Xeriscape Plants for Zone 5 Gardens
There are a few ways to conserve water in the garden besides just using drought tolerant plants. Hydro zoning is the grouping of plants based on their water needs. By grouping water-loving plants with other water-loving plants in one area and all drought tolerant plants in another area, water isn’t wasted on plants that do not need much. In zone 5, because we do have times of heavier precipitation and other times when conditions are dry, irrigation systems should be set according to seasonal needs. During a rainy spring or fall, the irrigation system does not need to run as long or as often as it should be run in mid to late summer. Also, keep in mind that all plants, even drought tolerant plants, will need extra water when they are newly planted and just establishing. It is well developed root structures that allow many plants to be drought tolerant or efficient xeriscape plants for zone 5. Remember, evergreens need extra water in fall to prevent winter burn in cold climates.
Cold Hardy Xeric Plants
Below is a list of common zone 5 xeriscape plants for the garden. These plants have low water needs once established. Trees
Flowering Crabapples Hawthorns Japanese Lilac Amur Maple Norway Maple Autumn Blaze Maple Callery Pear Serviceberry Honey Locust Linden Red Oak Catalpa Smoke Tree Ginkgo
Evergreens
Juniper Bristlecone Pine Limber Pine Ponderosa Pine Mugo Pine Colorado Blue Spruce Concolor Fir Yew
Shrubs
Cotoneaster Spirea Barberry Burning Bush Shrub Rose Forsythia Lilac Privet Flowering Quince Daphne Mock Orange Viburnum
Vines
Clematis Virginia Creeper Trumpet Vine Honeysuckle Boston Ivy Grape Wisteria Morning Glory
Perennials
Yarrow Yucca Salvia Candytuft Dianthus Creeping Phlox Hens & Chicks Ice plant Rock Cress Sea Thrift Hosta Stonecrop Sedum Thyme Artemisia Black-Eyed Susan Coneflower Coreopsis Coral Bells Daylily Lavender Lamb’s Ear
Bulbs
Iris Asiatic Lily Daffodil Allium Tulips Crocus Hyacinth Muscari
Ornamental Grasses
Blue Oat Grass Feather Reed Grass Fountain Grass Blue Fescue Switchgrass Moor Grass Japanese Blood Grass Japanese Forest Grass
Annuals
Cosmos Gazania Verbena Lantana Alyssum Petunia Moss Rose Zinnia Marigold Dusty Miller Nasturtium
