Gardening

If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band* – Agaves

Jeff

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The huge agave spikes that towered over our front landscaping since late last year (see photo above) eventually peaked and then withered by mid-2015. These once proud giants made our yard look oddly majestic; but by late summer, the 20 foot poles started to lean dangerously into other plantings. The party was over. With monsoon winds in mind; we proactively cut the poles and then gave the remaining plant bases some additional time to weather and lose water weight to aid in disposal.

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First step in removing an agave is to cut off the spike as it will only get in the way. We save the spikes and use them for decorative purposes.

For the most part, these plants did not “go gracefully into that good night”. Agave “leaves” are fibrous, thick, pointy-ended weapons that require gloves to handle (and protective eyewear); and frequently must be removed with a saw.

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The next step is to remove the sharp-edged leaves. Yes, do wear eye protection and gloves.

And then there is the “root” itself …typically buried deep into the desert soil requiring (on occasion) ropes, a pick-ax, crowbar (and once) the horse power of a Subaru Forrester!

Once the agave is removed, disposal is no easy issue. The side of our home has become an “agave graveyard” where plant detritus continues to dry in the sun so they can subtly make their way into the weekly trash pick-up.

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This is how the side of our house looks while the agaves are weathering.

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The plants dry out and then they head for the trash bin.
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This is how the house now looks without all those spikes.

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We aren’t home free yet, as you can see above we still have several younger agaves which will spike in the future.

But there is an upside to all this destruction. Several agave spikes have been promised to friends; who will hopefully dress them in twinkling holiday lights and enjoy them as much as we still treasure the one that adorns our patio (see images below)!!

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*Stanley L. Gray

Yikes! Spikes – Agave and Sotol

Jeff

This spring/summer has been an unusual one for our desert garden especially our front landscape. We have a good number of agaves in our front yard. Agaves are sharp-leaved plants that need little water so they do very well in arid places and the Sonoran desert is no exception.

Once in their lifetime agaves send out a flower stalk which we refer to as a spike. The spike flowers and then produces bulbils (plantlets) or seeds. Once the process is complete, the mother plant dies. Before the plant dies, however, it generally produces other plants which are called pups.

We moved into our home and several agaves were already in place and then we added additional species. Each agave species or type flowers according to their own timetable and if you were planting a bunch of agaves from the same species, you would want to purchase them at different stages of growth so they don’t all spike at once and end up dying at the same time.

Here is what our landscape looks like now…

Agaves with spikes

Can you see all the spikes? Just in case you can’t see them all, here they are numbered…

Agaves with spikes numbered

Yes we have seven spikes all at the same time. As I indicated above, these are not all the same type of agave and it just worked out that they spiked together.

We have one additional twist to the story. Among the agaves is a sotol (Dasylirion wheeleri) , or desert spoon (#4). They also send out a spike. One of the main differences is that the sotols don’t die after producing their spike. They continue with their life cycle. You can see that it looks quite different from the others. While we have at least three sotols, only one has sent out a spike this season.

Here is a close up of the one section and the sotol is a bit more noticeable (right of center).

sotol among the agaves

We found this random occurrence unusual and it makes our landscape look a bit otherworldly with all those spikes in the air. What are your thoughts?

 
Read More:

Agaves

Arizona Municipal Water Users Association/a> – Click on a variety to see more detail

Here is a picture of a variegated agave ( Agave weberi ‘Arizona Star’) which adds an additional interest to the landscape

Sotol (desert spoon)

Arizona State University

Water When Dry

Desert Bloom – Tecoma ‘Orange Jubilee’

Jeff


Tecoma - Orange Jubilee

Another interesting and worthwhile plant to have in the desert garden is Orange Jubilee (also called Orange Esperanza or Orange bells) or any of its variants.

How it grows in my garden:

The plant is trimmed to between three and four feet tall (+/-) because it grows in a large container. If grown in the ground, it will be much larger. It extends to about six feet wide. The showy orange flowers bloom in clusters at the end of the branches as you can see in the photographs. When I notice seed pods, I remove them to extend the long blooming period even more.


