Changing Climate - Plants to Keep or Toss

I have been rolling around in my mind which of my coastal garden plants will likely expire if this pattern continues

I am making a list of what I am keeping (not at any expense of resource - I am a lazy and practical gardener)

So far - in this garden - KEEP survivors -
Arp rosemary
Oregano
A certain mint i like for flavor
Lilies in containers - certain ones
Tête à tête daffodil
Vine Maples ;of course!)
Asters
Salal
Sword ferns
Certain hostas
Heuchera maybe?
Certain hardy geraniums
Rockery hens and chicks


MAYBE LIST
well - I think our rhodos might not be happy moving forward

Hydrangea if there is water

Roses - as above

I don’t like grasses - we are hot dry then shade cold wet - so it’s a no-go (Lavender same)

—————

I wonder what is in everyone else’s lists of observations etc this past heat dry wet etc

 

I'm just starting to put together a list of plants that have done fairly well and will share that ASAP.
One category that has been set on its ear as far as my garden is concerned is that of local BC native plants - my go-to favourites for so many years - many of which have died left and right, even though they have succeeded here for eons. Quite illuminating and tragic.

 

Not that anthropogenic climate change isn't happening but wild living plant populations can also be subject to natural adversities over time that change where species occur and how many of them there are. Likewise planted specimens of both species plants and horticultural selections very often end up being stuck where the situation is not the best for that particular kind. So that when the right combination of factors occurs failure follows. Even though there may have been a long period of growth and development up to that point.

 

What you say certainly makes sense. An example I see frequently of plants that "very often end up being stuck where the situation is not the best for that particular kind" is sword ferns germinating in a rock outcrop. They may do well for a year or two especially when they get watered but eventually they die because there's not enough soil.

Could you give me a couple of examples of natural adversities over time (other than anthropogenic climate change) that would change over time? I guess sun/shade would be one. In my garden and in my neighbourhood, the only variable I can identify as a cause for so many plants to die is the lack of water year after year. Thuja plicata is the most obvious casualty but there are several others even among perennials and groundcovers that have been considered drought tolerant.

 

I'll add a few more things to your list of keepers:
-Full sun, no water at all:
Stachys (lamb's ear)
Rose campion
Oenothera (evening primrose)
-Partial sun, hand watered just enough about once a week:
Pacific wax myrtle
Achillea (yarrow)
Pulmonaria (lungwort)
Ninebarks and Ribes did very well, BUT they are also planted in spots that stay moist enough to keep grass green all year.
The wax myrtles and yarrow would likely have been fine without water, if they were in the ground longer. The only plants I lost at home were two small trees, one which was planted early in spring, and the other was still in a pot and I failed to adequately water it (expensive mistake).
At work there were quite a few dogwoods that suffered badly or may have died from lack of water. All were the same species, Cornus kousa I believe.

If anyone has any observations about trees that did fine in the hot and dry conditions, I'd be interested to read them. I'd like to get planting some replacements for the deaders this fall.

 

I have listed some plants below that I saw die in mass during and after the heatwave. Keep in mind all of these plants are in non-irrigated shrub beds that do not receive any supplemental watering.

- Erica x darleyensis (Heather)
- Erica carnea (Heather)
- Viburnum davidii
- Cotoneaster dammeri (Bearberry)
- Polystichum munitum (Western Swordfern)
- Vaccinium delavayi (Blueberry)
- Leucanthemum x superbum (Shasta Daisy) - got crispy, but should be fine next year.

A lot of these shrub beds were surrounded by a hot asphalt parking lot which did not help. Personally, like others have said, I think the heatwave and drought just highlighted plants which are not in their ideal conditions. For example the Swordferns were in full sun in an non-irrigated bed.....

Interesting nonetheless.

 

This is interesting and of course as others have already pointed out - right plant, right or wrong place (eg the aforementioned native sword ferns in full sun parched landscaping)

I am adding « lady’s mantle » as a positive keeper for dry shade (alchemilla mollis). Yes it gets a bit tattered but easily trims off and comes back

On thé wild side - fireweed (please only if you have 100 acres!) does well and hummers and bees love it

Foxglove (digitalis) ... again, you’ve been warned

Linaria (purple toadflax) - yes a weed for some gardeners but the bees love it - it seeds freely and is easy to pull

California poppy

Columbine flower

A small Marguerite - real name is a mystery - but the flower is white with yellow center - very small - like a US/Cdn 5 cent coin.

Lupine - just the normal roadside purple ones

Lychnis Silene coronaria - Wikipedia

I might reconsider what I stated at the original post - my explorer rose (looks like rugosa) has done quite well

http://canadianrosesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Explorer.pdf

 

Could you all, please, make it very clear in your lists, which are the keepers and which are in the toss column, since the thread title asks you for lists of each. Georgia, I mean you - don't just have a line
saying "Columbine flower". What about it?

That reads like keeper to me, but I thought you started the paragraph with right plant, wrong place, but then the next line was a positive keeper, then a Foxglove warning, and then these other lines that don't say whether you're declaring them keepers or ones to remove.

 

Manzanita trees did well provided they received ZERO supplemental water. To me that’s the ideal plant for this past summers heat. As to be expected, Mediterranean type plants generally faired well. Olea and Rosemary were happy in the heat. Perennial flowers like agastache were among winners in the heat wave. I have a large number of yucca rostrata and agave parryi that all thrived in areas with no irrigation. For milder coastal regions, the grevillea were wonderful this year as they looked perfect without demanding any regular water.

 

All keepers - with warnings

 

I think this other thread offers related thoughts and insights to consider

British Columbia: - drought resistant, fast growing, evergreen tree

Cadillac Desert is a good old book detailing human control and use of water up as recently as Columbia River Treaty (which still controls Okanagan Lake to this day, I believe - pls correct me)
Cadillac Desert - Wikipedia

I think I am of similar sentiment as @Nik has posted - I am a strict plant guardian - and water not very often

I do collect rain water out on our suburban driveway (not from the roof) so the birds, deer, and other fauna have some dishes from which to hydrate

Our rural place is off grid so one learns quickly how precious water and sunlight are - it’s an eye opener.

I enjoy reading here all the ideas

 

Manzanita —- I think of that as being Oregon Coast at its northernmost occurrence

And it is evergreen here in SW BC?

I hope you can post photos of your garden.

 

Arctostaphylos generally grow quite well up here. In a few areas around west van you can find arctostaphylos columbiana, though they are sometimes more prone to spotting than some of the manzanita from southern Oregon and California. I have quite a few different arctostaphylos in the garden with a favourite being arcto silvicola ‘ghostly.’


There’s a few manzanita… all in their infancy, but thriving on zero water and quickly becoming garden favourites!

 

this hybrid from cistus nursery is a personal favourite. It is completely resistant to spotting and is in a couple over years already 6.5 feet tall. It should develop into a nice small tree with excellent bark colour. I will search in the archives for the name and post it.

 

Hello Rainforest (atmospheric river is an understatement )

I am outside on the porch (under cover) looking at chores from a damp distance

And here is one for my KEEP list : ajuga reptans Bronze Beauty

AJUGA reptans 'Bronze Beauty' - Bronze Beauty Bugleweed

- it does well in semi shade, dry conditions such as past summer

In a pot mixed in with some hosta

Be forewarned that it can spread so use caution —- it’s no worse than periwinkle (vinca). And definitely way better than ivy on my opinion.