This document provides information about xeriscaping and lists drought tolerant perennials, trees, shrubs, and ornamental grasses suitable for xeriscaping. Xeriscaping involves choosing plants adapted to the growing conditions and reducing or eliminating the need for supplemental watering once established. It can help conserve water by using less water intensive landscaping. The document recommends preparing soil, using mulch, watering appropriately, and provides tips for maintaining xeriscaped gardens.

1. Deer Resistant Drought
Perennials* Tolerant What is
Perennials Xeriscaping?
• Foxglove
Xeriscaping means water
• Lily • Blanket flower wise or water efficient
• Daffodil • Blazing Star landscaping.
Xeriscaping
The term is derived
• Blue sage • Cone flower from the Greek word
• Russian sage • Daylily xeros, which means dry.
It involves choosing
• Artemisia • Evening primrose plants appropriate
• Edible sage • Goldenrod to the growing
conditions and creating
• Catmint • Phlox a landscape that can be
• Brunnera • Iris Drought Tolerant maintained with little
Amur maple or no supplementary
• Monkshood • Hens & Chicks Trees & Shrubs watering.
Tips on Xeriscaping
• Coreopsis • Ornamental onion
• Bur Oak Why Xeriscape?
• Frittalaria • Rudbeckia
• Amur Maple
• Oriental poppy With growing demands
• Bugle weed • Aspen on water supply, it is
• Sea holly everyone’s
• Japanese tree lilac
• Liatris responsibility to
• Pine rethink appropriate
• Stonecrop use.
• Ohio buckeye
• Solomon’s seal
• Lilac As over 50% of
• Lupine summer residential
• Mock orange water is utilized on
• Mother-of-thyme
• Spirea lawns and gardens,
• Yucca xeriscaping can play
• Cherry prinsepia a significant role in
• Sedum
• Golden flowering currant reducing water
• Penstemon consumption.
• Juniper
• Potentilla The appropriate
Drought Tolerant placement of plants
Ornamental • Nanking cherry can also reduce
Grasses • Saskatoon berry energy costs in
heating and cooling
• Dwarf Barberry your home.
• Blue fescue
• Dogwood (dry shade)
• Blue oat grass
• Snowberry (dry shade)
• Feather reed grass
• Hops Horticulture
• Virginia creeper Hotline:
Enjoy your 403-938-8031
beautiful new
landscape designed to be *Deer resistant & other plants
Feather reed grass environmentally friendly, may be poisonous
attractive and low
maintenance! www.okotoks.ca
www.okotoks.ca

2. Xeriscaping ~ What You Can Do
Top Soil Mulch Water Note that even drought
tolerant plants will need
Preparing the soil in Mulch is created naturally Not all plants need the sufficient watering until
advance will help plants by leaves dropping and same amount of water. If they get established. Small
get established and plants dying. Try to leave only a few plants require plants may establish in a
provide good nutrients as naturally occurring mulch water, hand watering may year of two but large
the landscape matures. You on the soil or use other b e a n e f fe c t i v e m e a n s . nursery grown trees may
want to have 12 inches of mulches like leaves, grass need three to five years to
Root zone irrigation
topsoil. clippings, straw or decom- properly establish
systems on or under the soil
posed bark mulch. themselves.
are often the most efficient.
Adding screened loam Water is released at slower
and incorporating organic Mulch moderates soil rates encouraging the water
Maintenance
matter will improve water temperature, holds and roots to go deeper into
Tips on Xeriscaping
penetration and reten- moisture, slows erosion Realize that xeriscape gar-
the soil. This helps plants dening will require some
tion in any type of soil. and suppresses weeds that withstand dry periods as
Rich, loose, water holding would compete with your m a i n te n a n ce. We e d i n g,
the roots are down where pruning, deadheading
soil will encourage good plants for food and water. evaporation rates are slower.
root development and Apply about 3 - 4 inches of and some watering will
Root zone systems also have be necessary. The purpose
lessen the plant’s need for mulch at the initial plant- fewer losses to wind and
supplemental water. ing and replenish annually of xeriscaping is primar-
evaporation. If watering ily to conserve water and
or as needed. Be careful above the soil, use sprinklers
Vegetation not to cover the base of that distribute large droplets
once plants are estab-
Selection the trunk on trees and lished they may require
low to the ground. Manually little or no maintenance.
shrubs to avoid decay and watering with soaker hoses
Selecting plants that thrive rodent problems. To minimize turf watering
or a slow trickle from the end
in our area during dry and fertilizing, leave turf
of the hose is also effective.
periods will give you the
best results. This often
Turf Areas Av o i d w a t e r i n g d u r i n g
grasses a minimum of 3
inches in height and leave
includes native plants but You should determine how hot dry windy periods of the clippings to help con-
Planning can include non-native much lawn should be part the day and water in the serve moisture and provide
species. of your initial design plan, morning or evening when nutrients back to the soil.
Work with your space (topography, sun temperatures are cooler.
exposure and soil). Group drought tolerant Drought tolerant plants taking into consideration
what you plan to use your In the design phase,
plants in areas with full day sun; give less can be aggressive so be Water based on the needs select plants that will not
tolerant plants some partial shade and keep careful about invasive lawn for.
of the plants and follow the out grow their space. This
the more delicate or demanding plants tendencies which can Assess the amounts of sun, Town of Okotoks watering will minimize excessive
for a spot near your water source or an create maintenance moisture and traffic to schedule. Water infrequently pruning and unneces-
area that may be wetter due to run-off and problems or threaten determine the appropriate at a slow rate to encour- sar y maintenance which
topography. native ecosystems. grass mix. age deeply rooted plants. can be stressful to plants.
3. Vegetation
Open Spaces
Whether you are landscaping a
brand new yard or wanting to
1. Planning 5. Turf Areas
xeriscape an existing landscape, Selection 7. Maintenance
there are seven key steps to 2. Top Soil 4. Mulch 6. Water
consider: