If you want Las Vegas landscaping that is attractive, it is important to select climate-friendly flowers and plants. Along with beauty, the type of plants you have will determine how much water you use, whether the plants will thrive, and how much time you need to spend on maintenance. In Las Vegas, where there is mostly sun and high temperatures, your plants need to be suitable for those conditions. Here are six colorful flowers that thrive in the Nevada climate and will make your Vegas landscaping sing.
1. Lewis Blue Flax
Lewis Blue Flax is a perennial wildflower that is found all across North America. It is native to Las Vegas and will give you delightful brilliant periwinkle blue blossoms that close in the evening and open again in the morning. This plant will automatically reseed itself and continue producing colorful flowers for several years. It starts to bloom in mid-May and continues through July. The plants grow from two to three feet tall and are about one foot wide. It grows the best in sunlight but will tolerate a little shade.
Lewis Blue Flax is considered a medicinal plant. The seeds have a high oil content and are edible if they are cooked. They taste nutty and are very nutritious and can be eaten alone or as a seasoning. However, they are toxic if eaten raw, so make sure you cook them.
2. Palmer’s Penstemon
Palmer’s Penstemon is a perennial plant that has many showy, light pink blossoms and can grow up to six feet tall. It needs to be planted in deep soil that has good drainage. If possible, this is a good one to plant from a seed. The flowers are rounded and sometimes a pale lavender color. This plant also has a beautiful scent, which is rare for this genus. It is native to the western United States from Wyoming to New Mexico. It is a very drought-tolerant plant that requires little water and is perfect for landscaping in Las Vegas.
Penstemon palmeri blooms from May through August. The blossoms are usually pink but may have deep pink or purplish lines. It likes full sunlight and sandy soil. This is a good one to use as a background for other plants as it blossoms high on the stem.
3. French Mulberry
The French Mulberry is an ornamental plant that produces deep-purple fruit that is edible. Also called the American beautyberry, it is a popular ornamental plant that adds beautiful color to your landscaping in Las Vegas. The fruit grows in large clusters and attracts a wide variety of birds and deer. Deer like it because they can hide in the foliage while enjoying the berries. In the spring, the pretty pink buds sprout which turn into berries later. The berries are sweeter towards the end of the growing season, which is September through October, and should be eaten in moderation as they are very astringent. The berries make a great pie, jam and wine.
The plant will grow from cuttings or by germinating fully ripened seeds in growing flats or pots. You can also scatter the seeds on bare grown. Your landscaper in Las Vegas can help you choose the right place. The freshly crushed leaves are often used as a folk remedy to repel biting insects from horses and other animals and have also been effective as a mosquito repellent.
4. Weeping Bottlebrush
Native to Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales Australia, the weeping bottlebrush grows well in Nevada. It is an evergreen tree that produces brilliant red flowers from spring through summer. It has the added benefit of beautifying your Las Vegas landscaping by attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. It is called weeping because the branches droop delicately to the ground. Offering a whimsical note, it can be the centerpiece of a garden or a background piece.
The plant is a small tree or large shrub and has a very hard bark. The flowers hang low and resemble a bottlebrush. The tree blossoms from September to December and may produce blossoms sporadically throughout the year. It grows to about 30 feet tall and has numerous trunks. As the flowers drop off, a woody, the capsule is produced as the fruit. It’s a hardy plant that will survive drought, but not frost or salt spray.
5. Golden Columbine
The golden columbine grows in a wide area of the Southwest. The plants grow from one to three feet tall and produce a brilliant yellow flower that is about three inches in diameter. When the bud forms, they nod and hang down, but when the flower opens it stands upright. The flower stalks project above the light green foliage, which also makes them stand out. It is considered one of the most spectacular of its genus.
Golden columbine prefers shade but will tolerate a considerable amount of heat and sunlight including drought. They are a popular ornamental flower in Nevada and the whole southwest because of the showy flowers. They automatically reseed and will give beautiful color for several years.
6. Coneflowers
Officially called Echinacea, coneflowers produce a big, bright purple flower that will liven up any Las Vegas landscaping. It is considered a medicinal plant that was used by the Native Americans for centuries. Even though there is no proof it cures any disease it is still used as a dietary supplement and treatment for coughs and colds. It will thrive in dry areas as well as moist wooded areas. The large flower is a composite of purple petals and resembles a daisy because it is from the same genus of herbaceous flowering plants.
Sometimes grown in pots, the coneflower attracts butterflies and bees. It is perfectly suited for Nevada soil and thrives in full sunlight. Full sunlight means at least six hours per day. The morning sun often produces the best blossoms with shade in the late afternoon, so the blossoms don’t get burned. The large flower, sometimes as big as six inches in diameter, is great as a background for other plants. It has sturdy stalks and reaches up to five feet high. It usually doesn’t require staking for an upright appearance. There is also a pink double delight variety.
Just the Beginning
These are just six blossoming plants that provide color for Las Vegas landscaping. Since they blossom at different times of the year, you can have color all year round. They thrive in the soil and climate of Nevada and don’t require copious amounts of water. Your local landscaper Las Vegas will tell you more.
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