Archive for “Plant of the Month” Category

Plant of the Month: Eight Plants Perfect for Your Pollinator Garden

June 16, 2022

Help protect biodiversity! There are over 7 million humans in Arizona, and we all rely on insects and plants to survive. Native plants support native wildlife. Using native plants in your yard and landscapes is the best way to support healthy ecosystems and protect biodiversity. An easy place to start with planting natives is a pollinator garden. No matter where …

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Using native plants in your yard and landscapes is the best way to support healthy ecosystems and protect biodiversity.

Plant of the Month: Ironwood — The Desert’s Oldest Nurse

May 12, 2022

Feeling melancholy as you sweep up the spent yellow petals of your Palo Verdes? I understand why: when the “month of monochrome yellow” is behind us, the baking summer is upon us, and most plants (and people!) sober up to prepare. Don’t despair yet, though—late spring wildflowers still surround Saguaros wreathed like brides with white blooms. And, now is the …

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Plant of the Month: Azure Bush Germander

April 8, 2022

Something Blue Azure Bush Germander (Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum’) is a unique blue flowering perennial that thrives in full sun & drought tolerant Arizona gardens. With striking silvery sage foliage and cooling blue purple blooms that cover the bush in Winter extending into Spring, it’s sure to bring pollinators and brighten up your garden at a time of year when most …

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Plant of the Month: Globe Mallow

March 15, 2022

Globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), both drought tolerant and beautiful, brings a unique “cottage-garden” feel to the desert plant palette along with some surprises. In spring a flush of colorful flowers are produced that will cause people to stop in their tracks. After that, globe mallow will bloom off and on throughout the summer and fall. This shrubby, perennial is native …

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Plant of the Month: Aloe

February 10, 2022

Aloes are striking succulents from southern and eastern Africa that offer some of the best color for Arizona gardens with their impressive and long-lasting show of flowers during the winter and early spring. Aloes have numerous forms ranging from low groundcovers to treelike species. Small clustering forms work well in containers and the tree forms work well as accents or …

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plant-of-the-month-aloe-flowers

Plant of the Month – Texas Mountain Laurel

January 23, 2022

Texas Mountain Laurel Note this plant was recently reclassified to Dermatophyllum secundiflorum, but is often still sold as Sophora secundiflora. Description This evergreen shrub grows slowly, in time becoming treelike with multiple trunks. A typical mature size is 15 feet high and 10 feet wide. Glossy dark leaves up to 5 inches long are divided into seven to nine 1-inch …

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Plant of the Month: Succulents Can Add a Little Drama to Your Yard

December 19, 2021

Succulents can steal the show in a drought-tolerant landscape. Their structural and exotic shapes add whimsy and originality to a desert yard. With a little knowledge, succulents are as easy to maintain as any other drought-tolerant plant. Here’s the secret: Succulents encompass a wide variety of plants. While there are general succulent-care guidelines, it is important to understand how each …

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Winter Flowers, Fragrance & a Funny Name

November 23, 2021

Want beautiful foliage, spectacular flowers all packaged up in a tree that blooms in fall and winter? Well, let me introduce you to a medium-sized tree with a funny name: Cascalote (Caesalpinia cacalaco)*.  I love this medium-sized tree with its circular leaves, textured bark and winter flowers. Native to Mexico, Cascalote produces beautiful yellow flowers during the cooler months of …

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PLANT OF THE MONTH: PINK TRUMPET VINE OR PODRANEA

September 19, 2021

The Pink Trumpet Vine, Podranea ricasoliana, exuberantly blooms in fall with flared, trumpet-shaped flowers. If looking for seasonal color, be sure to add this one to your plant palette. Note – be sure to properly identify at the nursery as it can commonly be mistaken for Bower Vine or Pandorea jasminoides. DESCRIPTION The lush green leaves and trumpet-shaped flowers of …

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Plant of the Month: Desert Milkweed – Fit for a Queen and Other Royals

August 19, 2021

Botanical Name Asclepias subulata Common Names Desert Milkweed, Jumete, Rush Milkweed, Reed-stem Milkweed Habitat / Range Desert milkweed is often found along desert washes and sandy flats, and sometimes on rocky hillsides in lowlands up to 2,500 feet.  It will settle into disturbed soils, so can be found along roadsides as well. The range of desert milkweed extends from western …

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Desert Milkweed Plants

Plant of the Month: How Do Those Desert Plants Survive?

July 21, 2021

HOW PLANTS COPE WITH THE DESERT CLIMATE Desert plants tend to look very different from plants native to other regions. They are often swollen, spiny, and have tiny leaves that are rarely bright green. Their strange appearance is a result of their remarkable adaptations to the challenges of the desert climate. Aridity is the sole factor that defines a desert …

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Plant of the Month: 5 Plants That Can Take the Southwest Heat

June 16, 2021

It’s no surprise that the biggest challenge to growing plants in our region is the intense heat and dryness of summer, which is a stressful environment for plants. Thankfully, there are several plants that thrive in a hot, dry climate. Here are a few of Southwest Gardening’s Noelle Johnson’s favorite plants that can take the Southwest heat.   1. Bush Lantana (Lantana …

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