Tough as nails groundcover. ‘Low Boy’ is an evergreen, woody plant that can grow to variable sizes, but stays lower than most. Thick, leathery gray-green leaves cover woody stems with bright yellow catkin-like flowers appearing in spring. These plants are low water use, but will appreciate regular irrigation to get established. Pruning for size can be done almost anytime with these durable plants, but know that when they are trimmed hard or repeatedly they will become woody and lose their more herbaceous appearance. Suitable for large open spaces, slopes or erosion control projects in low deserts or coastal environments. Easy-to-grow, cultivate, and maintain, just give them space to spread.

Bright yellow blooms above aromatic leaves. These semi-evergreen subshrubs form mounds of woody stems with short dark green needle-like leaves that emit a strong but pleasant herbily scent when crushed.  Spring temperatures bring masses of bright yellow star-shaped blooms that cover the entire mass of plants. Damianita are tough little shrubs that are as happy in a mixed perennial bed as they are living on dry, rocky slopes. Moderate to low water use, maintenance is limited to periodic thinning, or light shearing to keep plants flushed with bright new foliage.

Soft silvery mounds with bright white blooms. These mounding subshrubs are tougher than they look. They form domes of silvery, pubescent gray-green long leaves to only 1-2 ft. high, but they will spread in width to a sizeable space, making proper placement and sitting critical in landscapes. In spring, masses of pink buds open to white morning glory-like flowers covering the entire plant. These plants resent shearing or heavy-handed pruning, which means giving them ample room to fill out fully is important to their long-term success. These are Mediterranean plants, which translates into giving them little to no supplemental water during cooler months of the year. Cold temperatures and wet soils can combine to cause root rot issues that most do not recover from. Pruning in winter is also ill-advised. Savvy growers recognize Mediterranean plants require excellent drainage to be healthy and happy.

Golden flowering adaptable groundcover. An interesting and adaptable herbaceous looking woody subshrub or groundcover. Its ability to go winter dormant in cold, high desert landscapes and its tolerance for fierce reflected heat in the hottest, low desert locations makes Gold Dalea a valuable groundcover. Low mounding plants with dark green compound leaves with a light citrus scent. In late summer to fall, golden-yellow pea-like flowers appear held well above the foliage. These herbaceous looking plants require well-draining soil and while they will tolerate some dappled shade, more sun yields the best flower displays.

Silver foliage, purple flowering subshrub. As a young container plant they may be cute, or diminutive looking, but they grow at a steady, moderate rate to become durable, resilient landscape behemoths. When first introduced, these Daleas were unknowingly represented by nurseries as small, manageable groundcovers. However, given optimal conditions and care, Dalea greggii can grow to be 10 ft. across and 3-4 ft. tall, which is way out of size for most urban, postage-stamp sized landscapes. While some pruning can help control their size, landscapers should recognize that more pruning leads to more woody, misshapen plants with little to no flowers. The moral of this story is, please embrace this subshrub for its attractive silvery foliage, lavender blooms, and tough, tenacious nature, but respect its growth potential and give it ample space to be happy. Like all Dalea sp. they require well-drained soil. Initial supplemental watering is necessary to get them established, but growth on mature plants can be slowed by reducing the amount of water they receive. Utilize annual, selective thinning in early spring to help control their shape and size when necessary.

Wide, evergreen lush-looking groundcover. This Emu stays relatively low, but it can spread wide as it matures. We list this plant at a comfortable 5-6 ft. spread, but some older specimens in Phoenix and Palm Springs have been noted to have grown to 10 ft. wide or more. They are not considered aggressive growers though. Selective annual pruning right after flowering is all that is needed to control their size. Low to moderate water needs and well-draining soils are all they need to be healthy and happy. Bright
green, lush foliage is covered by golden yellow blooms starting in winter with bloom peeking in early spring

Divine, heady fragranced waxy white flowers. While the word everblooming may be an over exaggeration, these small, compact shiny dark green shrubs remain popular because of their reliable intoxicating fragrant blooms. In low deserts these plants require shade to part sun locations, such as morning sun with afternoon shade. Under large shade trees with dappled sunlight is also acceptable, but the secret to raising Gardenias is soil amendments. These plants are native to rainforests of central Asia and Japan, where soils are organically rich and acidic. Lowering the soil pH to an acceptable level of 5.0 to 6.5 is needed to keep Gardenias and other acid-loving plants happy in our low desert environment. Regular, supplemental irrigation, minimal pruning and keeping all the fallen flowers picked up are the only other maintenance requirements for these hardy, well-behaved shrubs. NOTE: If you would like advice on how to properly lower your soil pH, please feel free to call our sales team!

Evergreen, indestructible dwarf shrubs. Small, slow-growing naturally globe-shaped woody shrubs have little dark green leaves against light gray stems. Insignificant cream colored spring flowers set into small, red round berries for added interest.  They are the perfect choice for formal, low hedge shrubs for low desert to more mesic landscape designs. They accept alkaline soils just fine and become more drought resistant once they are established and mature. While we discourage shearing for most evergreen shrubs, the growth habit of this plant lends itself to shearing quite well.

Velvety foliage topped with bright orange blooms. Bright green oval, highly pubescent leaves grow along green prominently jointed stems. In full sun they will grow quite dense and will grow large if they are well-watered. They can tolerate more drought but leaves will typically be smaller and more sparse. They look most lush in the morning sun, with afternoon shade. They are quite comfortable growing beneath desert legumes like Mesquite, Palo Verde or Ironwoods, although they will typically stay lower and spread wider. No matter where you plant them, bright orange narrow tubular flowers form in clusters at the ends of each branch to provide a sweet display. The heaviest blooming is during spring, but plants will throw out blooms nearly all year. Excessive watering encourages more and larger foliage and inhibits flowering, not what you want.