how about a pic or two of the project ..

can you improve the soil???

to me.. a wildflower seed mix.. would look rather weedy ...hence the pic request ....

do you have a budget ... is this a commercial project or personal ...sounds like a huge patio ....

you make DC sound like AZ .... its not ... so how much care can you put into watering and tending.. etc ... the temps dont impress me ... but i wonder about the ability to maintain proper watering .... or soil failure ...

does the flower bed have a bottom.. if not.. how does it drain ....

ken

I just posted some photos. This space has poor soil and no watering. Catchfly flowers and rosemary grow like crazy with zero effort. The far side facing south is exposed concrete and gets baked in full sun. This is a personal project. All I want to do is but a bag of seeds, like catchfly. But I don't want a bed of just catchfly and rosemary. What else would thrive in these conditions? Blue flax will also survive all summer. Most everything else will be burnt to a brown crisp.

Also, in the back are irises and in the front is ivy. The little seedlings in the middle are all catchfly that self seeded from last year.

I'm in a hot climate that is at times very dry so I water. I buy seed from Wildseed Farms in Texas and the regional mixes do very well and make a gorgeous display, their mixes are engineered so there is always several kinds of wildflowers blooming. This year I bought a pound of zinnia seeds, plus there are wildflower seeds from past years already sprouting. Is it possible that some of your seed is old and just not sprouting?

Wildseed Farms

I buy new seed and it sprouts. I do zero watering. And summers in DC get little rain. And this raised concrete bed is quickly dried out in full sun. Somehow catchfly survives and flowers.

Have you tried geraniums. They like hot climates and like to be grown on the dry side. Have you tried marigolds. They would probably need water but can take the heat. They would also need deadheading though

Thanks. Marigolds send up one scraggly shoot, don't bloom, and die. I think I need something that's basically a weed flower, like catchfly, or maybe succulents. I could trie geraniums but I suspect they wouldn't do so well.

The reason the hot/dry mixes don't work is bc on the east coast the nights are hot and humid, not cooler and dry, like in the west. I have a hot sunny border and have tried many things that won't work in the heat of July and August here (NC). I gave up on poppies too. Bachelor's button does reseed though. Sulphereus cosmos (the orange and yellow ones) grow, but it is harder to grow the others. Here are some that flourish: Rudbeckias (Black-eyed susans), Echinacea, Yarrow, rose campion. These are all perennials and spread like crazy. Nigella reseeds and blooms in May, then has seed pods. The shorter zinnias and marigolds work. Lavender, russian sage, heath, day lilies, crocosmia. But all would have to be watered until established. Some of these could be considered invasive, so be forewarned.

Thanks, those sound like the kinds of plants that will grow here. Except short zinnias and marigolds don't grow. Lavender will definitely grow. Reading about your suggestions, I suspect crocosmia would grow and possibly rose campion. I'll try those out. Yarrow does grow but looks too much like a weed.

I do zero watering.

It may be that, as you pointed out, the concrete bed contributes to the soil drying out. For a bed only 30 feet long, a weeper hose, garden hose, and timer is an investment (under $50 for everything) that may reap a lot of returns in terms of the sort of plants that can take the heat but require a bit of water from time to time.

ANYTHING YOU TRANSPLANT ... needs water at transplant to overcome planting shock ... perhaps a week or two ...

drought resistent plants are not such.. until they are over said shock ...

to reduce water to bare min.. you would have to transplant very early .. so the plants have coolness and moisture in early spring ... so by the time the heat hits ... they are acclimated ... same with seed ... they cant be popping out of the ground ... and be young and tender.. by the time the heat hits ...

since its feb.. i suspect you are moving early enough ...

ken

I thought of a couple more. Brazilian verbena, which is perennial here but also reseeds, (I never planted it and never watered it; it just showed up and is always welcome) and angelonia, which is a tender perennial. I am overwintering a couple inside. Also lantana, which laughs at heat and drought. Miss Huff is hardy to zone 7; there are also annual varieties. In general, the smaller/thinner and tougher the leaves, the less you have to water.

crockj, you are asking a bit much of a living plant. What a difference it would make for xeric options, of which there are many, to have some moisture during establishment.

There's rain in March/April for plants to get established. I think there are some good suggestions above that I can plant in March that will survive the hot summer draught in poor soil without me watering. Plus zero watering helps conserve energy and keep the planet green.

keep the planet green.

An unwatered plant will likely die. I don't see how that is doing anything green. There is a huge difference between not using thousands of gallons a year on a showpiece lawn, and using a drip hose so that a drought tolerant but not drought proof plant can make it.