The top drought tolerant plants for pots are Sedum, Sempervivum (Hen and Chicks), and Portulaca. The top pick goes to Sedum 'Angelina' for its bright gold color and total neglect tolerance. You can leave your pot for weeks and come back to find it thriving. These three are the best container drought tolerant plants you can buy.
I tested six container plants through a two-week vacation last August. The pots got zero water for 14 hot days. Only the Sedum, Hen and Chicks, and Portulaca looked the same when I got home. The Petunias and Impatiens were toast. From that point on, I plant only tough types in my front pots.
In my experience, pots dry out far faster than ground beds. You have a small soil volume that holds less water. The pot has exposed sides that lose moisture to the air on all sides. And air flow moves freely around the pot, pulling water out fast in any breeze.
The result is that even a tough plant in a pot needs more help than the same plant in the ground. But the picks below shrug off this issue. They store water inside their leaves and stems. So when the soil dries out, they keep going on their own internal reserves for days or weeks.
Sedum 'Angelina'
- Color impact: Bright gold-green needles turn orange-red in fall for two-tone color all year long.
- Care needs: Lives through weeks of zero watering in pots and survives even when soil bone-dries out.
- Zone range: Hardy in zones 3 to 9 and stays small enough to fit in containers as small as 6 inches.
Hen and Chicks
- Water need: Needs water just once a month in summer and far less in fall, winter, and spring weather.
- Size profile: Stays under 6 inches tall and makes baby plants that fill the pot on their own over time.
- Zone range: Hardy in zones 3 to 8 with full sun and lives outside in pots all year in most climates.
Portulaca
- Bloom power: Pumps out bright pink, red, yellow, or orange flowers in midsummer heat with weekly water.
- Heat love: Thrives at 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) when other annuals wilt and fade fast.
- Easy grow: Annual in most zones, blooms for 3 to 4 months straight with one watering each week.
Agave and Yucca
- Bold form: Sword-shaped leaves give your pot a strong vertical line that draws the eye from far away.
- Zone range: Tough types live in zones 5 to 11 depending on the species you pick for your area.
- Care needs: Wants water just once or twice a month in summer with no extra feeding at all.
Pick a bigger pot to extend your watering window with succulents for containers. A 12-inch pot holds water far longer than a 6-inch one. Larger pots also keep roots cooler in summer heat. I switched from small clay pots to 14-inch plastic pots and cut my watering in half right away.
Use a gritty soil mix for these tough types. Buy bagged cactus mix or blend your own with one part potting soil, one part coarse sand, and one part pumice or perlite. This blend drains fast so roots never sit in water. From my own tests, the wrong soil kills more low water container plants than the wrong watering schedule does.
Group your pots in light afternoon shade to cut water loss even more. Morning sun gives the plants the light they need to bloom and grow. Afternoon shade cuts heat stress on the pot and slows the soil from drying out. Even drought lovers like Portulaca do better with this slight break from the hottest hours of the day.
Top your pot soil with a thin layer of gravel or small stones. This step slows water loss from the soil surface and keeps the crowns of the plants dry to stop rot. These potted drought plants pay you back with months of beauty for just a few minutes of care each week. Your container garden plants will be the toughest part of your yard.
Read the full article: 15 Best Drought Tolerant Plants
