Shrubs provide color and interest to landscape without wasting water

Shrubs provide color and interest to landscape without wasting water.

Shrubs are the workhorses of the landscape. Aesthetically, they provide color and texture and help define areas and spaces, creating quiet, private places for relaxation and contemplation.

But they also have practical applications in controlling traffic, increasing home security, and providing protection from wind and sun.

The following shrubs are among the most useful of all for Southern Nevada. Each is water conserving; once established, it will get by on weekly deep irrigations. All are low maintenance in other respects; none of us want to spend all our time pruning, fertilizing, and spraying for pests. All of these provide year-round beauty; some will change seasonally. And finally, all are actually available from local nurseries.

Xylosma is normally used as a large, graceful, sprawling bush, but is also beautiful in formal hedges. Originally from Mexico, it has a lush appearance despite using little water. There are several varieties ranging from six feet tall to around 10 feet. The flowers are visually insignificant, but have an interesting fragrance.

Texas Ranger is awesome when in bloom; lavender to white flowers cover the foliage off and on through the summer. It is sometimes called "barometer plant" because it blooms when the humidity is up. It will grow under most conditions, but needs full sun to do its best. Researchers are now releasing m any new varieties with different-colored flowers.

Cassia is relatively new to the area. Right now, feathery cassia is the most popular. The cassia is one of the first to bloom in the spring and when it does, it's a traffic stopper. There are some yards full of this special shrub and when in bloom (yellow), it's breathtaking. Use cassia as a hedge, or use its silvery foliage as a background to set off perennials.

Pineapple guava, originally South America, has large leaves that are d ark green on top and silvery-gray on the bottom, adding an interesting change to the landscape whenever the wind blows. It has a beautiful cinnamon-colored bark that sheds to become one of the prettiest parts of the plant. As if this were not enough, it also has gorgeous flowers that taste like sweet cinnamon candy. The flowers look like bottlebrush flowers and will develop into delicious fruit. This bush was formerly very popular in Las Vegas and is now making a comeback.

Pomegranate is a sentimental favorite and the only plant on the list that will lose its leaves. But that is a small price to pay for the show it puts on throu gh the year. In the spring, the unfolding leaves are bronze to red, almost as brilliant as the blooms. As the leaves unfurl, they turn a dark glossy green. Then the carnationlike blossoms, ranging from brillant orange to fire-red, take center stage. These turn into ruby fruit that is not only ornamental but nutritious, and hangs on the bush until October. In the autumn, the leaves turn a butter yellow to brown, further emphasizing the beauty of the fruit before it falls. Mix the bush in with other plants to hide its starkness during the winter.

Viburnum comes with beautifully crinkled evergreen leaves. It grows taller tha n it does wide to make a good hedge or corner plant. It does best with a little shade such as that on the east side of a house. The buds open to beautiful white flowers that cover the plant. A metallic blueberry-like fruit then appears and attracts birds. It is extremely drought tolerant and adds a touch of the oriental garden to any landscape.

Dwarf myrtle (Myrtus communis Compacta) is a beautiful, dense, long-lived ever green. It makes an excellent hedge because it lends itself to clipping. It has beautiful white, fragrant flowers in the spring followed by metallic blue berries, which attract birds in the fal l.

Acacia redolens is fast becoming very popular. Unfortunately it is often misused because people don't realize how much it will sprawl. It is excellent for bank coverings. It also is good filler when changing out a lawn to a dry landscape and you don't want rocks or the bare earth. Once the plant becomes established, little yellow flowers that look sort of like caterpillars cover the bush.

Strawberry tree is a little difficult to get, but grows well as a tree or shrub depending on the way you care for it. This tree will take full sun to partial shade. It comes from the Mediterranean area where it grows naturally on dry, rocky hillside soils. It has some of the characteristics of manzanita: reddish bark, twisted branches and tinges of red on new foliage. It develops clusters of urn-shaped flowers, but the real joy is the fruit that resembles strawberries. It often has flowers, bronzed-colored leaves and fruit on the plant at the same time.

Cotoneaster or red clusterberry is a beautiful evergreen shrub with long, arching branches. It looks good growing naturally or clipped. White flowers cover the bush in the spring and red berries appear in the fall, interspersed with leathery leaves. In the fall, its leaves turn burgundy and yellow and the red berries hang on for added color through the winter, when so little else is happening i n the landscape. Use it to make a barrier, a hedge or as a single specimen.

Linn Mills is a horticulturist for the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension. This article is adapted from his weekly column in the Review-Journal, and originally appeared on June 19, 1996.