Xeriscape Plant Seeds

JB166 Soaptree ( Yucca elata )

This ornamental Yucca gets it's name from the soapy material in the roots and trunks of this species that has been used as a soap substitute. It has great ornamental appeal, is deer resistant, and attracts hummingbirds, butterflies and bees.
Cattle relish the young flower stalks, and chopped trunks and leaves serve as emergency food during droughts. Indians ate the flower buds, flowers, and young flower stalks of this and other yuccas, either raw or boiled.
Yucca elata is a common, widespread and quite distinctive species, growing tall and eventually branching, forming tree-like plants up to 15 feet high, resembling the Joshua tree through generally smaller, with longer leaves and fewer branches. Ranges of the two overlap in southwest Utah and northwest Arizona, but the soaptree yucca is more common further east, in the grasslands and foothills of central and southeast Arizona, and the flat plains of New Mexico.
Leaves are pale or bright green in color, thin and flexible, up to half an inch across (slightly wider in the middle) and between 10 and 35 inches long. The edges are white, as are the short terminal spines and the long, curly filaments that grow most densely towards the center. Plants are old before they branch, hence most specimens have only one stem; the (usual) maximum number observed is seven. Dead leaves hang back against the stem and remain there for many years. Flower clusters are borne on stems rising 2 or 3 feet above the leaves. Flowers are pendant, globular or bell-shaped.
Hardy to zero degrees, also makes a great container plant when young.
Zones 6-10.

Image: Fritz Hochstätter, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons

JB163 Red Yucca ( Hesperaloe parviflora )

Also known as red yucca, hummingbird yucca, redflower false yucca and samandoque, is a plant that is native to Chihuahuan desert of west Texas east and south into central and south Texas and northeastern Mexico around Coahuila.
Hesperaloe parviflora has narrow evergreen leaves with a fringe of white threadlike hairs along their edges and grows in clumps 3–6 feet high and wide. Red or yellow tubular flowers are borne on branching flower stalks (inflorescences) up to 5 feet tall from late spring to mid-summer.
This species has become popular in xeriscape landscape design for public and private gardens in California and the Southwestern United States. The plant's qualities include drought tolerance, heat resistance, low maintenance needs, hummingbird attracting flowers, and an architectural form. It also is a spineless alternative to Agave and Yucca horticultural species.
Hardy to well below 0°F some say as low as -20°F (USDA zone 5). It is a good clean plant for desert and succulent gardens, planted in masses or used in pots.

Image: By Stan Shebs

LET826 Desert Spoon ( Dasylirion wheeleri )

Also known as Spoon Yucca. Dasylirion wheeleri is a moderate to slow-growing evergreen shrub with a single unbranched trunk up to 16 inches thick growing to about 5 feet tall, though often recumbent on the ground. The leaf blade is slender, gray-green, with a toothed margin. The leaves radiate from the center of the plant's apex in all directions (spherical).
The flowering stem grows above the foliage, to a height of 16 feet tall. The stem is topped by a long plume of straw-colored small flowers. The color of the flower determinate the gender of the plant, being mostly white colored for males and purple-pink for females.
It is grown as an ornamental plant, valued in xeriscaping. As it does not tolerate extended frosts, in temperate regions it is usually grown under glass. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

The alcoholic drink sotol, the northern cousin to tequila and mezcal, is made from the fermented inner cores of the desert spoon. It is the state drink of the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Durango, and Coahuila. It was also used by the natives of the region for food and fiber. Its flower stalk can be used as a fire plow.
Cold hardy to 10 degrees. The Tarahumara and Pima Bajo peoples of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Chihuahua weave baskets from the leaves after they strip off the spines from the leaf margins. They also employ the expanded leaf bases in making large artificial flowers as holiday decorations.

