The Best Drought-Tolerant Plants for West Texas
These plants handle West Texas heat, wind, and dry spells with little water once established, and still look good doing it.
Choosing the right plants is the heart of a water-wise West Texas yard. The plants below are proven performers for Lubbock and the surrounding High Plains: once established, they get by on little supplemental water, take the heat and wind in stride, and reward you with color, texture, and habitat. Pair them with good soil prep and mulch and they will thrive for years.
Drought-tough perennials
For reliable color, lean on heat-loving perennials. Salvias bloom for months and pull in hummingbirds. Russian sage brings a haze of blue and shrugs off heat. Yarrow, blackfoot daisy, damianita, and lantana flower hard on little water. Red yucca, despite the name, is a tough, grassy accent that throws up coral flower spikes all summer. These perennials form the backbone of a colorful low-water bed.
Ornamental grasses
Grasses give a West Texas garden movement and structure with almost no water. Little bluestem turns coppery in fall, switchgrass and muhly grasses add height and airy seed heads, and blue grama and buffalograss work as low, fine-textured options. They look natural in our landscape because many are native to it, and they hold up to the wind that flattens softer plants.
Shrubs and accents
For structure, drought-tolerant shrubs and succulent accents carry the load. Texas sage (cenizo) bursts into purple bloom after rain and needs almost no care. Agave, yucca, and sotol provide bold, sculptural form. Sumac and Apache plume offer fuller, greener texture. A few well-placed shrubs and accents give a low-water yard the bones that keep it looking designed rather than sparse.
Small trees
Smaller, tough trees suited to our soil and water include desert willow, with its orchid-like blooms, and vitex, which flowers in summer heat. For larger shade options that still handle drought once established, see our guide to the best shade trees for Lubbock. Trees take a few years of attentive watering to establish, after which the right species become low-maintenance anchors of the yard.
Groundcovers
To cover bare ground without thirsty turf, use low, spreading, drought-hardy plants. Creeping germander, trailing lantana, and prairie verbena fill in fast, while decomposed granite and gravel handle paths and the driest spots. Groundcovers shade the soil, cut evaporation, and reduce weeds, which makes the whole planting more water-efficient.
Establishing them
Even the toughest plant is vulnerable the first year. Plant in fall or early spring so roots can grow before summer, water deeply and regularly through that first season, and mulch well. After the first year, taper watering and let the plants do what they were chosen to do. For the full design picture, read our xeriscaping guide, and for plants that double as habitat, see High Plains natives.