Some perennials still flourish despite a marked lack of rain

In case anyone hasn’t been paying close attention to the weather, lately, may I observe that it has been uncommonly dry? Although the state’s apple and blueberry crops came in above average, many gardeners would rate the growing season just passed as one of the worst, on account of drought. It was all a matter of where you lived and whether you got lucky with passing thundershowers.

Driving down Essex Street in Bangor, I notice a peculiar quality to the autumn foliage. Closer inspection reveals that the stately old sugar maples are in severe moisture stress, as evidenced by the scorched margins of the leaves. Some trees actually look as though they were variegated.

Complaints about the weather should be forwarded skyward, and since this is still the state of Maine, the weather is bound to change, soon. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to look on the bright side of the drought. What I’ve come up with is a new appreciation for the ability of some perennials to flourish despite the lack of rain.

In front of our house lie the remains of two old flower beds, abandonded these 4 1/2 years. The soil is nearly gravel and shot full of maple roots, which surely must be nature’s most efficient moisture sucking organs. The exposure is full sun, and with the drought of 1992 factored in, it is safe to say that any plant still surviving in this environment is tough!

Creeping phlox (Phlox subulata) heads the list of what I would like to call Rambo’s perennials. Sometimes called cemetery flower, this popular plant survives in old graveyards for decades, competing effectively with grass and weeds, despite its less than half a foot of stature. Red, pink and blue are a bit stronger than the white selection I have, but all seem perfectly content with the poor conditions they are growing under.

Perennial geranium (Geranium sanguineum) continues to expand its presence in these old gardens. The original plant is more than three feet across, and its seedlings have popped up as far as 30 feet away. In full bloom, the magenta flowers nearly obscure the foliage, and for a week or so this plant, sometimes called bloody cranesbill, reigns supreme. Incidentally, other geraniums that are equally as drought tolerant include, Johnson’s Blue, White Lancastriense, and Geranium ibericum platypetalum.

Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia punctata) is more luxuriant when grown in a moist, well-drained soil, but as is often the case with stressed-out plants, reproductive activity such as flowering is stimulated by adversity.

Daylilies are as well known for their toughness as for their tendency to grow into monstrously large clumps. I may have stumbled onto a solution to the latter tendency. Plant them in a desert, and daylilies remain about hte same size year after year. Flower size is somewhat reduced, though.

Another plant that is apt to grow too tall, requiring staking, in a more lush environment is Platycodon, the balloon flower. In my little patch of Gobi this plant stays a convenient 16 inches and blooms in early August when one is apt to lose all hope of seeing any more color in the garden.

Russell lupines have done surprisingly well with so little water. Year after year they bloom and seed themselves down, the offspring looking very much miniaturized by their poor environment.

Sedums and sempervivums, because of their succulent leaves and alpine origins, do very well in a xeric setting. It does seem that they are slowly loosing the battle for soilspace to the ever-present maple roots, however.

Lastly, I must mention a plant that I wish were less adaptible to dry growing conditions. Artemesia absinthum (absinthe) is a champ at seeding itself everywhere and growing into lovely, silver-leaved specimens that are hard to pull because they look so nice in the spring, but are ugly and ratty in late summer and autumn.

Michael Zuck of Bangor is a horticulturist and the NEWS garden columnist. Send inquiries to him at 2106 Essex St., Bangor, Maine 04401.