Climate Zone

Arid & Semi-Arid

54 plants

Yarrow · Achillea millefolium Flat-topped flower plates over ferny aromatic foliage, exceptionally tough in poor dry soils and a haven for beneficial insects. Vigorous and spreading, so give it room.
Tree Aeonium · Aeonium arboreum A branching shrubby succulent carrying glossy green rosettes atop bare woody stems, producing large conical heads of yellow star flowers in late winter to spring. A striking architectural feature.
Black Rose Aeonium · Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' A standout cultivar with large rosettes of glossy near-black burgundy leaves on branching stems, the colour deepening in full sun before yellow flower cones appear. A dramatic dark feature plant.
Century Plant · Agave americana A massive architectural rosette of thick blue-grey leaves armed with sharp spines and a vicious terminal spike, crowned after decades by a towering branched flower stalk. A bold drought-proof sculptural plant.
Foxtail Agave · Agave attenuata A spineless soft-leaved agave forming large pale grey-green rosettes, eventually producing a dramatic arching flower spike like a foxtail. A widely planted soft-textured feature, safe and easy.
Krantz Aloe · Aloe arborescens A large branching shrub aloe with sprawling rosettes of toothed grey-green leaves, producing brilliant orange-red torch-like flower spikes through winter that draw nectar-feeding birds. A bold coastal feature.
Christmas Carol Aloe · Aloe 'Christmas Carol' A compact hybrid aloe with deep green rosettes marked by raised red bumps and toothed red margins that intensify in sun, sending up coral-red flowers. A festive small collector's pot plant.
Aloe Vera · Aloe vera A clumping rosette of thick fleshy grey-green leaves with toothed margins, filled with the soothing gel long used on burns, and sending up tall spikes of tubular yellow flowers. A practical pot staple.
Heartleaf Iceplant · Aptenia cordifolia A fast spreading trailing succulent with heart-shaped glistening green leaves and bright magenta daisy-like flowers through the warm months. A vigorous water-wise groundcover and basket plant.
Bishop's Cap Cactus · Astrophytum myriostigma A distinctive spineless cactus shaped like a star of broad ribs, dusted with tiny white woolly scales over a grey-green body, opening yellow flowers from its crown. An elegant, geometric collector's plant.
Kurrajong · Brachychiton populneus A hardy, drought-tolerant Australian native with a swollen trunk, glossy poplar-like leaves and cream bell flowers. An iconic, long-lived shade and shelter tree for tough conditions.
Peruvian Apple Cactus · Cereus repandus A tall columnar blue-green cactus with prominent ribs and spined areoles, opening large fragrant white night flowers followed by edible red fruit. A bold vertical accent and living hedge in dry gardens.
Common Everlasting · Chrysocephalum apiculatum A low, silvery-grey spreading daisy carrying clusters of bright golden button flowers through much of the year. Tough, drought-hardy and excellent for pollinators and dry verges.
Silver Torch Cactus · Cleistocactus strausii A slender columnar cactus densely clothed in fine white spines giving a silvery silken sheen, sending out horizontal deep-red tubular flowers from mature stems. A graceful upright accent for hot dry spots.
Pig's Ear · Cotyledon orbiculata A robust shrubby succulent with broad rounded grey-white leaves rimmed in red, bearing tall stems of nodding orange bell flowers loved by sunbirds. A tough, sculptural water-wise feature.
Buddha's Temple · Crassula 'Buddha's Temple' A curious hybrid forming tight stacked columns of grey-green folded leaves resembling a tiered pagoda, topped with dense heads of tiny white to pink flowers. A prized collector's oddity.
Jade Plant · Crassula ovata A robust shrubby succulent with thick woody stems and glossy oval jade-green leaves often edged in red, bearing clusters of starry white-pink flowers in winter. An enduring easy-care container classic.
String of Pearls · Curio rowleyanus A delicate trailing succulent strung with rows of round pea-like green beads, each with a translucent window, spilling in long curtains and producing small fragrant white brush flowers. A favourite hanging plant.
