BY LINDA McGURK
Indiana Correspondent

COVINGTON, Ind. — After the massive flooding that drowned crops and swamped large parts of the Midwest last year, low-water gardening may not be the first thing that comes to mind when planning flowerbeds this spring.

But we only have to go back one year, to the summer of 2007, for a drought that broke records in parts of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky. Whether this growing season will be exceptionally dry or extremely wet, creating gardens that require little – if any – extra watering beyond what’s provided by Mother Nature will save time and resources in the long-term, according to one horticulturalist.

“Fifty to 60 percent of all residential water is used to water yards in some way, and about 50 percent of that water is either not needed or wasted,” said Mary Welch-Keesey, a consumer horticulture specialist with Purdue University, during a landscaping seminar in Covington, Ind.

“Even though Indiana usually gets plenty of rain, we still need to purify the water. So if we plant drought-tolerant gardens, everybody comes out ahead.”

Low-water gardening was pioneered by the Denver Water Co. in the 1980s in response to an extreme drought that threatened the city’s water supplies. The company called its plan to reduce residential water use xeriscaping, a term derived from xeros, the Greek word for dry.

The concept has since spread and is now used across the country to create beautiful landscapes without wasting natural resources, Welch-Keesey said.

“In Colorado, low-water gardening means that you get rid of your lawn. But Indiana is not Colorado, so we have to apply it differently here,” she said. “In Indiana we can grow a lawn without extra water. We just need to think more about how to make an efficient one, so the water doesn’t run off, and think ahead whether we’re going to water or not.”

Xeriscaping principles emphasize planning a lawn with water in mind. “The key point in Indiana is the concept of zoning, which means putting plants together that have the same water needs. If you have plants that need more water, put them in the lower area of the lawn, where it tends to stay damp,” said Welch-Keesey.
“With zoning, you just need to water a few spots in your yard rather than your whole yard.”

Low-watering gardening doesn’t mean one is limited to growing plants that need very dry soil, since plants are more likely to adapt to drier soils than they are to wetter ones. Xeriscaping does, however, encourage the use of native plants that are well adapted to the region’s climate, or non-natives from areas with similar climates.

“Using native plants in gardens started as a movement 15 to 20 years ago,” Welch-Keesey said. “You see a lot more (native plants) in nurseries today.”

In Indiana, there are literally thousands of native prairie grasses, trees, shrubs and flowers from which to choose. Trees and shrubs add shade and need the least water, thanks to their extensive root systems. For best results, Welch-Keesey recommended working organic matter into the soil and covering the flowerbeds with mulch to help the soil retain moisture.

An efficiently shaped lawn can also help save water. Keep the grass where the lawn is easy to water and mow, and replace it with groundcovers and shrubs where it’s not, she advised. And should another dry year like 2007 roll around, she said it’s important to decide on a watering strategy ahead of time instead of panicking when there hasn’t been any rain for a couple of weeks.
If you decide to water during a dry spell, do it deeply – 1 to 1.5 inches per week in one or two applications – and when evaporation is at its lowest point.

“In 2007 we received a lot of phone calls from people who said their lawns were dying, despite watering,” Welch-Keesey said. “But when I asked them to describe how often and how much they watered, it turned out they were watering every day for about 20 minutes. The problems were caused by people watering their lawns too frequently and too shallowly.”

If you instead decide not to water, instead letting the grass turn brown and go dormant, apply 1 to 1.5 inches after four to six weeks of no rain. The grass won’t turn green again, but it will survive.
For more information on xeriscaping and a list of drought-tolerant plants suitable for Indiana, go to www.indyzoo.com/pdf/Xeriscaping.pdf or contact Welch-Keesey at 317-630-3257.