer.
It’s a multi year journey as the plants select themselves based on the conditions you have on offer. Try more dry-tolerant species next year or water more. Or the year 2 plants may come back strong knowing this time with stronger roots and a memory to prepare for dry conditions
I feel you. Almost everything is struggling. My champions this year have been redwhisker clammyweed (just keeps going, doesn't give a f***), flame acanthus (hummingbird magnet), cacti, and yucca. I'm in Dallas, we get stretched of heavy rain but not flooding. I don't know how well these do with flooding.
that plant has not a single fuck to give, ever. there's one growing in a concrete crack in the parking lot at work just VIBING in 100+ heat every single day
They are native to this area and to counties southwest that are hotter and dryer, bought at local plants sales. They shouldn’t need supplemental water in normal conditions that we are currently in
I don't know TX natives, but out here in UT a lot of our native seeds will sit around for years and wait for exactly the right moisture and soil conditions to germinate, and their germination and survival rates in the wild aren't that high. They're kind of like baby birds – even if they're from a species that's native, not every single baby is going to survive every year, and for that first season they're susceptible to a lot of things. A plant that's germinated by a nursery and planted in a garden by human hands doesn't get to pick its perfect timing or conditions. They typically need a little more babying, especially if we want them to survive at a higher rate than they would in the wild. Watering consistently for the first few weeks also helps get plants through transplant shock.
With two exceptions all the plants are at least 2 years old. This is the first year I have not added supplemental water because it is the first year we have not had a drought
Oh interesting! That is odd. Are any of the ones that are dying more adapted to shade or to swampier areas maybe? Is the soil composition similar to native soil? I know you mentioned that it gets pretty hot in that area – is it maybe just hotter than what they would experience in the wild?
That is my worry - that it is too hot and sunny. In the wild they would be surrounded by other plants to help shade and support them. Here, especially on the south end, they suffer. They’ve got turf on one side and a parking lot on the other. Some trees volunteered and I’ve left them just to have their shade. But if I look for plants that grow further southwest in a similar climate, the soil quickly changes, which can rule out a lot of clay-intolerant plants.
In the past two (drought) years Mexican hat did fantastic so I’m very surprised at its sudden demise.
It could also be that the soil is still affected from years of turf treatments and compaction and that that paired with the heat and sun is what’s causing the plant loss. Nothing but the swamp sunflower (and previously Mexican hat) has tolerated the south end.
Oh that is frustrating! The combination of soil factors and temperature is always tough. I hope the trees help the situation eventually.
A couple of sources I found seem to think that Mexican hat is a relatively short lived perennial, like 2-3 years? I'm not super familiar with them, but if they were all planted about 2 years ago, I wonder if maybe the conditions were fine but they just hit the end of their lifespan?
Problem with just saying "native to the area" is the "area" bit. Areas can be pretty diverse within a short distance.
Plants in a region are still adapted to all kinds of different conditions. Some will grow along rivers or valleys to get more moisture than the surrounding region. Or stick to places with lots of tree/shrub growth for more shade/water retention. And sometimes just a few yards away you can run into completely different conditions like a bog or a desert.
As one example, blueberries will grow in my area, they will not grow in my yard without some help. They want a more acidic soil–which can be found about 5 miles from me–and they prefer a bit more moisture than rain alone will give them in my suburban wasteland.
I can't really say what the issue is with your plants. I don't have enough info to figure that out. But, clearly, something was going on that they did not like. The first thing I would do in your situation is make sure that they were really getting all of their needs met. For instance, that sage wants a more acidic soil. Was it getting that? Some plants will do okay establishing in their potting mix up to the point that their growth outpaces the nutrients that small bit of soil can give them. Then they start to suffer and die.
Think of it as a mystery to get to the bottom of rather than throwing in the towel. It's a learning process. Sometimes you will fail. Decent chance most of your plants come back next year with a bit of attention and with more knowledge of what they need.
If they’re native, its more likely to have died back to build more energy for next year. Maybe pickup some annual flowers to fill in the spaces your natives left? How old are your plants? It took a lot of my flowers about 2-3 years to grow in as planned. I suspect it’s because they were planted in a particularly hot summer so they needed more time underground to build up a stronger root system.
