SHADSCALE

Atriplex confertifolia

Shadscale is a plant of the driest deserts of our region, and its needs in the landscape reflect its origins. Once established, it does not tolerate watering, and it abhors soil organic matter, which can harbor diseases that it has never dealt with before. If you have a hot, rocky, sunny out-of-the-way corner that is impossible to water, this plant could work. It is surprisingly fast growing, and will take on its characteristic silvery green dome shape in a year or two. It is prettiest in autumn, when the waferlike fruits that cover the plant turn shades of pink and orange. Shadscale is quite spiny, so try to plant it where it will not need much weeding --weeding it requires heavy gloves and well-chosen tools. Shadscale combines well with other tough-as-nails desert plants like winterfat and desert sage, and it looks good combined with green mormon tea, which has a strongly contrasting form and color. This plant is probably not for everyone, but if you are in a climatic zone so dry that most traditional garden plants wither up and die, shadscale may work for you.