Drought resistant gardens and planting from cuttings

drought resistant gardens

Amaryllis can tell you from experience that you’ve seen lush, drought-resistant gardens that bring color year-round.

He found out by accident, in California, when he stumbled upon a property that a couple had planned for more than twenty years. The garden was on a hillside that would otherwise have been desert land. But instead, this land was drenched with succulents and ice plants dripping with fluorescent purples and oranges and pinks and bright greens. At certain times of the year, bearded lilies bloomed. They were planted under the ice plant mat and emerged in the spring.

He learned that there were fall bulbs and spring bulbs. By learning what blooms in each month, one can create color throughout the year.

Learn the Native Plants that adapt to the climate in which you live. They bloom naturally! Learn about native plants where you live. Just take a look around you.

Sowing from cuttings

He started his ginger from cuttings in Hana, Maui. Heliconias can be started from a root section and also spread with very little effort. Taro can be planted in both dry land and wetlands, and can be grown for both its beauty and its consumption. Amaryllis love the huge leaves of the taro plant, and there are many varieties. He loves to eat poi and lau lau (fish, pork, or chicken wrapped in a taro leaf, tied in a bundle of ti leaves, and steamed for cooking).

It’s so delicious

Many plants can be started from cuttings or divisions of mother plants and indeed the taro is a symbol of the Family, because it lives on and on. The mother root produces keikis (children), which branch out and create new families of their own. When the root is removed to be boiled and pounded into poi, the smaller roots are separated from the mother root and replanted to make new crops. Ask your aunts, friends or neighbors for cuttings or plants that need to be divided.

Meet other gardeners who love to plant.

Amaryllis Expert, Amaryllis How Does Your Garden Grow? “Organically, of course!” By Marilyn Jansen (available November) at www.amaryllisofhawaii.com and stores in the Hawaiian Islands and Las Vegas Nevada.