Blue Chalksticks · Curio talinoides var. mandraliscae A spreading groundcover succulent of upright finger-like blue-grey leaves with a chalky bloom, forming a cool silvery carpet ideal for mass planting and erosion-prone slopes. Tough and water-wise.
Snake Plant · Dracaena trifasciata Upright, sculptural sword-leaves that tolerate anything from a dim hallway to a bright window, and weeks without water. As tough as houseplants get.
Mexican Snowball · Echeveria elegans A neat clumping rosette of powdery pale blue-green leaves edged in translucent pink, sending up arching stems of bell-shaped pink-and-yellow flowers in spring. A classic windowsill and dish-garden succulent.
Perle von Nurnberg · Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg' A sought-after hybrid rosette flushed in dusky lavender-pink and grey with a fine powdery bloom, intensifying to deeper purple tones in bright light. A signature feature plant for containers and arrangements.
Golden Barrel Cactus · Echinocactus grusonii A magnificent globular cactus forming a ribbed ball clad in fierce golden-yellow spines, slowly broadening with age into a glowing sphere. A prized sculptural specimen, now rare in the wild.
Tar Bush · Eremophila glabra An outback survivor built for heat and drought, with tubular nectar flowers loved by honeyeaters. One of the most reliable natives for hot, dry, low-water gardens.
Spotted Emu Bush · Eremophila maculata A rounded arid-zone shrub with spotted tubular flowers in red, pink, orange or yellow that feed honeyeaters through the cooler months. Exceptionally tough in heat and drought.
Silky Eremophila · Eremophila nivea A choice shrub clothed in silvery-white woolly foliage and soft lilac-blue flowers in spring. A standout silver feature for hot, dry, perfectly drained positions, often grafted.
Silver Princess · Eucalyptus caesia 'Silver Princess' · from $6.50 An elegant weeping mallee with powdery silver-blue leaves, ornamental minni-ritchi bark and pendulous pink flowers with golden anthers followed by silvery gum nuts. A spectacular small feature tree.
Yellow Gum · Eucalyptus leucoxylon 'Rosea' A hardy small to medium gum with smooth cream bark and showy pink to red flowers through the cooler months that draw flocks of honeyeaters. A reliable street and shade tree.
Red Ironbark · Eucalyptus sideroxylon 'Rosea' A handsome upright tree with deeply furrowed near-black ironbark and blue-grey foliage, carrying pink to red winter flowers rich in nectar. Tough, drought-hardy and excellent for birds.
Firesticks · Euphorbia tirucalli A striking succulent of slender pencil-thin branching stems that blaze coral-orange to fiery red in cool sunny weather, carrying a highly caustic milky sap. A bold drought-proof feature to handle with care.
African Milk Tree · Euphorbia trigona An upright branching succulent with three-sided green ridged stems lined with small paired spines and teardrop leaves, exuding an irritant milky sap. A fast architectural feature, often mistaken for a cactus.
Tiger Jaws · Faucaria tigrina A small clumping succulent whose paired triangular leaves bear soft white teeth along their edges, snapping shut like tiny jaws, and opening golden-yellow daisy flowers in autumn. A fun, easy collector's plant.
Blue Barrel Cactus · Ferocactus glaucescens A handsome barrel cactus with a powdery blue-green ribbed body armed with golden-yellow spines, opening a ring of pale yellow flowers at its crown in summer. A striking, slow sculptural specimen.
Ox Tongue · Gasteria bicolor A shade-tolerant succulent with thick tongue-shaped dark green leaves speckled in white, bearing arching sprays of curved stomach-shaped red-and-green flowers. An easy, forgiving, pet-safe collector's plant.
Ghost Plant · Graptopetalum paraguayense A trailing rosette succulent with thick pointed leaves in opalescent shades of grey, lavender and pink under a chalky bloom, shifting hue with sun and season. An easy, fast-propagating beauty for pots.
Fred Ives Graptoveria · Graptoveria 'Fred Ives' A vigorous large rosette intergeneric hybrid in shifting shades of bronze, lilac and pinkish-purple with a soft bloom, easily offsetting into clusters. A showy, forgiving feature for pots and gardens.
Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' · Grevillea 'Robyn Gordon' · from $4.50 One of Australia's most popular garden hybrids — a low-maintenance native shrub producing red toothbrush flowers almost year-round to feed the birds.
Chin Cactus · Gymnocalycium mihanovichii A small ribbed globular cactus, famous in its chlorophyll-free red, pink or yellow grafted 'moon cactus' form, producing delicate pink flowers. A colourful, compact novelty for bright windowsills.
Pincushion Hakea · Hakea laurina A large shrub or small tree with blue-green leaves and striking crimson pincushion flowers tipped with cream styles through autumn and winter. A nectar magnet for honeyeaters.
Cooper's Haworthia · Haworthia cooperi A jewel-like rosette of plump translucent blue-green leaves with glassy 'windowed' tips that glow when backlit, allowing light into the buried plant body. A coveted collector's miniature.
Zebra Plant · Haworthiopsis fasciata A small slow-growing rosette of stiff dark green pointed leaves banded with raised white tubercle stripes like zebra markings. A tough, pet-safe windowsill gem that tolerates lower light than most succulents.
Paddle Plant · Kalanchoe thyrsiflora A striking succulent with large rounded paddle-shaped leaves stacked in a rosette, the grey-green blades edged in brilliant red when sun-stressed, before a tall fragrant yellow flower spike. A bold pot feature.
Panda Plant · Kalanchoe tomentosa A charming succulent clothed in dense silvery felt, its plump leaves tipped with chocolate-brown notches like furry ears. A soft, tactile, easy-care novelty for bright windowsills.
Living Stones · Lithops spp. Extraordinary mimicry succulents of paired fused leaves patterned and coloured to imitate the pebbles around them, splitting to reveal a daisy-like white or yellow flower in autumn. A prized collector's curiosity.
Pincushion Cactus · Mammillaria spp. A popular clustering globular cactus covered in spiralled spined tubercles, ringed in spring with a crown of small pink, white or yellow flowers. One of the easiest and most rewarding cacti for beginners.
Creeping Boobialla · Myoporum parvifolium A fast, dense prostrate native that hugs the ground with succulent green foliage and tiny white star flowers in summer. An outstanding weed-suppressing cover for banks and verges.
Oleander · Nerium oleander An extremely tough, heat- and drought-proof shrub flowering all summer in pink, white or red. Ideal for hot, dry and coastal screens, but every part is highly toxic to people and animals.
Prickly Pear · Opuntia ficus-indica A large segmented cactus of flat oval green pads armed with spines and fine barbed glochids, bearing yellow flowers and edible red-purple fruit. A declared weed in much of Australia, so plant with care.
Moonstones · Pachyphytum oviferum A captivating succulent with plump egg-shaped leaves coated in a frosted lilac-pink bloom resembling sugared almonds, on short stems. A slow, jewel-like collector's plant for bright pots.
Elephant Bush · Portulacaria afra A bushy succulent with reddish-brown stems and small round glossy green leaves, edible and tangy, favoured for bonsai and hedging in warm climates and grazed by elephants in its native South Africa.
Gold Mound Sedum · Sedum 'Gold Mound' A low mounding succulent with fleshy chartreuse to golden-yellow leaves that glow in bright light, dotted with small yellow star flowers. A bright easy filler for pots and rockeries.
Blue Spruce Stonecrop · Sedum rupestre A hardy creeping groundcover succulent with needle-like blue-green foliage resembling tiny spruce shoots, lighting up with flat heads of bright yellow star flowers in summer. Tough and frost-tolerant.
Hens and Chicks · Sempervivum tectorum An extremely hardy alpine succulent forming tight rosettes that cluster into colonies of offsets, the leaves often blushed red at the tips. Famously frost-proof and ideal for rockeries and troughs.
Kangaroo Grass · Themeda triandra An iconic native grassland species with blue-green tufts that turn russet-bronze in summer and nodding rusty seed heads. Drought-hardy, it suits meadows and low-water plantings.