I'm looking to move to Tucson this summer from Iowa. Now, in Iowa I can grow almost anything - we have abundant rainfall & amazing black soil. I've been to Tucson, & it's not so much the same! But without using too much water, I'm wondering what I can grow that will make me happy (cause that's what growing plants is to me - happiness). I like veggies but have been told that the water usage doesn't make growing them worthwhile - but I love home-grown tomatoes! *sigh* I also like fragrant plants - herbs I think would do well there? Flowers, I don't know. I'm researching all this, & just want to get some ideas. Thanks!
Moving to Tucson from the Midwest
Bredela, You can grow lots of amazing fruits and veggies in Tucson and if you use a drip irrigation system on a timer, water usage can be minimized. Tucson is cooler and wetter than Phoenix, as it's about 1000' higher in elevation, so the summer isn't as hot, but the trade-off is that you have a greater chance of a hard freeze in winter. Visit my blog, www.mrbsgarden.blogspot.com to see what I've got growing, as I have fruits, veggies, herbs and flowers, most of which are doing quite well. Others on this forum have even more extensive flower gardens than me and it's worth looking at some past threads to see what diverse stuff we all have growing.
You're going to love gardening in the desert in spite of the lousy soil. Frogymon is right, using a dripper on a timer is the key to growing lots of great veggies year round without using too much water. My mom's from Iowa and always missed the beautiful, rich soil but she also loved being able to have a garden and flowers all year in Arizona!
WalMart sells a brand of locally produced compost that works great for amending soil or as a soil replacement in raised beds.
Welcome Bredela! This forum is the place to be if you want to learn about gardening in the desert. We have all learned the hard way about certain plants and how to create micro-climates in order to grow some difficult-to-have plants. Please feel free to post often and don't feel like the question is dumb, we all learn from each other!
Susie
P.S. we love pictures!
Welcome Bredela,
you can grow veggies here (look at garden towers, drip systems, micro-climate)! If you are like me, and have an insatiable appetite for green tomatoes (fried!) then you find a way to grow your own. I have tomatoes as patio plants. Also, like many others on this forum, I have lots of succulents which grow well here are beautiful even when they aren't flowering. As Frogyman says, check out the older threads and see the incredible variety of things you can grow here!
Jackie
This message was edited Jun 25, 2013 10:29 AM
The pics above - vitex tree, adeniam arabicum, blossom of the Stigmaphyllon ciliatum, seed of Stigmaphyllon ciliatum
Bredela....The most beautiful thing growing in Tucson....in my opinion...is the Red Mexican Bird of Paradise...which i see as orange, but I love seeing it blooming all over town. We can grow it here in Sierra Vista, but after I killed 11 of them I gave up and moved into the new Adult Condo in town where I will not be required to grow anything again but my friendships!!
Enjoy your new gardening~~! Jo
Hi, Bredela. Did you make it to Tucson?
Probably died from the heat somewhere in Texas.
A true LOL moment! The comment. haha! Not dying of heat in Texas.
Can you imagine moving from IA to AZ in July/August? Someone played a cruel joke on them.
They probably turned around and went back where they came from.
Well, She's no longer a member so I guess we scared her away. Jo
: (
My family moved from Longmont, Colorado to Yuma on August 4th many years ago. It was only 106 that day but we thought for sure we'd driven to Hell.
Good lord, Crista, I'm surprised you all didn't just burst into flame!
Eileen the humidity was too high to burst into flame. They irrigate the citrus groves in August, and that along with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico during the monsoon makes Yuma a pretty damp place. My parents came up here today from Yuma and are amazed at the difference!
I would love to live in Yuma if it were a larger city.
CORDIA BOISSIERI?
Hi! This is my first post on DG; I just joined today. :) I LOVE the Southwest and I LOVE gardening, so of course, here I am.
I have lived in Tucson for 2 years (moved from the Pacific Northwsst), and I have a tiny 10 by 10 foot courtyard that is crying out for a shade tree. Actually it's me crying out for shade, but no matter... The walls around the courtyard are five feet high, except for one side which adjoins the garage. Anyway, after hours looking around online, I've all but settled on Cordia boissieri, and pruning it as a small tree.
Has anyone had experience with that tree?
Thanks for any help.
- Shannon
Welcome Shannon!
I love the Texas Olive trees and intend to add a couple to my place later this year. (Get me past Christmas and a new granddaughter due in Jan). I have always admired their flowers and how tenacious they are. It should be a perfect fit for your courtyard.
I also have a soft spot for Desert Willow, had one at the old house for 25 years, so recently planted 2 white ones, 1 purple one and got a pink one yesterday as part of SRP's Shade Tree program. A lovely little tree, the flowers are so pretty and fragrant and the hummers just love them!
http://ag.arizona.edu/pima/gardening/aridplants/Cordia_boissieri.html
Susie
Thanks for the welcome, Susie! And thanks for giving me your opinion and the link on the Texas Olive. Now I'm debating whether to go with the Texas Olive or the Blue Palo Verde. I love the Palo Verde, but it may be too big for my small courtyard. How about if I prune it up? I love the idea that the Palo Verde grows fast, too.
I have a desert willow tree and it's adorable! Now it's almost 7 feet tall; it was 4 feet when I planted it two years ago. It flowers well into October with lavender/purple flowers that look like orchids! It bloomed ALL summer-long! I removed all the lower branches and it looks great as a tree.
bella
do you have a picture you could share of the desert willow tree?
The Blue Palo Verde will grow too big, even trimmed up it's roots can affect the surrounding foundation concrete or walls.....
Darn! I didn't want to hear that! I love the Blue Palo Verde, but my townhouse is so small... I'll just have to soak it up when I'm hiking. So, I'm back to the beautiful Texas Olive. Thanks for your advice, Susie!
Here's photos of my Desert Willow tree. I planted what looked like a dead stick in March 2012. The first photo is from May 2013, I had pruned the lower branches in the winter before.
The second photo was taken today, November 2013. It may not show, but the trunk has thickened up since May. :-) The photo cuts the top off; there is another foot high that isn't showing. It bloomed through October! I know the brick cutout is tiny. I'm deep watering it and, hopefully, it will be happy here because I love this tree!
- Shannon
oops, from me again...
correction: the second photo doesn't cut off the top of the tree by much. I was looking at the thumbnail and it just looked like it did. :-/
- Shannon
Gorgeous! I love the soft sweet smell of the flowers!
Susie
Beelia, did you amend the soil for the tree? Do you fertilize or mulch it? I have one planted in straight desert dirt, and it isn't as healthy as yours.
that is beautiful.
I wonder if it would be something that would grow here. Although it might not like the humidity...LOL
Jan
Yes, I did put potting soil in the little square because I put in annuals. The former owner might have amended the soil because it seems pretty good. I put a little fertilizer on it last spring, not much. I do deep water it.
Thanks for the compliments. I just hope it stays healthy because I'm am very fond of it.