Lantana hybrid ‘New Gold’ 'New Gold' Lantana


Ruler icon 2-3 ft. high x 2-4 ft. wide

Sun icon Full sun

Thermometer icon USDA zones 9-11

Solid gold colored round blooms against dark green foliage. ‘New Gold’ is a popular, well-behaved Lantana selection from Texas. Lantanas are subtropical native, woody perennial flowering plants. ‘New Gold’ are self-sterile which means more blooming and no dropping or reseeding fruits. Plants have compact growth with oval to round, rough dark green leaves and slightly prickly stems. After flowering plants can be lightly pruned or sheared for size control, but choosing the right sized cultivar for the space is important to help reduce how frequently the Lantana’s need to be trimmed. Cutting them back too frequently can eliminate flower displays. Regular, supplemental water during the hottest months keeps them healthy and happy.

Lantana montevidensis Purple Trailing Lantana


Ruler icon up to 2 ft. high x 3-6 ft. wide

Sun icon Full sun

Thermometer icon USDA zones 9-11

Lavender blooms on woody groundcover. These woody perennial long-blooming plants are as easy as they come. Low maintenance, durable, adaptable with dark green rough leaves that grow on low growing woody stems. With extra water plants are aggressive. Give them time and space to fill out. Good for erosion control, slopes, terraced beds, large containers, spilling over walls, and as low foundation shrubs. In spring to early summer copious amounts of round lavender blooms cover the plant. Plants pruned often to limit their size will start growing more upright and less flat.

Lonicera japonica Hall's Honeysuckle, Japanese Honeysuckle


Ruler icon up to 30 ft. high & wide

Sun icon Part to full shade

Thermometer icon USDA zones 5-10

Sturdy, woody perennial fragrant flowering vine. For utility and durability this vine cannot be beaten. In wetter parts of the country, these vines are considered noxious weeds. In our arid climate they have little to no self-spreading tendencies. Woody, gray stems are covered with round to oval, dark green pubescent leaves. Strongly fragrant white to creamy yellow tubular flowers are borne in clusters during spring. These vines are semi-deciduous in low deserts but can lose leaves completely in colder zones, but are cold hardy to -20°F. As a vine they need support to climb. A trellis, chain-link, arbors or tripods. As a groundcover they will sprawl along the ground, but will root in where they touch the ground at nodes along the stems where soil is moist.

Plumbago auriculata (Syn. Plumbago capensis) Blue Cape Plumbago


Ruler icon up to 6 ft. high x 5-10 ft. wide

Sun icon Part to full sun

Thermometer icon USDA zones 9-11

Free form, sprawling plants with bright sky blue blooms. Mounding or sprawling plants with long arching wiry herbaceous green stems. Bright green soft elliptic leaves do not cover stems completely, giving them an open, cloud-like appearance. Long bright sky blue tubular flowers form in clusters at the ends of all the branches. Blooms from spring to summer and again in fall to winter while temperatures are warm. Plants are susceptible to frosts, but quickly recover after cutting back. Plants require well-drained soil. Cape plumbago are more rugged than their initial appearance suggests. They make good, colorful informal foundation shrubs and they work well cascading down slopes, banks, or raised beds. In low deserts, morning sun with afternoon shade is best, and regular irrigation.

Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’ Trailing Rosemary


Ruler icon up to 2 ft. high x 4-8 ft. wide

Sun icon Full to part sun

Thermometer icon USDA zones 8-11

Hardy, green groundcover with aromatic foliage. Rosemary plants have short needle-like, dark green resinous foliage that emits a distinctive fragrance, especially when the leaves are crushed. They are known and used commonly as rich culinary herb. This selection is a low growing form used as a groundcover, to trail over walls or raised beds, and for erosion control on slopes. They are tolerant of heat, and drought with some cold tolerance to around 20°F. They can be grown in some shade, but they perform best in full sun. They flower in spring with masses of tiny light sky blue flowers that are highly attractive to bees. They must be planted in well-drained soil but are not too particular about the pH. They are not fast growers but once planted they steadily spread, staying low to the ground and eventually grow into a mounded form.

Russelia equisetiformis Coral Fountan


Ruler icon up to 4 ft. high x 4-6 ft. wide

Sun icon Part to full sun

Thermometer icon USDA zones 9-11

Astonishing performer in harsh conditions. Woody but herbaceous looking plants that form sizable dense mounds of bright green leaf-less stems that become covered with masses of red to orange tubular flowers from spring to fall. They are drought tolerant, but as with other tropical plants they will perform best with some additional summer moisture in low desert landscapes. Their sprawling graceful habit makes them well suited for planters, raised beds, spilling over walls or other hardscape elements, especially around the pool or patio. They also work well in containers or hanging baskets. Although they bloom best in full sun, they will still push some blooms in a half day of sun. Hummingbirds cannot resist the masses of red flowers.  Plants can be cut back hard if frozen or to refresh their foliage. This should be done in late winter to early spring, otherwise little to no maintenance is required.