JB190 Creosote Bush ( Larrea tridentata )

Creosote bush is an often misunderstood and under used shrub. It is a graceful evergreen growing four feet so tall. It has tiny dark green leaves and in spring it has velvety yellow flowers followed by white puff balls that later disperse in the wind. Creosote bush has a strong characteristic odor which is especially noticeable when the foliage is wet. This creates the signature smell of a desert rain, they refresh the air with their unique desert aroma.
One of the best xeriscape and rock garden plants, this evergreen shrub, often called ‘greasewood’ flourishes under the intense daytime heat of the Sonoran, Chihuahua and Mojave Deserts. Creosote bush thrives under 5,000 feet.
Creosote has a long history of medicinal uses. Indigenous people rely on creosote as a ‘cure-all’ plant with wide reaching applications. Ethnobotanical notes mention creosote was used as a cure of fever, colds, stomach pains, a general pain killer, diuretic, arthritis, sinusitis, anemia and an anti-diarrheal.
Creosote bush is also antimicrobial. Thereby the plant is useful for cuts and bacterial or fungal infections.
A hardy perennial for zones 7-11.

JB176 Pride of Madeira ( Echium fastuosum )

This wonderful plant gets it's name from being native to Madeira and is part of the Boraginaceae family. Echium fastuosum is big, bold and beautiful. This half-hardy biennial is a showy, evergreen, perennial plant that can reach up to 5-8 ft tall and 6-10 feet wide. It is a large picturesque plant with coarse heavy branches and an excellent foliage plant. Spike like clusters of bluish purple flowers standout above the foliage in the spring.
Use Echium against walls and at the back of flower borders or on slopes for a dramatic effect. Pride of Madeira makes a bold addition to any xeric landscape. In their natural habitat they grow on windswept limestone outcrops. The striking blooms make it attractive to bees, butterflies and/or birds. This Echium has evergreen lanceolate leaves, which are about 8 inches long. The narrow, hairy, gray-green colored leaves form round irregular mounds at the ends of the stems. The gorgeous purple-blue flowers have petals with a typical white line, and they appear on broad cylindrical to egg shaped inflorescences of 2 feet long, in spring.
Once Pride of Madeira has completed its flowering, it leaves only the green spires that should be removed and the entire plant cut back hard before winter. Hardiness zones: 9-11. Echium fastuosum is a stunning sun lover for coastal windy gardens, that can withstand negative temperatures down to 26°F. Note that the leaves and the stems may prove slightly skin irritant, so handle them with care. This Echium requires a well-drained ground and is quite happy where soils are dry and poor. Light pruning will keep Pride of Madeira bushy. Cut off flower spikes as they fade in order to promote newer growth. If you choose not to remove the spent flowers, the life span of the plant will be shortened. However, Echium will reseed, producing a flush of fresh new plants. Little or no water is required in mild-summer climates and only weekly watering is required in hotter areas.

LET407 Grassy Bells ( Edraianthus graminifolius )

This is a great choice for tough places like atop a wall, a crevice, or any other tight spot. The tidy tufts of lustrous grassy foliage offer a refined cushion from which prostrate stems bear upward-facing, violet-blue bells gathered in abundant, ball-like clusters. It grows 4 to 6 inches tall and spreads 12 to 18 inches wide. It is hardy to zone 4.
Drought-tolerant; it is also suitable for xeriscaping. Kin to the Campanulas and found on limestone slopes from the Mediterranean to eastern Europe, this superb perennial demands well drained, even gritty, soil.

LET720 Blue Globe Thistle ( Echinops Ritro )

Add a distinct texture to your xeriscape garden by sowing Globe Thistle seeds! They are a great addition to the cottage garden or a mixed perennial garden. Globe Thistle flowers are in shades of purple and blue and they measure up to 1 3/4 inches in diameter. The flower heads provide good color before opening, so the bloom season is prolonged. It has thistle-like foliage with 6 - 8 inch leaves with distinctive spines. Globe Thistle plants are fairly drought tolerant, low maintenance, and they easily establish from flower seeds.
If the initial blooms on Globe Thistle are deadheaded, several smaller, shorter blooms will appear. Globe Thistle has plenty of flower seed, so it is a good self-seeder, and deadheading will help slow that process a bit. In richer soils, the plant might grow so much as to require staking. The basal leaves deteriorate quickly, so best to plant low-growing plants next to the Globe Thistle. Hands can be cut by foliage and flower, so best to wear gloves when handling.
Globe Thistle makes a nice cut flower. These fuzzy blossoms also dry well. Cut stems, hang upside down in a dry, ventilated place. Sow Globe Thistle seeds outdoors after temperatures have warmed. Prepare soil, sow the flower seeds on the surface and press them into the soil. Do not cover the flower seeds, keep them moist, and soon you will be enjoying a new addition to your xeriscape perennial garden.