Tecoma - Orange Jubilee Closeup

Hardiness range (depending on where it is grown): 0 to 40 F. The key with desert plants is to wait until all danger of frost has ended before pruning any damaged branches as the new growing season begins.

How it grows in my garden:

Exposure: Almost full sun (8-10 hours per day during the hot desert summer). Our shrub has afternoon shade coming from the west courtesy of a nearby Foothills Palo Verde.

In General: The plant is trimmed in stages at the beginning of the growing season. I remove very long and spindly branches and watch for the new growth. Once it starts to get bushy again, I trim more to maintain an even shape. Another tenet of xeriscape gardening is to keep trimming to no more than one third of the total growth. I try to keep it a bit less than that as these plants will be under stress during the upcoming hot weather.

Watering: During the winter the plant gets watered once or twice a week. When the spring active growing season begins, it is watered every few days until the end of April, then every other day or so until the end of May and then every day until the end of September. Watering tapers off from there.(Remember, this watering schedule reflects our desert environment.)

Fertilizer: I use a standard desert tree and shrub fertilizer (16-8-8) along with a tablespoon of a “super bloom” – type to add extra elements.

The plant receives fertilizer on or about:

Valentine’s Day
Memorial Day
Labor Day


Tecoma - Orange Jubilee

If you like these orange clusters and a nice green, bushy plant give Orange Jubilee a try!

Read More:

My Texas Flower Garden

Via East Valley Tribune – (The pictures don’t do it justice)

Desert Bloom – Ipomoea fistulosa, Bush Morning Glory

Jeff

Ipomoea fistulosa reminds me of the hardy hibiscus that I grew when I lived in the northwest corner of Hunterdon County, NJ. Those were large plants with flowers that would often be the size of my head.

While Ipomoea fistulosa, Bush Morning Glory, does not produce blooms that are as large, the coloring and basic shape are very similar. One nice attribute of Ipomoea is that it tends to produce more flowers than the hardy hibiscus managed to give. As the common name implies, the flowers fade later in the day and the shape is morning-glory like.

 

Ipomoea fistulosa bloom close up
Picture of a closeup of the colors, form and texture of the flowers

 

Ipomoea fistulosa growth habit

Picture showing the general growth form of the Ipomoea

 

Ipomoea fistulosa cluster bloom

As the blooming process matures, a cluster of flowers tend to open together

 

How it grows in my garden:

The plant grows four-to-five feet tall and three-to-four feet wide (but we have it constrained by rabbit fencing). Flowers bloom in clusters once the plant matures and often produces a mini-bouquet.

Hardiness range (Depending on where it is grown): 15 to 40 F

Exposure: Full sun (10+ hours per day during the hot desert summer)

In General: Ipomoea fistulosa likes warm weather so make sure it is planted when the weather is going to be hot. Even though it survives in the desert, it does need ample water to produce well and thrive, but not soggy.

Watering*: During the active growing season, the plant gets watered every few days until the end of April, then every other day or so until the end of May and then every day until the end of September and it tapers off from there.(Remember, this watering schedule reflects our desert environment.)

Fertilizer – I use a “super bloom” variety as directed. The plant receives fertilizer three times a year as is the recommended schedule for trees and shrubs in the desert.

Valentine’s Day**
Memorial Day
Labor Day

Notes: Unless I am collecting seeds, all seed pods are “pinched” to extend the bloom. Others report Ipomoea fistulosa to be a large shrub. I have planted it as a semi-perennial and I have re-planted it after one or two growing seasons and thus it may not grow as large under these conditions.

Read more about it at the sites below. NOTE – these links do not represent an endorsement of any kind, but are intended as informational. Readers need to decide for themselves whether or not to use the information from the links provided.

Dave’s Garden

Information about Ipomoea fistulosa from Arizona State University

Onalee’s Seeds, LLC

Walters Gardens Inc. re: Hardy Hibiscus

Desert Gardening in General

When I speak with those who don’t live in the desert and I tell them that I am interested in gardening, they are often surprised that I can grow ornamental plants in this somewhat hostile environment.

