14 Best Drought-Tolerant Trees for Climate Change Resilience

Katie Katie

5 min read

14 Best Drought-Tolerant Trees for Climate Change Resilience

In recent years, resilience to climate change has become an important issue in the garden. Trees are long-lived, so we need to consider how they will hold up to the effects of the changing climate in the future. As UK summers are forecast to get hotter and dryer, choosing trees that are particularly drought-resistant is a good start.

Here are 14 drought-tolerant trees we recommend for hot and dry summers – including varieties suited to smaller gardens.

Please bear in mind that all trees and shrubs require a good watering regime when newly planted, so don’t skip the watering during those important early years while they settle into their new homes.

For trees that cope well with wet weather, see our other blog post on the Best Trees for Wet Soil.


Betula pendula (Silver Birch Tree)

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for medium to large gardens
  • Winter interest
  • Feature bark

Commonly known as the Silver Birch, this very popular native tree is admired for its attractive feature bark, airy canopy, and elegantly weeping branches. It will tolerate the toughest of conditions including urban pollution, exposure, poor soils, and both dry and wet sites.



Silver Birch


Silver Birch


Cercis siliquastrum (Judas Tree)

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for small to medium gardens
  • Spring flowers

 

Also known as the Judas tree, Cercis siliquastrum is a small to medium sized rounded tree admired for its unique display of flowers. In spring, pink pea-like flowers emerge on bare branches – an unusual trait known as cauliflory. Green leaves are heart-shaped, adding even more charm. Cercis siliquastrum is native to the Mediterranean and reasonably drought-tolerant once established.



Cercis siliquastrum


Cercis siliquastrum


Cherry Laurel

 

  • Great for hedging & screening
  • Evergreen
  • Year-round interest

Cherry Laurel is a fantastic evergreen shrub with dense and glossy evergreen foliage, most often planted for hedging and screening purposes. Small white flowers in spring and shiny red and black fruits in autumn offer further interest. Cherry Laurel is tolerant of most conditions including shady areas and dry soil, once established.



Cherry Laurel 'Novita'


Cherry Laurel


Cotoneaster

  • Great for groundcover
  • Evergreen
  • Wildlife-friendly gardens
  •  
  • Year-round interest 

Cotoneaster are small, versatile and fast-growing trees or shrubs with abundant berries in autumn and pretty flowers in spring (which are very popular with wildlife). Smaller varieties make ideal groundcover and are often evergreen so provide interest year-round. Cotoneaster are hardy, suited to most soil types and drought-tolerant once established. For particularly pretty flowers we recommend Cotoneaster x suecicus 'Coral Beauty'. Alternatively, for interesting foliage, we recommend Cotoneaster 'Juliette', which is a variegated variety.



Cotoneaster x suecicus 'Coral Beauty'


Cotoneaster 'Juliette'




Corylus colurna (Turkish Hazel)

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for medium to large gardens
  • Edible hazelnuts

Corylus colurna, also known as Turkish Hazel, is an overall very tough and tolerant tree, making it a brilliant choice for an array of planting conditions. It has a good resistance to diseases and can handle both dry and wet conditions as well as heavy soils, exposed positions and cooler temperatures. In autumn, Corylus colurna produces edible hazelnuts which are encased in decorative, fringed husks.



Turkish Hazel


Turkish Hazel


Ginkgo biloba

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for medium to large gardens

The Ginkgo biloba, or Maidenhair tree, is known as a “living fossil” because it is one of the oldest living tree species in the world. Fossils of this tree’s leaves have been discovered that date back over 200 million years! It’s no surprise then that the Ginkgo biloba is a very tough tree, tolerating drought, exposure and pollution.
Ginkgo biloba ‘Fastigiata Blagon’ is a fantastic cultivar that forms a more narrow, columnar shape, ideal if you don’t have enough space for a regular Ginkgo biloba.