SF292 Achillea Cassis ( A. millefolium )

Clusters of cherry-red flowers over a bushy mound of fern-like, mid-green leaves. Excellent for dried flower arrangements. A great garden plant for cutflowers and attracting bees and butterflies.
Drought tolerant for xeriscaping/waterwise design. For natural landscaping. Attractive for butterflies and other pollinators. Deer resistant. A second flowering after deadheading is possible at good locations.
Fleuroselect, will flower first year, prolific stems and deep cerise red flower umbels, for garden or cut flowers, grows 25" tall, hardy to zone 4.

1A431 Tahoka Daisy ( Machaeranthera tanacetifolia )

A hardy upright to sprawling annual native to the mid-western United States. This variety is easy to recognize by the dense, compact leaves which are deeply divided into many narrow segments. The flowers are a beautiful lavender, blue, purple with bright yellow centers, each at the top of a leafy stem. Cheery yellow centers make this a pleasing and showy flower that blooms earlier than the large aster family. Thriving nearly anywhere, this is a beautiful and easy plant to grow!
Excellent plant for borders, roadsides, xeriscapes, rock gardens.
Adaptable to a variety of garden conditions, it is drought-tolerant when established and an excellent choice for xeric gardens, natural or prairie gardens, meadows, hillsides, or hard to maintain areas. The plant often reseeds and grow in following years. You will enjoy its cheerful beauty and the way it attracts bees and butterflies.
For zones 3-10.

Seedman Basic Info:
Grows about 12 to 18 inches tall, will germinate in about 15-45 days depending on soil and weather conditions, germinates best if soil temperature is in the 56-65°F range.
Cover seeds about 1/8" deep, blooms from May to September.

SF133 Sweet Everlasting ( Gnaphalium obtusifolium )

Sweet Everlasting, also known as Rabbit Tobacco, is silvery green due to the appressed hairs that cover its surface. The white flowers are clustered in quarter inch buds with many overlapping bracts. The tips of these buds are usually yellow or brownish. The bracts will eventually spread out and fall off when the seed ripens.
Sweet Everlasting’s fruit has a tuff of light brown hairs that will allow it to be carried off by the wind. The plant also gives off a wonderful maple syrup smell, making it a nice addition to any garden.
This plant is attractive to the Painted Lady Butterfly and the leaves are aromatic when crushed, making a nice potpourri component.

Image: By Stan Shebs

3643 Desert Willow ( Chilopsis linearis )

Desert willow, Chilopsis linearis is a large deciduous shrub or small tree. Hummingbirds love this plant when in bloom and will hang around it most of the summer. Its willow like, long, narrow leaves and growth along desert washes give the desert willow its name.
The Penstemon like flowers are fragrant, pink to lavender. They appear in May and keep coming until September or frost. Likes moderate water and sun. Does best inland and in desert.
This is a great plant for a bird garden, rock garden, xeriscape or lawn specimen. Best suited for zones 6-10.

3664 Silver Sage ( Artemisia cana )

A low, rounded, freely branching, aromatic evergreen shrub growing 1-3 ft. in height. Leaves and branches are silvery gray. The yellow, summer flowers are inconspicuous. Imparts a graceful, wispy appearance when grown in masses.
Strongly aromatic. Used by the Montana Indians as a general tonic, to restore hair, and as a dermatological aid.
Zones 3-5.
Low germination by nature, we estimate about 25 percent being normal.