There are quite a few plants that will grow in Maricopa County in the Sonoran Desert. One nice quality of the Sonoran Desert, one of the wettest deserts in the world, is that we actually have two growing seasons.

The following excerpt is from: Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County

“We have two optimal growing seasons: one in the spring, the other in the fall. Both day length and temperature vary dramatically between seasons (short days and cold temperatures in winter to long days and extreme temperatures in summer). Since few annual plants are suited to thrive in both conditions, it is important to choose plants that mature quickly to ensure a full life cycle within one season.”

You can download the document here: Vegetable Planting Calendar for Maricopa County

Of course plants can be “carried over” from the spring to the fall if care is taken to provide shade cloth and enough water.

Because I live on the edge of the desert, I have to compete with Javelinas, ground squirrels, Harris antelope squirrels, regular squirrels, rabbits (lots of these) and the normal insect pests such as aphids, horn worms, etc.

My horticultural focus is ornamental plants, i.e. those plants that produce pretty flowers and the flowers need to be pleasing or plentiful enough that I don’t mind the foliage when the plant is not in bloom. If a plant has interesting foliage, this helps.

*The desert can sometimes be unpredictable so this is a general guideline. If it rains or if the weather gets hotter than “normal for the desert,” the amount of water is adjusted accordingly. The best guide in learning about each plant is to watch it closely and water when necessary. Be warned, however, in the heat of the blistering desert, the tipping point arrives quickly.

**This is the accepted fertilizing schedule for trees and shrubs. Because my garden gets frequent water, I find that fertilizing all plants using this schedule to be effective. The amount of fertilizer needs to be adjusted for different plant varieties.

Madagascar Palm (Pachypodium lamerei)

Jeff

When we first moved to Phoenix more than six years ago, all of our northeastern gardening experience was rendered moot. What we knew did not fit to the Sonoran Desert environment. We needed to be re-educated regarding desert gardening.

I quickly enrolled in the Maricopa County Master Gardener program. Until then, however, I needed to have some plants to care for. After having so many gardens and plants to nurture in New Jersey, it was in my DNA.

One of the first plants we obtained was a Madagascar Palm (Pachypodium lamerei) which technically is not a palm tree at all. This is how it looked during its growing season shortly after I first purchased it:

Madagascar Palm First Purchased

One thing about the Madagascar Palm, which I didn’t know, was that during the desert winter, it drops all of its leaves and can easily be mistaken for dead. This is how it looks once the cold weather has set in:

Madagascar Palm Without Leaves

Those stickers keep the pesky critters at bay!

When we first purchased the plant it was between seven and eight inches high. It was a small plant and it was in a relatively, i.e. 4 to 6-inch, clay pot.

This is how our plant looked this spring (nearly six feet tall):

Madagascar Palm Spring 2015

Until this year our palm had only leaves which dropped during the winter and then reappeared each succeeding growing season. This year, however, there was a surprise in store:

Madagascar Palm Spring 2015 with Flowers

There was a cluster of flower buds. They are very pretty white flowers with a yellow center. I am not sure where they go from here (what kind of seed pod, etc.). The flowers last more than one day which is nice. What kind of fruit they will yield or if they will be pollinated at all is yet to be determined.

The flower pictures are not the best because the ladder I used to take them was not set on a stable surface and it was a bit tricky. I think you will still be able to appreciate the plant even with these less-than-perfect shots.

Madagascar Palm Spring 2015 with Flowers

Read more about the Madagascar Palm here and here.

Bower Vine Blast Finally

Jeff

We have been growing a variegated Bower Vine with pinkish flowers for three seasons, this being the third. It has been a disappointing performer up until now. This year however, we tried something new! Like any vine, we supported this one on a trellis. Each year the vine would grow long and unwieldy, but would not cover the entire trellis as our Snail Vine had done on it’s support.

This spring we decided not to let the Bower Vine grow as tall as it wanted. We began clipping the long tendrils as soon as they reached the top of the trellis. Much to our amazement and delight, the plant put the energy into producing copious blooms. It is understandable that a more mature plant would generate more flowers, but this vine had produced only a sparse display of a few flowers a year and the memories of last year’s bloom are vague to say the least.

