06/06/2026
Fun Fact Friday: Dormant, Not Dead.
As we get into the hotter summer months, your garden may look like how you feel after spending too much time outside: sad & thirsty. But before you get to watering and/or yanking, first determine if your plants are "summer deciduous". These special plants place all their energy into their roots during moments of intense drought, ensuring that they can survive until the Fall, when temperatures drop & rains offer reprieve. So, while their leaves are dry, the plant is far from dead--it's just "sleeping". In fact, you might find a whole lot of "life" surrounding your summer decidious plants: birds snacking on seeds, spiders forming webs to catch food, or leaf-cutter bees claiming the hollow stems as home.
Some examples of summer deciduous plants are desert marigold, penstemons, sagebrushes, brittlebush, California buckwheat, sages, and desert willow.
Over-watering summer deciduous plants can lead to root rot, so be sure to adjust your watering schedule. And remember, native plants need much less water than non-native plants.
