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Interest Group Session: Climate Ready Landscape Plants
Thursday September 26, 2024 4:00pm - 6:00pm HST
Lehua Suite
The overall goal of this session is to highlight the latest advancements from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Specialty Crop Multi-State Program funded project titled “Climate Ready Landscape Plants”.

Coordinator(s)
  • Youping Sun, Utah State University, Department of Plants, Soils & Climate, Logan, Utah, United States
Speaker/Participant(s)
  • Jared Sisneroz, UC Davis
    Climate Ready Landscape Plants Trialed in Davis, CA
    Summary: To develop landscape irrigation recommendations, 22 taxa of landscape plants were evaluated under three levels of deficit irrigation in a field trial. The taxa consisted of common horticultural perennials and shrubs including multiple cultivars of Hibiscus syriacus, Nandina domestica, Rosa spp., and Salvia spp.
  • Soo-Hyung Kim, University of Washington, United States
    Variation in Landscape Plant Aesthetics, Growth, and Physiology to Deficit Irrigation Across the Western U.S. (20 mins)
    Summary: Climate change is causing more frequent and severe droughts in the Western U.S., while concurrently, about 70% of urban water use is delegated to landscape irrigation. Therefore, water conservation techniques in the horticultural space, such as planting water use efficient landscape plants, will be essential to reduce irrigation consumption. Five different taxa, Hibiscus syriacus ‘Gandini Santiago’ Purple Pillar®, Hibiscus syriacus 'ORSTHIB5x1' PPAF, Rosa ‘Meibenbino’ Petite Knock Out®, Rosa ‘ChewPatout’ Oso Easy® Urban Legend®, and Vitex ‘SMVACBD’ Blue Diddley®, were subjected to one of three water deficit treatments in six sites: Tucson, Arizona; Davis, California; Irvine, California; Aurora, Oregon; Logan, Utah; and Seattle, Washington. Plants were rated on foliage quality, flowering, pest tolerance, disease resistance, vigor, and overall appearance. Our results highlight the importance of climate-specific plant selection for reducing landscape water use while achieving satisfactory aesthetic qualities and growth of landscape plants.
  • Ursula Schuch, University of Arizona
    Climate Ready Landscape Plants Trialed in Tucson, AR
    Summary: Fifteen taxa of shrubs growing in a field in Tucson, Arizona were irrigated with three levels of irrigation based on local reference evapotranspiration (ETo) to assess growth and plant quality. Plants established during 2021 under 80% of ETo and in 2022 were irrigated at 20%, 50% or 80% of ETo. Irrigation was applied 2, 9, and 15 times between April 1 and October 31, 2022, for the low, medium, and high irrigation, respectively. Best performing plants were Asclepias linaria ‘Monarch Magnet’, Dodonaea viscosa ‘Emerald Ice’, Eremophila glabra ssp. carnosa ‘Winter Blaze’, Ericameria laricifolia ‘Aguirre’, Hamelia patens ‘Sierra Red’, Leucophyllum frutescens ‘San Antonio Rose’, Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’, Tecoma ‘Red Hot’ and Rosmarinus officinalis 'Arp'. Irrigation did not affect plant growth of these nine taxa from April to October. All nine taxa tested are low water use shrubs that can grow in the landscape with 20% of ETo in the low desert in Arizona. However, some may benefit from additional irrigation during the hottest time of the year for optimum performance.
  • Natalie Levy, South Coast Research & Extension Center, The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
    Climate Ready Landscape Plants Trialed in Irvine, CA
    Summary: During the historic California drought from 2011 to 2015, annual landscape water use averaged 38% of all urban water use. As climate extremes, population growth, and agricultural/industrial water demands continue to increase, urban landscapes are an essential area where water conservation efforts must be improved. Deficit irrigation trials of ornamental plants began at the University of California, Davis (UCD) in 2004 and evolved into the University of California Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials (UCLPIT™). In 2016, the UCD field site was replicated at UC Agriculture and Natural Resources’ South Coast Research and Extension Center (SCREC) in Irvine, California. The new field site allowed for direct comparison of plant performance and irrigation requirements of the same plant material across two soil types and climate zones.
  • Youping Sun, Utah State University
    Field Trials of Landscape Plants under Reduced Irrigation Frequency
    Summary: Utah has experienced significant drought conditions, with 99.3% of the land under drought stress in 2023. In response to this challenge, water-efficient landscaping with low-water-use landscape plants is gaining popularity in arid and semi-arid regions. This study was to investigate the overall appearance, plant growth, and physiological response of ten ornamental plants to deficit irrigation. The selected species included Caryopteris ×clandonensis ‘Blauer Splatz’ (Sapphire SurfTM bluebeard), Cercis canadensis (eastern redbud), Cercis occidentalis (western redbud), Cotoneaster ×suesicusn ‘OSUCOT2’ (Emerald BeautyTM cotoneaster), Hesperaloe parviflora ‘Straight Up Red’ (‘Straight Up Red’ Texas red yucca), Miscanthus sinensis ‘NCMS2B’ (bandwidth maiden grass), Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ (‘Diabolo’ ninebark), Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Little Devil’ (Little DevilTM ninebark), Rosa ×hybrida ‘Meifranjin’ (Blushing Drift® rose), and Vitex agnus-castus ×rotundifolia ‘Helen Froehlich’ (Summertime BluesTM vitex).
Moderator
YS

Youping Sun

Dr. Sun is an Associate Professor of Landscape Horticulture whose research focuses on understanding the whole-plant response to water stress, with an emphasis on water conservation, and developing protocols to produce native plants. He is the principal investigator for the ‘Climate... Read More →
Speakers
SK

Soo-Hyung Kim

Dr. Kim is a Professor and Plant Ecophysiologist whose research focuses on how plants interact with their environment at the whole-plant scale. He is the principal investigator for the ‘Climate Ready Landscape Plants’ project at the University of Washington.
NL

Natalie Levy

Dr. Levy is an Associate Specialist for Water Resources at the South Coast Research and Extension Center. She specializes in landscape plant water-use efficiency research, water resource management, and water pollution prevention/mitigation.
US

Ursula Schuch

University of Arizona
Dr. Schuch is a Professor and Extension Specialist in Environmental Horticulture in the School of Plant Sciences. Dr. Schuch’s research focuses on plant selection and management strategies to conserve water, maintain plant health, and aesthetic function. She is the principal investigator... Read More →
JS

Jared Sisneroz

UC Davis
Mr. Sisneroz is the project manager of the UC Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials (UCLPIT) and the ‘Climate Ready Landscape Plants’ programs. He specializes in landscape plant water-use efficiency research and water resource management.
avatar for Lloyd Nackley

Lloyd Nackley

oregon state university
Lloyd Nackley is a plant ecologist who applies a systems approach to improve nursery and greenhouse management. Nackley's research program at Oregon State University focuses on addressing four challenges facing nursery and greenhouse production in Oregon: irrigation application, pest... Read More →
Thursday September 26, 2024 4:00pm - 6:00pm HST
Lehua Suite
  Interest Group Session

Attendees (3)


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