Image: By Supermicio [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia Commons

3182 Firethorn ( Pyracantha coccinea )

A plant of many uses: Impenetrable shrub for informal hedges, hedgerows. dense screens or property lines. Also effective when massed to cover slopes. Group in shrub borders. May be sheared as a hedge, but severe pruning performed after flowering will adversely affect fruit production. Espaliers trained on wall or fence. Best planted in areas where the thorns will not present a problem.
Birds love the fruit. They are greatly favored by Black Birds and Cedar Waxwings, which have been know to strip a tree of all its berries.
Here is a link to a great web page about Firethorn and includes a recipe for Pyracantha Jelly.

Firethorn is a large, evergreen shrub that is cherished for its spectacular fall and winter display of scarlet fruits and ability to withstand dry and droughty conditions. Shooting long lanky stems in all directions, firethorn typically grows into a tangled mound up to 10 feet in height and 12 feet wide. It is armed with sharp thorns that hide among the dark,glossy green leaves.

Clusters (corymbs) of small white flowers appear in spring. These are up to 2 inches across and are borne close together creating the appearance of nearly solid surface of flowers. In fall the 1/4 inch berries begin to ripen, their color mellowing from green to shades of red, orange, or yellow. These persist through winter and into early spring depending on climate and appetite of the local bird population. Under bright sunny conditions the berries are plentiful but expect smaller crops in shadier situations. The color of both leaves and berries tends to be darker in cooler climates.

Culture: Not particular about soil and requires little or no supplemental fertilization.
Light: Full sun preferred but will grow in partial to fairly heavy shade. Flowering and fruiting will not be as heavy.
Moisture: Moist to very dry, well drained soil. Hardiness: Zones 5 - 9.
Usage: Pyracantha is often used as an espalier. Held flat against a wall, it can be shaped quite creatively. Because of its fast growth rate, sprawling, spreading habit, and ease of care, it can be used on slopes to great advantage requiring little maintenance or care. The wide-reaching stems may be pruned back as needed during warm weather as the shrub blooms on old wood. Even consider using it as an informal hedge! This will require some trimming and shaping for the first few years but the effort will produce impressively beautiful and secure (thorny) hedges.

Landscapers love the firethorns for their fast rate of growth and ability to withstand drought and neglect. The shrubs ruggedness and disease and pest resistance makes this plant a very popular item in commercial landscapes.

FS490 Pink Evening Primrose ( Oenothera speciosus Rosea )

What a sight to behold! This perennial is easily started with seeds, and it will become a favorite! Also called Mexican Primrose. The silky, soft pink blooms with yellow centers appear all summer long. Evening Primrose is a vigorous plant, and it produces dozens of large, showy 2 1/2 inch saucer-shaped blossoms day and night. The Showy Evening Primrose flower is replaced by long 4-angled capsule which contain numerous flower seeds. The root system is highly rhizomatous and sizable colonies can be formed at some sites. Showy Evening Primrose can spread quickly, and the large colonies can be absolutely breathtaking. It is beautiful in a naturalized setting, but also this is a wonderful plant for the front of the border or in large containers.
10" tall x 18" wide plants are care free plant for most gardens with soft pink blooms. A heat loving plant that thrives in sunny, dry areas along baking south and west facing walls and pavement areas. Spreading rapidly on shallow roots when the hot summer weather arrives, give this beauty plenty of room to grow as it will overrun smaller, less vigorous plants. Preferring unimproved, well-drained soils, this plant requires little extra water once established. Not generally recommended for gardeners living in cold, short season climates.
Perhaps best grown in areas where plants can spread without intruding on other plantings. Meadows. Wildflower gardens. Roadsides. Informal naturalized areas. Site carefully if planting in beds, borders or rock gardens.
A perennial best suited for zones 5-8.

Image: Meggar at Wikimedia

E3102 Juneberry, Saskatoon Serviceberry ( Amelanchier alnifolia )