Ginkgo giloba


Ginkgo biloba 'Fastigiata Blagon'


Gleditsia triacanthos (Honey Locust)

 

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for medium to large gardens
  •  
  • Creates dappled shade 

Gleditsia triacanthos, also known as Honey Locust, is a fantastic, elegant medium-sized tree with arching branches and fern-like leaves. The cultivar Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Sunburst’, which has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit, is admired for its sunny, golden yellow colour.


Gleditsia triacanthos

Gleditsia triacanthos 'Sunburst'



Gleditsia triacanthos 'Sunburst'


Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens ‘Pyramidalis’)

  • Great for smaller gardens
  • Mediterranean-style gardens
  •  
  • Evergreen
  •  
  • Year-round interest 

Also known as Cupressus sempervirens, the Italian Cypress is native to the Mediterranean so is understandably well suited to warmer, dryer conditions. This evergreen is also tolerant of cooler temperatures and its narrow, column-like habit makes a wonderful architectural statement when planted in rows.



Italian Cypress


Italian Cypress


Juniper Trees

 

  • Great for creating structure & focal points
  • Evergreen
  •  
  • Year-round interest 

Junipers are wonderful conifers with evergreen foliage, known for their berries that are used in the flavouring of gin. Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow' is a very popular variety, so-called because its colour and shape gives the impression of a blue arrow. Its foliage is an attractive shade of blue-green and its tightly columnar habit makes it well suited to very small spaces. A fantastic low-maintenance, drought-tolerant option that works well either as a single specimen or planted in groups.



Juniper 'Blue Arrow'


Juniper 'Blue Star'


Liquidambar

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for medium to large gardens
  •  
  • Fabulous autumn colour

Liquidambar are one of the very best trees for vivid autumn colour, when their lobed, maple-like leaves turn vivid shades of red, orange and purple. Liquidambar styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’, which has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit, is one of our bestsellers. They are not as drought-resistant as other plants but will still tolerate some occasional drought.



Liquidambar 'Worplesdon'


Liquidambar 'Worplesdon'


Pine Trees

  • Ideal for woodland settings
  • Evergreen
  •  
  • Year-round interest 

Pine trees are evergreens with attractive needles in various colours and sizes. Most varieties are drought-tolerant – their needles produce a waxy coating that helps to retain moisture. If you’re after a native option, Pinus sylvestris, also known as Scots Pine, is a very popular choice for larger gardens. Dwarf varieties suited to smaller gardens, such as the Dwarf Austrian Pine Pinus nigra ‘Bambino’, are also available.



Scots Pine


Dwarf Austrian Pine


Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’

 

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for smaller gardens & avenue planting
  •  
  • Spring flowers
  •  
  • Tolerates urban pollution 

Pyrus calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ is a very popular ornamental pear tree with an upright, conical flame shape. Masses of white spring flowers are very popular with pollinators and foliage turns a vivid shade of red in autumn. Tolerant of pollution, wind exposure, and drought once established.



Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer'


Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer'


Robinia pseudoacacia (False Acacia Trees)

 

  • Ideal feature tree
  • Great for medium to large gardens

Also known as False Acacia, these fast-growing trees have attractive pinnate foliage and gorgeous flower racemes that droop from the branches in a wisteria-like fashion. For something that will brighten up a space, we recommend Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia', an upright cultivar that produces leaves in a striking shade of golden yellow.



Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia'


Robinia x margaretta 'Pink Cascade'


Taxus baccata (Yew Trees)

  • Great for hedging and screening
  • Evergreen
  •  
  • Year-round interest 

Taxus baccata, also known as Yew, has dense evergreen foliage and makes an excellent year-round screen. Its tolerance to difficult conditions including shade, exposure and pollution makes it a very popular choice.
Upright varieties such as Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata’ (Irish Yew) and Taxus baccata ‘Fastigiata Aurea’ (Golden Irish Yew) are particularly good for smaller gardens and for adding vertical interest.



Irish Yew


Golden Irish Yew
Katie
Katie

Ornamental Trees

Katie is part of the marketing team at Ornamental Trees and is particularly passionate about Japanese plants and gardening for wildlife.