Some of the best drought-tolerant plants for Minnesota landscapes include tall trees like bur oak and hackberry, grasses like little blue stem, and beautiful flowers like butterfly weed, along with various shrubs and groundcovers.
Creating a landscape with natural resistance to drought ensures low-care plants and helps the ecosystem flourish. This article categorizes drought-tolerant plants suitable for Minnesota into grasses, trees, shrubs, flowers, and more so it’s easier for you to choose.
Grasses
These high-performing grasses require little to no care even during drought.
Little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)
With its silvery-blue stems and leaves, little bluestem adds a nice and subtle shine to your yard. It is drought-resistant once established and easy to care for throughout its life. Good tolerance to dry conditions comes from little bluestem’s deep and extensive root system that allows it to soak up water from deeper levels and do well on poor sites.
The grass bears small, fluffy, silver or white seed heads that are of great value to small birds in winter. Flowers bloom from late summer to early fall, adding interest to your landscape as most garden plants are beginning to fade.
You can also utilize little bluestem for erosion control. Another plus for this Minnesota native is that it attracts songbirds, bees, and butterflies to your landscape.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun and part shade
- Preferred soil conditions: Well-drained soil. Sandy, sandy loam, clay loam, clay, limestone-based
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
- Mature height: 1 to 3 feet
Switchgrass (Panicum virhatum)
Also known as the tall panic grass, switchgrass is a resilient summer perennial that’s adapted to a variety of Minnesota soils. Its tall, upright stems and narrow, blue-green leaves that turn golden in the fall make it a popular ornamental grass for Minnesota homeowners.
Switchgrass produces open panicles of small flowers from late summer to fall, bringing a nice purple hue to your yard.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun and partial shade
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained soil. Clay, clay loam, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 5 to 9
- Mature height: 3 to 7 feet
Prairie Dropseed (Sporobolus heterolepis)
This low-maintenance grass is a popular Minnesota prairie plant and flaunts its low, fountain-like appearance in landscapes all across the state. It has long, narrow, beautiful green leaves forming attractive round tufts, tan flowers, and a delicious coriander or buttered popcorn-like fragrance.
Developing a deep root system, prairie dropseed not only does well in drought but also prevents soil erosion by improving soil structure.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained soil. Chalk, clay, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
- Mature height: 2 to 3 feet
Trees
Trees make up a very significant part of a landscape. These trees stand up well to drought in Minnesota.
Bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Tolerant of a variety of soil types, including dry, clay, and compacted soil, bur oak is a magnificent shade tree that forms a wide canopy. It produces acorns that make a food source for wildlife, attracting birds and cute little mammals to your landscape.
It’s a deciduous tree with leathery, dark green leaves that turn into beautiful hues of yellow and golden brown in the fall.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Well-drained. Chalk, sand, clay, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
- Mature height: 60 to 80 feet
Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos)
A long-living and fast-growing tree, honeylocust gets its name from its nectar-rich flowers that attract bees and butterflies. Later in the summer, these flowers expose long, twisted, reddish brown seed pods that contain a honey-like, sweet pulp.
It’s tolerant of wind, heat, drought, and salt, and grows up to be a huge, wide tree. The best part? You won’t need routine pruning, only remove the damaged, diseased, or crossing shoots.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained. Chalk, sand, clay, loam
- Maintenance needs: Moderate
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 8
- Mature height: 60 to 80 feet
Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
Also known as common hackberry, this medium to large deciduous tree is tough, sturdy, and grows into an attractive pyramidal shape. Its open, spreading crown widens as it ages while the ascending, arching branches are covered with glossy to dull green leaves.
You will see greenish flowers appear in clusters during spring that offer nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Common hackberry makes a tough shade tree but may be susceptible to ice damage.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun, partial shade
- Preferred soil conditions: Organically rich, moist, and well-drained soil. Chalk, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 2 to 9
- Mature height: 40 to 60 feet
Serviceberry (Amelanchier)
This is a small deciduous tree or shrub that’s famous for its stunning seasonal changes. Prized for its star-shaped white spring flowers, edible purple fruit, and beautiful autumn foliage, serviceberry is a delight for the eyes.
Serviceberry fits really well into landscapes as specimen plants, in shrub borders, in small groupings, or even as informal hedges or screens. Its wood is known for strength and is traditionally used in tool-making too.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun, partial shade
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 2 to 9
- Mature height: 3 to 30 feet
Shrubs
These shrubs tolerate drought well and naturally occur in Minnesota.
