If you’re new to gardening in Coachella Valley, you may not know which plants you have. While we can’t identify all of the plants (there are too many), we have picked out a selection of very common plants, identified by their water needs.
Once you know what kind of plant it is, you can use our irrigation guides to figure out how long you should be watering each zone in your yard.
To download the whole poster as one big graphic, click here.
Side note: some plants we commonly see here are actually invasive species. If you don’t already know what this means or want to know what to look for, read about local invasive species.
Low Water Plants (Necesitan un poco de agua)
Desert-adapted plants to have smaller leaves, which are often needle like or waxy, and frequently grayish in color.
Plantas adaptadas al desierto tienden a tener hojas mas pequeñas, que a menudo son similares a agujas o cerosas y con frecuencia de color grisáceo.
| English | Spanish | Botanical | |
| Trees / Arboles | Acacia Little Leaf Ash Palo Verde White Bark Acacia Mesquite Ironwood | Huisache Fresno Palo Verde Palo Blanco Mesquite Arbol de Hierro | Acacia fraxiana Fraxinus greggii Parkensonia spp. Acacia willaridana Prosopis spp. Olnea tesota |
| Shrubs / Arbustos | Cassia Red Yucca Brittlebush Coral Fountain Trumpet Flower Texas Ranger | Cassia Yucca Rojo El Incienso Fuente Coral Flor de Trumpeta Palo Cenizo | Senna spp. Hesperaloe parviflora Encelia farinosa Russellia equisitiformis Tecoma stans Leucophylum spp. |
| Cactus & Succulents / Succulentas | Agave Golden Barrel Cactus Yucca Paddle Cactus Desert Spoon Ocotillo | Maguey El Asiento de Suegra Yucca Nopal Sotol Ocotillo | Agave spp. Echinocactus grussonnii Yucca rostrata Opuntia spp. Dasylirion wheeleri Fouquieria splendens |
Medium Water Plants (Necesitan Mas Agua)
Plants that come from other regions need more water than our desert-friendly choices.
Las plantas que vienen de otras regiones necesitan más agua que nuestras opciones de plantas amigables al desierto.
| English | Spanish | Botanical | |
| Trees / Arboles | Orchid Tree Olive Palm Blue Trumpet Tree Pepper Tree Mediterranean Fan Palm | Pata de Vaca Olivos Palmera de Abanico Flamboyan Azul Pirul Palmito | Bauhinia spp. Olea spp. Washingtonia filifera Jacaranda mimosifolia Schinus molle Chamaerops humilis |
| Shrubs / Arbustos | Mock Orange Deer Grass Bougainvillea Lantana Sago Palm Bird of Paradise | Celindas Hierba de Ciervo Bugambilia Lantana Palma de Sagu Poinciana | Pittosporum tobira Muhlenbergia spp. Bougainvillea spp. Lantana spp. Cycas revoluta Caesalpinia pulcherrima |
| Perennials / Plantas Perennes | Day Lily Lily of the Nile African Daisy Sage Beardtongue Mexican Petunia | Lirio de día Agapando La Gazania Salvia Las Campanitas Ruellia | Hemerocallis spp. Agapanthus orientalis Gazania spp. Salvia spp. Penstemon eatonii Ruellia spp. |
High Water Plants
Plants that come from tropical regions in South America or Asia, or those bearing fruit, often require a great deal of water.
Las plantas que provienen de regiones tropicales de América del Sur y Asia, o que tienen fruto, a menudo requieren una gran cantidad de agua.
| English | Spanish | Botanical | |
| Trees & Shrubs / Arboles & Arbustos | Indian Laurel California Sycamore Crape Myrtle Rose of Sharon Pink Powder Puff Roses | Ficus Sicomoros Banaba La Jamaica Soplo de Polvo Rosado Rosa | Ficus nitida Platanus racemosa Lagerstroemia indica Hibiscus spp. Calliandra haematocephala Rosa spp. |
| Annuals / Las Annuales | Pansy Snapdragon Zinnia Petunia Chrysanthemum Geranium | Pensamiento Peritos La Zinnia La Petunia Crisantemo Geranios | Viola tricolor spp. Antirrhinum majus Zinnia spp. Petunia x atkinsiana Dendranthema spp. Pelargonium spp. |
| Fruit Trees & Vegetables / Los Arboles Frutas y Vegetales | Citrus Green beans Tomato Grapes Lettuce Apricots | Citrus Judías verdes Tomate Uvas Lechuga Albaricoque | Citrus spp. Green Vegetables Tomatoes Vine Fruits Leafy Greens Stone Fruits |
If you can’t find your plant here (very possible, this is a relatively tiny sample), there are some additional resources to try:
- Lush & Efficient — a desert gardener’s staple, this book is available from your local water district. They tend to give them away for free at community events (like ours), but you can buy one any time. If you’re familiar with Sunset Western Gardens, this is a desert-centric version. You can find a digital version at the Coachella Valley Water District’s website.
- Seek (an app on your phone) which uses your camera to detect a plant and make recommendations. We find it’s okay at matching plants, but it’s big brother, iNaturalist, is better. Get download links for Seek at iNaturalist.org.
- iNaturalist (an app on your phone and a website) is “Citizen Science” at its best. You upload photos you take to help you identify the plant you’re looking at and even if the tools can’t figure it out, a person might. iNaturalist also includes Insects, Snakes, Fungus, Molds, Birds, and Butterflies! Visit iNaturalist to discover your local ecosystem and download the app.
- Sidebar: if you like identifying things this way, you can get Merlin for birds! This is put out by the Cornell Bird Lab and includes both visual and auditory bird identification. Check out the Merlin page at allaboutbirds.org to get download links.
- DesertStrawHouse Nursery has a great plant list with photos, too.