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Browse Plants

Narrowed By:Type: Grasses, Trees+ Tolerance: Drought Tolerant
Displaying 1 - 20 of 35 listings   1 | 2View AllNext > Sort By: Sort
Acer saccharum 'Caddo' Acer saccharum 'Caddo'
('Caddo' Florida maple, 'Caddo' southern sugar maple)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The 'Caddo' maple typically reaches a mature height of 30 feet and spread of 25 feet, but may be taller. Its star-shaped leaves turn under slightly at the edges, and turn muted yellow to orange in the fall that can be spectacular. Its crown is oval-shaped, with an upright/erect growth habit. This moderately drought-tolerant maple is a great street or shade tree.

'Caddo' maples, native to southwestern Oklahoma, are well-adapted to heat and drought, and resistant to leaf tatter and scortch common among many maples. The leaves are dark green, leathery, and deeply lobed.

no image available Acer truncatum
(Shantung maple, Purpleblow maple)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Compact and rounded, the Shantung maple reaches a mature height and spread of 25 feet by 30 feet. The leaves grow to 5 inches long and have five to seven lobes, resembling the leaves of the Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). Leaves emerge purple in spring and become glossy and medium green during the growing season. In autumn, the starry leaves blaze into shades of yellow and orange, accented by reds and purples. Samara (fruit) are red.

Andropogon zizanioides Andropogon zizanioides
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This beautiful ornamental grass has upright, glossy green foliage and interesting, animated leaf tips that resemble party favors. Evergreen to 25°F, these plants gain reddish purple hues in the fall and winter. This plant is extremely adaptable—it thrives in desert and damp conditions, it is used for erosion control, and it works well in containers or as a screen. It looks especially beautiful when backlit by the sun.

Bouteloua gracilis Bouteloua gracilis
(Blue grama, Signal-arm grass, Mosquito grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Blue grama is a perennial grass from the Americas bearing unusually bent and flattened inflorescences. Being native to open grasslands, they are drought tolerant and at home in meadows. They provide the garden with shades of tan that persist throughout winter. 

Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster' Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'
(Karl Foerster's Feather Reed Grass)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Versatile, attractive and care-free ornamental grass with wheat-like appearance. Slender, upright, deep-green, lustrous foliage becomes effective by early spring and lasts all the way until winter. A cool season grass, 'Karl Foester' is upright and clump forming, with purplish-green, feathery plumes to 6'. It distinctively blooms in early summer rather than fall and must have winter chill to bloom. Long lived -- 25 years or more. -Santa Rosa Gardens

Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster' Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster'
(Karl Foerster feather reed grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This versatile ornamental grass has slender, upright, deep-green foliage. A cool season grass, it is upright and clump forming, with purplish-green, feathery plumes that can reach 6 feet in height. It blooms in early summer rather than fall and must have winter chill to bloom.



Information provided by Santa Rosa Gardens.

Calocedrus decurrens Calocedrus decurrens
(California incense cedar)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This large, conical-shaped tree has dark green flattened sprays of evergreen scale-like leaves.

Chasmanthium latifolium Chasmanthium latifolium
(Northern sea oats, Spangle grass, Wild oats)
(2 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Northern sea oats is a loosely tufted, clump-forming grass with lance-shaped, arching mid-green foliage that turns yellow in winter. Summer brings highly decorative oat-like panicles of flat, green flowerheads that shimmer and rustle in the wind, aging to bronze by late summer.

Chilopsis linearis Chilopsis linearis
(Desert Willow)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Desert willow is shrub native to the Southwest U.S. and Mexico. Its erect willowy foliage is joined by large, blowsy pink flowers from early summer to first frost. This tough plants performs well in xeriscapes and other dry, unforgiving locations. It grows to 10 to 14 feet tall and wide remains blemish-free all season long.

Cladrastis lutea Cladrastis lutea
(Yellowwood)
(3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Yellowwood is a vase-shaped spreading tree with dark green foliage that turns a delicate yellow or orange in the fall and smooth light gray bark. Breathtaking, pendulous, foot-long, wisteria-like clusters of fragrant white flowers appear in late spring and early summer, often in alternate years.

Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy' Cordyline hybrida var. JURed 'Festival™ Burgundy'
(Festival™ Burgundy corydaline)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This basal branching cordyline combines the rugged easy-care attributes of its cordyline cousins with an unusual mix of shiny dark color, compact bushy form, short stems and cascading grass-like leaves.

Cortaderia selloana 'Gold Band' Cortaderia selloana 'Gold Band'
('Gold Band' pampas grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This clumping, drought-tolerant grass is one of the best pampas grasses you could grow. It has the showy, late-summer plumes common to this group, but they grow straight up, not willy-nilly like many other varieties; they eventually stand 4 to 6 feet above the foliage. Even better news is that this cultivar does not set seed, so it is noninvasive. The foliage features distinct golden edges, which, for a grass, usually menas that it loves shade or moisture. But 'Gold Band' tolerates heat and drought, making it great for large containers, and it can handle coastal conditions, too.

Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue' Festuca glauca 'Elijah Blue'
(Blue fescue, Gray fescue)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

These compact tufts of 8-inch-long powder-blue leaves are well suited for edging and naturalizing in the rock garden. 

Festuca mairei Festuca mairei
(Atlas fescue)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This sturdy groundcover is fast becoming one of the most dependable grasses for creating drought-tolerant meadows. Clumping evergreen foliage is a rich khaki green and grows in an arching clump. The flowers, while noticeable, are not showy. Atlas fescue is at its best in groups and grows in all but hot, humid, and low desert climates.

Ginkgo biloba Ginkgo biloba
(Maidenhair tree)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

One of the oldest tree species on the planet, ginkgo grows only about a foot a year, reaching 50 to 80 feet. Female trees set fleshy fruit that smell unpleasant as they decay; they contain edible nuts.

Heptacodium miconioides Heptacodium miconioides
(Seven-son flower)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

The tiered branches of this fast-growing species are covered with white blossoms for over a month, starting in late summer. The flowers fade to reveal fuchsia calyxes that persist well into autumn. The pale, peeling bark can be exposed by pruning the lower branches of the interior. Although the form of the species is variable (single or multi-stemmed), it can usually be pruned into an elegant vase-shaped specimen, or maintained as a shrub.

Melinus nerviglumis Melinus nerviglumis
(Ruby grass)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This clumping, blue-green foliaged grass has amethyst-pink flowers that create fluffy, 8- to 12-inch-long plumes throughout the summer. Eventually, the flowers mature to the color of root beer foam. It is heat and drought tolerant, and it makes a fine annual in colder climates. Excellent drainage will help it thrive in humid summer climates. Not invasive from seed, ruby grass works great grown singly in pots or in groups.

Muhlenbergia capillaris Muhlenbergia capillaris
(Muhly grass)
(1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

In autumn, this unique specimen creates a spectacular, billowy inflorescence of massed, vibrant pink, airy flowers on 4-foot stems. It is noted for its tolerance to poorly drained soil. It is possibly hardy to Zone 6 with protection.

Muhlenbergia lindheimeri Muhlenbergia lindheimeri
(Lindheimer's muhly)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This beautiful warm-season grass produces attractive, pale purplish-gray plumes in autumn and goes dormant in the cold season. It forms a neat, upright clump with fine blue-gray foliage.

no image available Olea europaea 'Little Ollie'
(Olive)
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Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This dwarf, non-fruiting olive cultivar is an evergreen tree reaching 4 to 6 feet high and wide. It has attractive dark green leaves.


Displaying 1 - 20 of 35 listings   1 | 2View AllNext > Sort By: Sort