Common ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius)
This fast-growing, spreading, upright, deciduous shrub develops an exquisite fountain shape and bears a profuse creamy-white flower with a delicate pink tinge here and there. After clusters of flowers in the spring come drooping clusters of red fruit in the fall.
The blooms attract pollinators and insects in the season but you don’t need to worry about insects or disease with Ninebark, it resists both.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun and part shade
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 2 to 8
- Mature height: 5 se 8 feet
Staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina)
Also called the Velvet sumac for its velvety reddish-brown branchlets and spectacular fall foliage and showy fruit, Staghorn sumac is a great addition to any landscape. Not only for the looks, but it’s a beacon for a variety of birds including Blue Jay, Northern Mockingbird, and American Goldfinch.
It’s generally pest- and disease-free, fast-growing, and shows excellent drought tolerance. Note that sumac may spread aggressively by root suckers to form extensive thickets. However, the shrub is very effective for erosion control on slopes or in drifts and colonies.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun, partial shade
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam, sand
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 8
- Mature height: 15 to 25 feet
Flowers
Who says a low-maintenance garden can’t have some colorful flowers? These flowers do fine with minimal water.
Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
Popular for its showy, long-lasting, daisy-like, purple flowers, this outstanding herbaceous perennial is an easy-care addition to any kind of landscape. The nectar-rich flowers sit atop erect, strong stems clad with coarse, dark-green, lance-shaped leaves and attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Echinacea purpurea also shows impressive tolerance to heat, drought, humidity, and poor soils. Its flowers are used for herbal teas and are reported to strengthen the immune system.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 8
- Mature height: 2 to 5 feet
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
With its iconic bright yellow flowers, black-eyed Susan stands amongst some of the most favored wildflowers in Minnesota gardens. This herbaceous perennial attracts pollinators, especially butterflies, in the spring and birds (who feed on seeds) late into the winter.
Rudbeckia is deer and drought-resistant, and generally makes a good addition to low-care gardens.
- Duration: Annual or short-lived perennial
- Sun exposure: Full
- Preferred soil conditions: Moist but well-drained soil. Clay, loam, chalk
- Maintenance needs: Low to moderate
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
- Mature height: 1 to 3 feet
Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Also called the butterfly flower, this easy-care and drought-tolerant bushy perennial will fill your Minnesota landscape with brilliant clusters of bright orange to yellow-orange flowers. They bloom throughout summer and invite plenty of colorful pollinators and birds too.
Butterfly weed’s upright stems are clad with lance-shaped leaves, providing a striking dark-green backdrop to the bright flowers. It’s super easy to care for too.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
- Mature height: 1 to 2 feet
Groundcovers
These groundcovers add texture to your landscape.
Sedum (Sedum spp.)
This vigorous, carefree, and super good-looking plant has a long (more than six months) season of interest to keep your landscape looking fresh. Several varieties of sedum grow in Minnesota – mat-forming, creeping, and upright – all very low-maintenance and drought-tolerant.
Sedums have thick, succulent foliage, ranging in color from green, silver, or purple to even copper, that stores water. It bears clusters of star-shaped, yellow, white, pink, or red flowers that bloom from summer to fall, providing the perfect late-season interest.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 3 to 9
- Mature height: 3 inches to 2 feet
Creeping thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
This dwarf, aromatic sub-shrub forms a tight cushion of rounded, tiny, gray-green leaves on the ground and profusely produces tiny, lavender-pink flowers from early to mid-summer. Though small, these flowers are filled with nectar that attracts butterflies. As for leaves, they’re fragrant, evergreen in mild winters, and water-storing.
This ground cover is a great option for covering or filling between stepping stones, edging, and adding character to rock gardens.
- Duration: Perennial
- Sun exposure: Full sun
- Preferred soil conditions: Well-drained soil. Clay, sand, loam
- Maintenance needs: Low
- Hardiness zone: 4 to 9
- Mature height: 2 to 3 inches
Plant smart!
Planning a landscape with drought-tolerant plants is a great way to conserve resources and save the natural ecosystem of Minnesota’s land. But, choosing one isn’t all, you’ll need help maintaining it too. For that, call in a local pro and let them build you the landscape of your dreams.
Main Photo Credit: Michael Hicks | Flickr | CC BY 2.0
