Drought-Tolerant Plants: An Expert Gardener’s Top Choices

The need to conserve water in the garden is increasingly becoming a challenge throughout many parts of the United States. Some areas of the country, like California, the Southwest and Texas, have naturally arid climates, while many other spots are experiencing extended periods of drought during the growing season. As a result, more gardeners are starting to use drought-tolerant plants in their ornamental planting.

Here are a few plants I recommend for both their ability to withstand dry periods and their sheer beauty in the garden:

Succulents immediately come to mind when seeking drought-tolerant plants for a waterwise garden. This group has swollen leaves and stems that act as a reservoir for water. Sedums qualify as succulents, and there are literally hundreds of species and cultivars from which to choose.

One that stands out is ‘Angelina’ stonecrop (Sedum rupestre ‘Angelina’; USDA Zones 5–9), which received the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Gold Medal Award as an outstanding ornamental plant for the Mid-Atlantic. Its narrow succulent leaves shine a bright golden yellow throughout the growing season, and in many climates they remain evergreen, adding color for the winter.

Forming a ground-hugging mat one to two feet wide, ‘Angelina’ is most treasured for its foliage. The hybrid S. ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ (Zones 3–9) offers very attractive golden-yellow flowers that add to its appeal in early summer. Out of bloom, it offers very dark green foliage and a mounding, spreading habit.

Both ‘Angelina’ and ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ grow no taller than six inches, but there are plenty of taller sedums among drought-tolerant plants. Hybrid S. Purple Emperor’ (Zones 3–7) stands upright to 15 inches tall, with dark purple foliage. It is perfect for the front of the perennial border, where it will contribute flat clusters of tiny pink-purple flowers in late summer and autumn. Like all the sedums, it is excellent at attracting pollinators.

Euphorbias thrive in Mediterranean climates around the world, places marked by low precipitation and well-drained soil. I grow several different euphorbias at home in my gravel garden, where the granite gravel runs four to six inches deep.

The burrow-tail euphorbia (Euphorbia myrsinites; Zones 4–8) has striking chartreuse flowers in the early spring, complementing blue-gray leaves on low-growing stems that clamber over the ground. This species serendipitously self-sows throughout the gravel garden. If I don’t want it in a particular spot, I simply pull out the seedlings. (Note: Euphorbia myrsinites is listed as invasive in New Mexico, Utah, Oregon and Washington.)

Related: Love the color chartreuse? Check out these foliage plants.

‘Miner’s Merlot’ (Zones 6–9) and Blackbird (‘Nothowlee’; Zones 6–9), both hybrid euphorbias, grow as tufts of upright stems lined in purple leaves. Atop the foliage in the spring are sprays of yellow flowers. Both plants can reach two feet tall. Their leaves shift to maroon-tinged olive green with age.

At Pennsylvania’s Chanticleer, the gravel garden hosts the very architectural Mediterranean spurge (E. characias subsp. wulfenii; Zones 6–8). This euphorbia will take on shrub-like proportions in California gardens; in eastern Zone 7 gardens it makes a statement once established. Stout upright stems have large clusters of striking chartreuse flowers in the early spring. In the east, it needs excellent drainage and protection from wet conditions during the winter.

Not only are they drought-tolerant plants, but all euphorbias have a milky sap that makes them truly deer resistant in the garden. This sap can also irritate human skin, so wear gloves when working with them.

The deep-rooted flowering perennials and grasses of the Midwestern prairies are excellent at withstanding drought-like conditions. There are many outstanding ornamental-grass selections that have been made.

Garden designer Jeff Epping, who is often called the “gravel guru,” often uses little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium; Zones 3–10) in his designs. (Little bluestem was named Perennial Plant of the Year in 2022.) As the name would suggest, the strict upright foliage is blue, but it can also have hints of pink and red. Turning orange-red in the fall, this two-to-three-foot-tall grass will maintain its form for most of the winter.

Larger in stature is a selection of the big bluestem: Andropogon gerardii ‘Blackhawks’ (Zones 3–9). This grass, which has won several awards, including Perennial Plant of the Year for 2026, reaches four to five feet tall and has attractive upright leaves of deep purple. Both big and little bluestem combine well with flowering perennials such as amsonia, parthenium, milkweeds (Asclepias) and false indigos (Baptisia).

Among flowering drought-tolerant plants from the prairie, selections and hybrids of the deep-rooted Baptisia australis (Zones 4–9) are especially notable. In mid-spring, erect stems covered in pea-like flowers emerge, often towering over the foliage. To say that this plant has had a renaissance in the garden would be an underestimation. Many plant breeders have done amazing work to advance this genus.

The Chicago Botanic Garden has completed extensive trials and evaluations of baptisias over the last 30 years. Resultant recommendations include ‘Lemon Meringue’, with clear yellow flowers; the blue-flowered ‘Blueberry Sundae’; ‘Cherries Jubilee’, with bicolor flowers of burgundy and yellow; and the soft blue ‘Lunar Eclipse’. Baptisia flowers are often followed by black pods, which will rattle in the wind and provide late-season interest.

There are a handful of outstanding trees that are tolerant of drought as well as other harsh conditions. At the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, we promote two native oaks: the swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor; Zones 3–8) and the bur oak (Q. macrocarpa; Zones 3–8). Both species have a broad native range, a picturesque habit as they mature and yellow to golden fall foliage. Both have proven to be urban tough. 

Used throughout the Midwest and the East is the Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus; Zones 3–8). In its youth it can be a bit gangly and awkward, but over time it develops an architectural upright canopy. The large compound leaves have small leaflets that create light shade. The female trees can produce a stout pod that can be messy, so a male selection, such as ‘Espresso’, is recommended.

Image credits, top to bottom: Courtesy of Walters Gardens; Scott Zona/CC BY-NC 2.0/Flickr.com; Courtesy of Walters Gardens; Courtesy of Walters Gardens/Plant Image Library/CC BY-SA 2.0/Flickr.com