Brad's Tropical Paradise

It got to 118 degree yesterday in my backyard, and as I was pondering my view, which includes the back of my neighbor's house, I was so glad that they didn't have solar panels. I'll admit it, I hate seeing solar panels on the roofs of houses. I guess I'm a snob, but I don't like to see satellite dishes, or radio towers, or anything like that when I look out over my backyard. And since I live in Phoenix, I especially don't want to see solar panels glaring back at me. It's hot enough here in the summer without having a neighbor's roof filled with mirrors making it even hotter. Yeah, I get it, it saves them money. But as their neighbor, I should have rights, too! If you're a history buff, you know that the city of Los Angeles outlawed oil wells within the city limits long ago. They were not only smelly, but an eyesore. Yep, Los Angeles sits on more oil than Texas! But the people of Los Angeles didn't want to see the oil wells, or smell them...

One of the biggest mistakes that people who want to create a "Tropical Paradise" effect in their backyards make is to plant full-sized palm trees. These plants start out small, and in a couple of years they become what I call "telephone poles". So you are wise to plant miniature palms, such as Phoenix roebeleniis (pictured above). You can find them just about anywhere, from nurseries to Home Depot. They are more expensive than full-size palm trees, for the size (because they're miniatures), but you won't be looking at "telephone poles" in a few years, which is very important. If, however, you have big miniatures (I guess that's kind of like jumbo shrimp), either because you spent a lot of money and bought your Phoenix roebeleniis big, or like me, have lived with them for over twenty years, you have to pay attention to the trunk. If may not be a "telephone pole", but if the trunk is at eye level, it's part of the picture, and ...

One of the nice things about cycads is that they "pup". That is, they send offshoots that are exact replicas of the mother plant (or father plant, as the case may be). And some types of cycads, like dioon edules, tend to pup a lot. And that means that you can get a whole 'nother plant from one. This is how: • Cut the pup off with a saw. Chances are you'll have to dig down a bit to see where the pup is connected, but that will work out fine because the cut won't show on the main plant afterwards. Be prepared to do a fair amount of sawing! • Dig around the pup and see if you can get as much of its own root system as possible.  Pups that are softball size or bigger will have their own roots, the ones that are smaller won't and will need to be "rooted up". If your pup is big enough and has even a few roots, you're in luck, you can just plant it. Fill the hole up with free-draining potting soil (for palms and cactus) and firm it in. If done rig...

I love living in the Phoenix area. I lived in Southern California for many years and found it way too crowded, and way too expensive. But I love the look of Southern California, so I was determined not to have just dirt, rocks, and cactus in my garden here. I've had this "tropical paradise" garden here for over twenty years, and as you would expect, I've made a LOT of mistakes. Fortunately, my memory is poor for those mistakes, and what really matters is what worked. So, no you can't really grow the same stuff that they grow in the tropics, but you can create a pretty convincing illusion. Here in the desert, it's called an oasis. This is how you do it: • Think small. My backyard is tiny, and my plants are miniatures. Planting a bunch of full-sizes palm trees in a small backyard will just turn it into a forest of telephone poles, so resist that temptation! I like miniatures (you can just barely see the ears of my miniature dachshund there between the the...