6 Awesome Water-Wise Perennials for High Altitudes

Springtime blossoms are anticipated after a long, dull winter, especially if you’re gardening at altitude. Hardy from the high plains of the Rocky Mountains’ Front Range and up to elevations of 8,000 feet — and even more — the hard plants below are dependable bloomers in windy, chilly and arid areas, even in years when winter snow has been rare.

Bees and other pollinating insects are also on the search for dependable food sources come spring up — yet another reason to integrate some of these beautiful perennials into your water-wise garden. Once established they need only occasional supplemental watering; a good soaking every couple weeks through the heat of summer should do just fine.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Jupiter’s Beard
(Centranthus ruber)

Cheery, deep-pink blossoms add a whole lot of energy to the spring garden — and outside. Jupiter’s beard also includes blue-green leaves in an open, upright shape that looks fantastic with coarse or grass-like foliage. The white flowering species, Centranthus alba, looks especially nice in the filtered light of deciduous trees. Butterflies are attracted by the beard of Jupiter and leaves an excellent cut flower. Deadhead it frequently to prevent self-sowing and also for repeat flowers from spring through fall. Supply ordinary.

USDA zones: 4 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Low
moderate requirement: Full sun to filtered shade
Mature size: 2-3 feet tall and 1 1/2 to two feet broad
Seasonal interest: Spring through fall (with regular deadheading)
When to plant: Spring or fall

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Candytuft
(Iberis sempervirens)

Candytuft provides a mass of white blossoms for as much as six months on a low, mounding form of glossy evergreen foliage. It’s an asset for a foreground plant projecting a planting bed or tumbling between boulders in the rock garden. Candytuft is a subshrub having a base — shear plants back by half after flowering promote growth and to keep them tidy. Supply average to lean, well-drained soil.

USDA zones: 4 to 9
Water requirement: moderate to low
moderate requirement: Full to partial sun
Mature size: 10 to 12 inches tall and 18 inches broad
Seasonal interest: Spring
When to plant: Spring or fall

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Western Spiderwort
(Tradescantia occidentalis)

Native to most of central North America, western spiderwort has blossoms that echo the colour of this springtime sky. Although more drought tolerant than the frequent garden hybrids, western spiderwort features the same grass-like foliage and unique three-petaled blossoms. Include it into your native perennial garden, meadow or mixed boundary. Flowers attract butterflies from late spring through early summer, and it is deer resistant. Plant to soil.

USDA zones: 5 to 8
Water requirement: Low
moderate requirement: Full sun to filtered shade
Mature size: 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet tall and broad
Seasonal interest: late spring through early summer
When to plant: Spring or fall

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Purple Mullein
(Verbascum phoeniceum)

This beautiful and unusual plant sport two- to 3-feet-tall spikes packed with blossoms of purple, purple, pink or white. A short lived perennial or biennial, it is going to self-sow (without being weedy) when the flowers are allowed to ripen and set seed. Purple mullein is a graceful addition to this wildflower garden, meadow or mixed boundary. Provide lean — even sandy — dirt.

USDA zones: 5 to 8
Water requirement: moderate to reduced
moderate requirement: Filtered sunlight or afternoon shade
Mature dimensions: 2-3 feet tall and 1 foot to 1 1/4 feet broad
Seasonal interest: Spring
When to plant: Spring or fall

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Bearded Iris
(Iris germanica)

Bold and beautiful, bearded iris features upright, strap-like foliage and big, distinctive blossoms in a myriad of colors. A longtime favorite of Western gardeners, bearded iris is almost goofproof — and deer resistant. Split the rhizomes into midsummer if they become overcrowded, every 3 years or so, to make sure a strong flower show every spring.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

White bearded iris and snow-in-summer (Cerastium tomentosum, revealed here) create an elegant white-on-white combination. Plant rhizomes in a trench in thin soil.

USDA zones: 3 to 11
Water requirement: Low
moderate requirement: Total sun
Mature size: 2-3 feet tall and 1 1/2 feet broad
Seasonal interest: Spring
When to plant: Potted plants may be planted spring or fall; rhizomes should be planted in late summer.

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Woolly Veronica
(Veronica pectinata)

Named for its small, furry, buttery leaves, woolly veronica is level, semievergreen and drought tolerant.Little blue flowers with white eyes protect the plant in midspring. It is an perfect ground cover in hot, sunny areas, such as parking strips, spaces and sidewalk borders or moderate slopes for year-round erosion management. Use it as a companion plant to get spring-flowering bulbs such as crocuses and species tulips. Woolly veronica is both deer and rabbit resistant. Plant it in any soil.

USDA zones: 4 to 9
Water requirement: Really low
moderate requirement: Full sun to partial shade
Mature size: 2 inches tall and 18 inches broad
Seasonal interest: Springtime blossoms; foliage yearlong
When to plant: Spring or fall

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