Creating a tropical paradise in the desert of Phoenix, Arizona

-
Creating a tropical paradise in the desert is an illusion. It's a mirage, an oasis. And that's part of the reason that it's so magical. And yes, it can be done - I have friends all over the valley who have done it, and yes, it takes a lot of tricks. And if you're like me, and you like to see what works, and what doesn't work, here are some suggestions:

• Make friends with local people who have gardens. I got involved with the Arizona Palm and Cycad Association over ten years ago. It's a group of mostly middle-aged men, like me, who have a fascination with palm trees and cycads (sago palms, etc.). It's all well and good to see photos on the internet, or in magazines, of Hawaii, or Australia, but I wanted to know if I could grow these plants right here. And I wanted to see them with my own eyes. The group doesn't have regular meetings anymore, but the guys still get together every once in a while, and I will be visiting our Vice President today along with our Treasurer. I'm the Secretary, by the way, which means being the webmaster.

• Visit public gardens. I live just a few blocks away from the Glendale Public Library, which has a garden that includes various types of plants, including palm trees and agaves. It's nearby Sahuaro Ranch, which I visit quite often. And if a plant can successfully grow there, it can grow in my yard!

• Experiment with the microclimates of your garden. I have a tiny yard, and location is everything. Some plants flourish just a few feet away from where the same plant would die, simply based on how the cold air accumulates in the winter, or the shade in the summer, or about a million other tiny factors. So I plant a lot of stuff. Yes, I've had a lot of failures over the years, but I have a poor memory!

A tropical paradise in the desert is a tiny place, a retreat. It isn't acres of grass, and it isn't cactus and rocks. It's an oasis, a mirage. My favorite place in the whole world.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to tell if your cycad (sago palm) is alive or dead

-
Image
Cycads are strange plants. They're beautiful, and look like small palm trees, or large ferns. They grow very slowly, and can be very expensive, even common ones like "sago palms". But sago palms, in spite of their common name, aren't palms at all. They belong to a group of plants called cycads. They are wonderfully weird, and grow in strange ways. And sometimes they lose all of their leaves. Of course, if it were a palm tree that lost all of its leaves, you would know that the plant was dead. But it's not true of cycads. So don't dig that cycad up and throw it away! Not yet. If you've recently transplanted a cycad, and the leaves have all faded away, hang on. Take a look at the top center of the plant, at what I call "the pucker". There you will see some stubby, soft fronds, no more than an half-inch or so. At least that's what you should see. That means that the plant is still alive, and has dropped its leaves to focus on building r...
Read more

Rooting sago palm pups for more plants

-
Image
Once a sago palm ( cycas revoluta ) reaches a certain level of maturity, it starts to create pups. Like agaves, these are little plants that are exactly the same as the parent plant, only smaller. And yes, you can trim them off and grow them into new plants. This is how to do it. Cut them off from the parent plant with a sharp knife. If there are any roots at the bottom, try to save them, but chances are there won't be any. That's not a problem. The next step is rooting them. Douse the cut part and the bottom of the plant with some garden sulfur and some rooting hormone powder. Rooting hormone powder is pretty easy to find at your local Home Depot. I had to go to a real nursery to get garden sulfur. Anyway, the idea is to keep the little plant from rotting while giving it time to grow its own roots. Sago palm pups being rooted Bury them fairly deep in some free-draining mix. It should include volcanic pumice, if you can find it, and if not, you can use perlite. I ...
Read more

Growing sunflowers from Pennsylvania in Arizona

-
Image
It's October 21st, and I just received some sunflower seeds from a friend in Pennsylvania. Their season is ending and the season for planting here in Arizona is just beginning, and I'm kinda wondering if the seeds are wondering what's going on? It's spring again already? If you're new to the Phoenix, Arizona area, and are from back east it must seem kinda strange that fall and winter is our flower season, but it is. By springtime it will start to get so hot here that the flowers will die, and of course back east the season is just beginning.  Sunflowers growing in Peoria, Arizona, about a mile from where I live I've seen sunflowers blooming around my neighborhood of Glendale, which is a suburb of Phoenix, in the winter, and although I've never grown them I understand that they're easy to grow. I guess I'll find out - I learn best by doing! The seeds arrived safely, and it's my understanding that they were still connected to the spent flower (I do...
Read more