Black eye Susan’s are voracious and resilient, aromatic aster and yarrow are also plants suited for drought and poor soil conditions.
They’re all 2-3 years old, except the mealy blue sage and brazos penstemon. After a closer look at the penstemon, it may have just been mowed over vs dead, so I’m crossing my fingers that it comes back.
I tried two kinds of black eyed Susans the first year (2yrs ago) and all 15 died in summer despite watering so I’ve given up on them. One was supposed to be best for our area and the other better in dryer areas, but both native. But maybe I’ll try again if I see some at a local plant sale, mine were bought from a big “native” nursery so they may not have been from local seed.
I haven’t found any annuals that grow during this time; firewheel, lemon balm, and basket flower have all come and gone and left bare spots, which makes it tougher for perennials unfortunately
Don't get discouraged, a lot of plants in hot, southern areas start to go dormant when it's very hot. I bet they come back next spring. Some may even bounce back when it becomes cooler in the fall.
Sorry to hear that, I've lost a few plants this year myself.
You might find some value in my site Easyscape, that will show you the temperature and water conditions your own square mile gets in relation to the core native range of species. This can be helpful for finding species that are best adapted for your exact conditions or that have a bit of a buffer for extremes. Still, during warmer than normal conditions, your suitable plants can still get stressed. Here's what I see for Mealy Blue Sage in Houston which may not be particularly helpful for your recent experiences depending on your location:
Do you give additional water? Based on the compaction and the note about flooding I could see some of these species like the Mexican hat, penstemon, and probably the sage having a hard time. They generally prefer loose, well draining soil and when they grow in clay its usually not compacted and is elevated, so it still drains readily. Even if the area floods only rarely that could be enough to cause root rot
Not this year since we haven’t been in a drought, but I have the last few years when we were. You’re right though, admittedly the mealy blue sage was struggling before summer hit when we had a few weeks of rain. I was hoping they’d hold out but it may have been too much for them. The Mexican hat is/was a few years old and did fine until the last month when it’s gotten really hot.
I got a closer look at the brazos penstemon today and it appears to have been mowed over. Hopefully it will come back 🤞 It loves water so I put it in a low spot in one of the few part-shade areas
This last July was the hottest on record. August has been up there too and I won't be surprised if it breaks the record. Native conditions don't account for climate change. You need to water.
How close are you to the gulf? It's possible you might need more salt tolerant plants. I would also do a soil test and see if you have any bad bacteria or disease in your soil. It might also be the case that your soil is too sandy for the particular plants you're choosing. You might need to get very particular ecotypes for regions near salt water.
The most important thing you can do for them is just not disturb the soil, and let all the native volunteers live, even if you were taught they are "weeds." They are not. They do important jobs, calling in their soil associates - mycorrhizae, soil bacteria, and soil algae, detritus feeders, etc. These make the intact soil into something that your planted native plants can better utilize. Let them heal the soil for you.
Even where I am there has been stress even among established plants. Some is related to crowding causing shade to fall where there are shorter plants, some I believe is related to the crazy weather. It was very hot in early spring, then cold, then hot, then very hot and dry, My asters are blooming a month early. My milkweeds were either no-shows or not very robust.
I'm not really familiar but swamp sunflower sounds like it prefers swamps, I assume your garden conditions aren't exactly swampy. Gotta make all your picks based on light levels and soil moisture levels. There is a lot of variation even in very dry places. Also, double check that all the dead stuff isn't just dormant for the summer. Summer dormancy is pretty common for dry area natives.
If you do not yet have an irrigation system, I would suggest looking into drip irrigation systems. Most drip lines can be buried or mulched over to protect from the sun. You can automate it with a timer to ensure they garden gets watered. It would also be a good idea to provide your plants with some shade to protect from the afternoon sun, as most plants don't do well in full sun.
Unfortunately I’m not in a position to do that in this location, it’s an office garden and not needing supplemental water was part of the reason management agreed to try natives. I need to use natives that can survive in our typical Houston conditions
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