Page 14 - Landscape-Issue141

GREEN INDUSTRY NEWS

HYDROZONING WITH COLOUR

Hydrozoning is not only about grouping succulents or low water plants. It is also
about zoning with colourful flowering plants that have similar water requirements
in an effort to conserve water and at the same time, add colour to a garden or
landscaped site.

here are colourful flowering plants
for all three landscaping hydrozones
T– low, medium and high water zones.
Low water zone plants include
Rhaphiolepis, Vygie, Wild Iris (Dietes
grandiflora), Leonotis ‘Golden Velvet’,
Livingstone-Bokbaai Vygie (Dorotheanthus
bellidiformis) and Bauhinia natalensis.
Medium water zone plants include
Buddleja auriculata, Dianthus, Loropetalum
plumgorgeous, Mandevilla Cosmos White,
Nemesia and Arctotis.
High water zone plants include Azalea,
Bedding Dahlia, Calibrachoa, Hydrangea,
Lamium ‘Pink Pearls’ and Lobelia.
Developed by Dr Leslie Hoy of Rand Water,
the Landscape Irrigation Model South Africa
(LIMSA) spreadsheet and Hydrozone Plant
Lists contain over 1000 plants specifically
linked to hydrozones for summer and winter
rainfall regions. Over the past five years, the
plant list has had extensive input from green
industry experts.
As pressure to reduce water use
increases, landscapers need to customise
irrigation schedules for zones, improving Low water hydrozone
efficiency and avoiding overwatering and Landscape this combination of plants for a
underwatering. With the LIMSA Pack now LOW water zone in your landscape:
developed and freely available, landscapers • Tree: 2024 Tree of the Year: Karee (Searsia
are encouraged to use colourful flowering lancea)
plants – thereby contributing towards more • Tree: Boerbean (Schotia brachypetala)
efficient water use on landscaping sites. • Shrub: Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis x
delacourii)
Painting with colour • Succulent: Spekboom (Portulaca afra)
The range of plants available in the • Groundcover: Vygie (Lampranthus aureus)
hydrozoning list offers a broad canvas with
which landscapers can now invent recipes
for groups of plantings. Landscaper Corné Low water zone plants: Arctotis, Leonotus ‘Golden
Nothnagel offered these artistic groups Velvet’, Plumbago auriculata, Raphiolepis,
of colour and texture for a hydrozoned Vygie ‘Purple Parade’.
landscape.

12 Landscape SA • Issue 141 2024 Check us out www.salandscape.co.za