Below is a closeup of a cluster of this pink Bower Vine’s flowers. The dark purple throat is beautiful!
Variegated Pink Flowering Bower Vine

The second picture (below) gives a better view of the plant and the contrast between the flowers and the variegated leaves. There is one school of thought that variegated plants do not bloom as much as their non-variegated cousins, but this year that does not seem to be the case.

Variegated, Pink Flowering Bower Vine

How do you think the color of the flowers look contrasted with the variegated leaves?

Desert Botanical Garden – March 12, 2015

Jeff

Living in North Phoenix brings us close to the natural desert, but when guests arrive, they often want to visit the second most popular attraction in the state, after the Grand Canyon of course, which is the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG). Some might argue that Sedona, AZ would also be a close second, but I am just repeating what I have heard based on statistics.

Last week we visited the gardens with family. It has been unusually warm during the last week or so to the tune of 10 plus degrees so I wasn’t sure what the flowers would be like at this time. I am glad to report that many of the spring standard bloomers were still strutting their stuff although there were areas where drying had taken its toll.

Before we get to some of the flowers, however, here are a few pictures of the cactus and succulents we saw:

Silver Agave with Dark Margins

The silver highlights and varied leaf margins make this agave a stunning plant. The chocolate outline with the yellow surround are superb!

Pickle-colored agave with large Serrated Edges.

The wider-leaved agave had a very unusual color almost like a pickle. The serrated edges were also particularly colorful and pronounced.

Small dense agave with dark leaves and silver margins

The plant pictured above appeared to be an agave, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a succulent of a different family. In this particular arrangement, it wasn’t named although I am certain that elsewhere in the garden it would be. It was a smallish specimen being about twice the size of the average closed fist. The dark leaves and silver edges make this a winner.

Penstemon, asters in the wildflower garden

These Daisies/Asters and Penstemon Parryi were doing well in the wildflower garden. Not pictured were the Firecracker Penstemon, Brittlebush, Lupines, Fairy Dusters and others that were plentiful along the paths.

More about our trip to the DBG shortly…

A New Plant in Our Garden

Jeff

This year we decided to try a new plant in our late winter desert courtyard; Stock (Matthiola). I had seen this plant and known about it for quite some time, but I had never used it. I wondered how it would do in the very sunny southwest. I am happy to report that it has served us well as a full blooming, fragrant courtyard resident. It has been in bloom for weeks and with proper dead-heading, I think it will stay in bloom for some time to come.

It does have a tendency to set elongated seed pods so I snip them from time-to-time and cut back the dead flowers when a stalk is nearly spent. The picture below shows one pot against our faux brick wall near the front door. There is a twin pot on the other side of the door as well.

Stock in the Arizona Courtyard

There are many references to this plant on the Internet if you care to find out more. Here is the Better Homes and Gardens contribution about Stock.

Have you ever grown this plant? What do you think about the form and color?

Sun Trellis

Jeff

Several years ago we decided to plant a snail vine (Vigna Caracalla) in the courtyard of our home in northern Phoenix. This is a good plant for our particular climate; tolerating reflected heat and a great amount of sun exposure and able to tolerate moderate freezes. (If the frost kills the top; cut to the ground and it will re-bloom in the spring). As this would be a focal area, a special trellis that would accommodate an eight foot expanse in front of an inside wall was required. A trip to an eclectic pottery and home furnishing store in nearby Cave Creek that was “going out of business” provided a sheet metal screen of smiling suns! Slightly damaged; (the blemish that prompted its reduced price was negligible) the screen was cut in two even sections to facilitate ease of installation. Over the years, the weight of the new growth has required some staking with rebar and wire, but the effect is still impressive!

Note: this vine (at least in our particular area) develops mildew each year during the humid part of our summer; after a significant re-cutting and application of Bayer Advanced Disease Control for Rose, Flower and Shrubs Concentrate, it resumes vigorous regrowth.


Sun Trellis with Snail Vine

The Trellis with Foliage Beginning to Fill the Voids

Snail

A Snail Vine Bloom