Low water requirements, grows as high as 10,000 feet. A deciduous shrub that seldom exceeds 15 feet in height and occasionally suckering to form a slowly spreading clump. An easily grown plant, it prefers a rich loamy soil and thrives in any soil that is not too dry or water-logged. The largest yields, and best quality fruits, are produced when the plant is grown in a sunny position, though it should also do reasonably well in semi-shade. The plants are fairly lime tolerant and they will also grow well in heavy clay soils. They are very cold-hardy and will tolerate temperatures down to at least -20°c and probably much lower. Flowers in Early Spring, these white flowers are produced before the plants come into leaf, and are usually produced so abundantly that the whole plant turns white. They look particularly beautiful at this time. By late June, or more commonly early to mid July, the plants will usually be carrying large crops of fruits. These fruits are about 15mm in diameter, they are soft, sweet and juicy with a taste that reminds us of apples. Small enough to be eaten without problems, though they can add a slightly bitter almond-like flavour to the fruit if they are crushed whilst eating. The fruit can also be cooked in pies etc., when dried it is quite sweet and can be used in the same ways as raisins.

Image: By Chhe [Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

D1708 Kentucky Coffee Tree ( Gymnocladus dioica )

A large shade tree with long leaves that are pinkish in spring, green in summer and yellow in fall. The seeds can be roasted and eaten like nuts or made into a coffee substitute, however it should be noted that unroasted seeds may be toxic, so seeds must be roasted.
In addition to use as a food, the seeds of Kentucky coffee tree were used by Native Americans for ceremonial and recreational purposes. Seeds were used as dice in games of chance that were common in eastern tribes. The seeds were also used in jewelry.
It has been noted that the bruised foliage when sprinkled with sweetened water will attract and kill flies. Can be raised in containers when young.
Zones: 3 to 8.

D7880 Rocky Mountain Junifer ( Juniperus scopulorun )

Rocky Mountain juniper is an evergreen large shrub or small tree to 50' tall, but usually much smaller. Specimens are variable in habit, sometimes squat and shrubby, but usually narrowly cone shaped. The trunk is short and stout, often dividing near the ground. The branches are rather thick and spreading to partly erect. Rocky Mountain juniper has reddish bark that is stringy in narrow strips but does not exfoliate. Most of the leaves are like overlapping scales, closely pressed to the twigs. Juvenile leaves, usually only found on young seedlings, are more like needles, and they spread away from the twigs. The foliage is dense and pleasantly aromatic.

Trees may have male or female cones, but not both. The fruits are fleshy berrylike spherical cones, about one-third inch in diameter. They are bright blue with a whitish bloom and sweet tasting, with thin skins. Rocky Mountain juniper is closely related and quite similar to eastern redcedar, and was once believed to be the same species. But eastern redcedar has fruits that mature in a single season, whereas those of Rocky Mountain juniper take two year to ripen. Also, eastern redcedar had exfoliating bark. The two species hybridize where their ranges overlap.

Location: Rocky Mountain juniper occurs in isolated and scattered localities within a wide band from British Columbia to North Dakota, and south to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows from near sea level in the northern part of its range to more than 8000' above sea level in the south. Rocky Mountain juniper grows in alkaline soils on ridges, cliffs and rocky slopes, sometimes in pure stands, but more often in association with other mountain loving evergreens such as ponderosa pine, pinyon pine and Douglas-fir.

Culture: Rocky Mountain juniper is a slow growing tree (6-12" per year), but one that can live more than 300 years. In cultivation it tolerates acidic to alkaline soils, and does best in those that are loose and well drained. It is best adapted to culture in western and northern North America.
Light: Seedlings and saplings can tolerate rather dense shade, but Rocky Mountain junipers, even the smaller cultivars, need full sun to grow to their full potentials.
Moisture: Rocky Mountain juniper is tolerant of drought, but perhaps less so than the other junipers. It should be watered before the soil becomes completely dry. This juniper does poorly in humid climates, but does fine in hot, dry climates.
Hardiness: USDA Zones 4 - 7.
Usage: Use any of the cultivars of Rocky Mountain juniper for attractive foliage effects in all seasons. This evergreen is useful as a screen, hedge or foundation plant. They make great anchors or focal points for the ends of hedges or mixed borders. Rocky Mountain juniper is a tidy, formal accent shrub alone or in small groups.
Features: Although most cultivars are probably too formal for naturalistic gardens, Rocky Mountain juniper is ideal for neat, well-organized landscapes. Most cultivars require little or no pruning and are relatively free of cultural problems, insects and diseases. They tolerate heat and drought well.