9 potted plants that need little water

People who work all day hardly have time for intensive care measures for their plants. If hot, dry summers are then added, a somewhat bleak picture often emerges on the balcony and terrace. Because although there is frequent watering, the potted plants suffer from heat and drought. It doesn't have to be like that, because there are some survivors among the potted plants that can survive longer periods of heat because they hardly need any water.

Low water requirement

The magic word is drought-resistant or at least drought-tolerant. This term includes plants that are naturally occurring due to their extremely low nutrient and water requirements For example, they grow particularly well on gravelly-sandy flatland soils that have only sparse rainfall quickly let seep away.

For example, the following require little water:

• Succulents
• Mediterranean plants
• Plants from desert areas and savannahs
• alpine plants from high altitudes

Even if it hardly rains in the natural range of the plants, many of them form long root systems in order to reach deeper layers of the earth and thus to water. As a result, very few potted plants survive weeks of drought.

Mediterranean trees

Due to the hot summers and the barren, dry soils, which rarely see rainfall, plants are out the Mediterranean area is significantly more frugal than many plants from Central or Northern Europe, which the water demand concerns. The following potted plants manage with little irrigation water.

Triple flower (bougainvillea)

The triple flower, better known under the name bougainvillae, is the star among the drought-resistant climbing plants. As an ornamental plant, the Bougainvillae glabra, which comes from Brazil, is commercially available, the original shape of which has purple bracts. A triple flower generally only needs a little irrigation water. If it is too dry, the bougainvillae simply sheds its leaves in summer and waits for the next water supply. With a little luck you can bring the plant back to life, which may have been without water for weeks during your vacation.

Wig bush (cotinus coggygria)

In its Asian and southern European homeland, the wig bush usually thrives in sunny, stony locations. This is why the gardener will find this extraordinary plant to be a very frugal wood that is not particularly thirsty. However, since the shrub only develops shallow roots, the water balance must not be completely lost sight of when planting tubs. However, the wig bush indicates when it is suffering from drought, and before it is threatened with harm. Because if the leaves hang down limply, this is a clear sign that watering has to be done again.

Citrus plants (citrus)

Citrus trees come from the warm south and feel comfortable in sheltered places on the terrace or balcony. In summer, citrus plants can also tolerate great heat and drought. If the temperatures get colder again in autumn, however, the container plant has to go back into the apartment. At around 10 degrees, the tree survives even the winters in our latitudes. With the exception of the lemon tree, which grows a little more expansively, most citrus plants are rather compact in appearance. With good care, they can grow up to 2.5 meters high in a bucket. For the sun-hungry plants, it is completely sufficient if they are watered once or twice a week.

• lemon Tree
• Lime tree
• Orange tree

Rockrose (Cistus)

All types of rockrose are native to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. In these rain-poor areas, they grow on poor, dry and often stony soils in full sun. Even extreme heat in the midday hours does not affect the beautiful flowering shrub. Depending on the species, rock roses grow up to 80 centimeters tall and have green or gray-green, fragrant leaves with fine hairs. The petals are as thin as parchment and usually look slightly wrinkled. The rock rose prefers to be as sunny and warm as possible and hardly needs to be watered.

Olive tree (Olea europaea)

The most characteristic plant for the Mediterranean region is the olive tree. With its trunk, which is gnarled in old age and the small gray-green leaves, it defies the hot and dry environmental conditions in its home region particularly well. Between watering the olive tree, not only the upper layer of soil should dry out, but also the deeper regions. That is why it is only poured when the root ball is already dry.

Native shrubs and trees

Most of the following woody plants are not drought-loving, but rather can be classified as drought-tolerant. Many of them need very bright locations and only switch to dry areas in nature because other woody plants do not grow there. In terms of drought, the growth and youth phase of almost all potted plants is a bit critical. Ingrown trees on very dry locations form smaller, harder leaves to protect themselves from evaporation.

Common barberry (Berberis vulgaris)

With the real barberry, also called sour thorn, you get a very undemanding shrub plant on the balcony or terrace. Berberis vulgaris is characterized by its dark green leaves and yellow flowers in spring, which together create a beautiful play of colors. While the leaves turn orange in autumn, their fruits shine scarlet red. A barberry copes well with the occasional drought. However, the wood grows very quickly, so that you cannot avoid one or the other cut.

Fire maple (Acer ginnala)

Without a doubt, the fire maple is one of the most robust and undemanding maples of all. The small tree is perfect for planting in pots outdoors, as it grows very slowly and does not require any special care measures. Fire maples do not need pruning or high amounts of nutrients. On the contrary: the leaves are most beautifully colored in autumn, when the nutrients in the soil are somewhat lower. Only newly planted specimens have to be watered regularly in the first two years. Well-grown trees are not very sensitive to longer periods of drought.

Other types of maple with very low water requirements:

• Norway maple
• Field maple
• Sycamore maple

Palm trees

Undemanding palm trees for balconies and patios

It is true that palms are generally considered to be plants that can cope with little water. Nevertheless, most species do not tolerate drought and the bale has to be kept slightly moist at all times. The palm species that can survive longer dry seasons include:

Hemp palms (Trachycarpus)

The hemp palm doesn’t care whether it is in partial shade or the blazing sun. This palm can handle just about anything: heat, drought and strong winds. A hemp palm requires very little water and, on the other hand, can withstand short-term waterlogging. In addition, the popular container plant is very frost-resistant and can therefore remain outside in winter (with protection).

Very robust varieties of the hemp palm are:

• Chinese hemp palm (Trachycarpus fortunei)
• Wagner's hemp palm (Trachycarpus wangerianus)

Blue-leaved yucca (Yucca rostrata)

The blue-leaved palm lily, which is not actually a palm, is not very sensitive to a lack of water. This yucca palm is characterized by its blue-green tuft of leaves and the strongly structured trunk, which can be traced back to the leaf attachments of older, dead leaves. The robust container plant only needs very little watering, even in hot summers.

Evaporation protection

Drought-resistant plants usually have their own protection against excessive evaporation and drought. Thick-leaved plants are able to store water for a long time. Others reduce evaporation with their tomentose-hairy leaves or their small leaf surface. But that does not mean that the trees generally do not need water. Almost all potted plants need sufficient amounts of moisture in the growth phase. However, the species mentioned are also well protected against one or the other dry period, so that they do not require as much care as other plants when the heat continues. But there is also something you can do that doesn't have to be poured so often.

• Use plastic pots or glazed pots instead of terracotta pots
• Terracotta allows the moisture to evaporate faster through the vessel wall
• do not choose black, but light pot colors
• Cover the plant substrate with clay granules or gravel
• Mix any water-storing granules with the substrate