ISO Drought-tolerant plants for the Pacific Northwest

When we moved here, I foolishly believed that the water problems of the Southwest were behind us. It’s raining today in the PNW and the rain gauge confirms that the annual dry season is behind us for another year.

This year we had a big leaf maple taken down that started visibly declining a few years ago. It was majestic. We had it taken down to a snag. And this revealed a hollowed-out trunk.

The big leaf maples captivated us from the very first fall. The leaves are bigger than dinner plates! They turned a beautiful yellow though that seems to have shifted, too.

Declines in Big Leaf Maples began in the 2010s. No one is sure exactly why. Will the Big-Leaf Maples saplings sprouting up now adapt to the changing climate?

This recent article from the Washington Native Plant Society confirms the decline I see in my own yard: A Run-down of Die-offs – WNPS Blog – Botanical Rambles. In addition to the Big-Leaf Maple loss, some of my Salal gave it up this year. My Douglas Firs, Oregon Ash, and Sword Ferns look okay, thank goodness, but I have another fir that looks bad for the second year in a row. My Pacific Dogwood and Western Hemlocks are small. I agree that Madrones look pretty bad even the best of times but the bronze bark is so beautiful and I have lots of volunteers.

There are other trees in my yard that seem to have declined: mostly ornamental trees and a few shrubs. Compost and wood chips have rescued others, like my azaleas.

In the past, I looked for plants that could handle the seasonal wetness. Now I look for plants that can handle that AND warmer, drier summers. That’s likely to be smaller trees and shrubs. With a generous side dressing of compost and wood chips!

Composting

We have a Greenes Fence single compost bin we put in a few years ago. It’s 36x36x31 so it holds a lot of yard and kitchen waste. It’s also expandable. You can add a bin or two to either side of it. and it’s easy to assemble. When we discovered finished compost spilling out of the bottom of the bin, we knew it was time to add a bin.

I read that many home compost systems are short on the browns and heavy on the greens so I started with browns including cardboard and sticks as the bottom layer. We recently converted a ratty stretch of the yard into a new garden (it looks so great!) and had a lot of moss and grass. That went on top of the sticks. Now we are using a garden fork to move the top layers of the old bin to the new one so they can keep cooking. It’s amazing how compost works. You throw random stuff in and it turns into black gold.

If you want to compost, you don’t need much to get started. A plastic tote with holes drilled in the sides and bottom will work.