Temperate Desert Plants

Big sagebrush is common in the Great Basin Desert.

Big sagebrush is common in the Great Basin Desert.

The usual image we have of a desert is of giant cacti, unremitting heat and warm winters. We don't tend to picture snow, but that is what occurs in temperate deserts of the world that have cold winters. They differ from warm-winter subtropical deserts in that they occur in the middle of continents where dryness is caused by distance from oceanic moisture. Summers are hot and have little rainfall, with dew providing some moisture and winter snow providing the majority of it. Temperate deserts occur in the western United States, Argentina and Eurasia; North America's temperate desert is the Great Basin Desert. Few trees inhabit temperate deserts; mostly drought-tolerant bushes like sagebrush (Atriplex spp.) cover this rugged terrain.


Bushes are the dominant plants in temperate deserts. They don't have a large biomass to maintain and their long roots can penetrate to deeper soil levels to reach moisture. In the Great Basin Desert, big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is common, growing 4 feet tall and wide. Gray-blue aromatic leaves are coated with hairs on both sides of the leaves, which helps the plant conserve water. It grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 10. Use it to control erosion on slopes or in drought-tolerant gardens. Red osier dogwood (Cornus sericea) occurs along streams and grows in zones 3 through 8. Valued for red stems from late summer through winter, bright fall leaf color, white spring flowers and pale blue fruits attractive to birds, use red osier dogwood as screens, borders or mass plantings. Another drought-tolerant garden plant is Mormon tea (Ephedra spp.) Bare green jointed stems have male or female cones in early spring and grow 1 to 3 1/2 feet tall and wide in zones 7 through 11. Nevada Mormon tea (E. nevadensis), with its gray-green stems, is more drought-tolerant than green Mormon tea (E. viridis), which grows in moister places.


Trees grow mainly at higher elevations or along streams where more moisture is available. Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) grows to 30 or 40 feet tall and is widely used in landscaping. A number of cultivars exist. "Skyrocket" (J. scopulorum "Skyrocket") has a narrow columnar growth form and blue-green foliage, growing in zones 4 through 9. "Tolleson's Green Weeping" (J. scopulorum "Tolleson's Green Weeping") is hardy to zones 4 through 9, with a growth habit reminiscent of weeping willow. Western chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) grows in stream bottoms and on moist hillsides to 30 feet or more. White flowers in spring are followed by dark red to black fruit eaten by birds and wildlife. The variety "Schubert" has burgundy fall foliage and grows in zones 3 through 8.


Some succulents can tolerate the cold winter conditions of temperate deserts. Banana yucca (Yucca baccata) grows in lower elevations of the Great Basin Desert, with thick, rigid, pointed leaves arranged in a basal rosette. White flowers in spring are followed by green fruits that look like short bananas. Banana yucca grows slowly to 4 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Use it as a specimen plant in the drought-tolerant garden or as an accent plant in zones 5 through 11. Utah century plant (Agave utahensis) has waxy, gray-green, water-storing leaves that have jagged edges and a sharp point. Hardy to zones 6 through 10, the basal rosette grows 1 to 2 feet wide, wider if the plant clumps, and makes an attractive container plant or desert garden subject. Old man prickly pear, also called grizzly bear cactus (Opuntia erinacea), has long, white, hair-like spines and magenta or yellow flowers, and is hardy in zones 5 through 9.


The Great Basin Desert has annual spring wildflowers that avoid heat and cold by only growing when conditions are favorable. Bulb plants like sego lilies (Calochortus nuttallii), Utah's state flower, go dormant and exist underground for most of the year, blooming in spring. Annual wildflowers can be grown from seed anywhere and include Mexican golden poppy (Eschscholzia mexicana), wallflower (Erysimum aspermum), scarlet gilia (Gilia aggregata), tall desert larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum) and purple mat (Nama demissum).

Photo Credits

  • Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
Suggest a Correction