Is anyone here from the Dolores/Cortez area?

Hi all... I live in Arizona (so I'm usually on the SW gardening forum), but we have a home in Dolores, and we may be moving there permanently. Is anyone on this forum from that area? It's taken me years to learn how to garden in the desert successfully, and of course now I need to re-learn colder climate gardening! We already have several things growing and a small pond, but specifically I'd like to know if wisteria or magnolia can be grown there... and what are your favorite "unusual" plants for the area?

Here's our little pond...

Thank you in advance,

Brenda

I don't live in the Dolores, Cortez area but I know that wisteria and magnolias will grow there. It looks as if you will be in zone 6 or possibly 5. There are magnolias that grow in those zones, but some that don't. I am in zone 6 they tell me -- used to be 5a -- and I have a Magnolia Jane in my front yard. I just planted it this spring so it isn't very big and I notice that it gets really unhappy if you don't water it a lot. But it is growing. Wisterias grow here as well, but not as rambunctiously as in warm climates. To see some magnolias that grow in S. Colorado, check out

http://tinyurl.com/668nz5

This is where I got my magnolia. They have lots of kinds. Looks you have a lovely place there.

Oh, thank you, pajaritomt! That's part of the issue, I can't quite figure if I'm zone 5 or 6... USDA and everything else says "zones 5 - 6"! Maybe it's not that big of a difference. Thanks again for the link!

Brenda

I found your zone by checking at the National Arbor Day web site where you can enter zip code and get the zone. You can do this at:
http://www.arborday.org/treeinfo/ZoneInfo.cfm?ZipCode=39455&submit=Look+it+up%21

The problem was the zip code. Cortez has one zip code and Dolores has another. Cortez is listed at zones 6 to 7. Dolores is zones 5 to 6. This sounds to me like rapidly changing altitude. So, my recommendation is that you act as if your zone is 5 to 6. If it is 7, you still won't lose anything and I am pretty sure you can find plenty of magnolias and wisteria for 5 and 6. You can record your lowest temperatures when you move there and that will help you determine whether you are 5, 6, or 7.
Best of luck and do enjoy that lovely area!

Thank you again... I so appreciate your help!

Brenda

My pleasure! Betty

Hi Brenda,

I haven't been watching the forum lately, so just ran across your thread today. Thanks for joining us! I'm not in Dolores either, but everything I grow here will easily grow there (watering needs may be a bit different, tho'). I have wisteria and am thinking about trying a magnolia. I've heard that some find magnolias to be more challenging...late spring snows are the problem. You could surely give it a try!

We have a get together at the Denver Botanical Gardens in the spring and fall--Betty has been coming north for the event for years, now! We trade some plants, buy the more exotic plants at the DBG sale, share lunch and just enjoy the company of other gardeners. If you can come in the fall, I have some fish that would be glad to go home to your pond! Just let me know if you're interested :) Please keep your eyes open on this forum (for the DBG sales) and join us if you can?!

Welcome!
Diane

Thank you, Diane! What a nice welcome! We do spring and fall swaps here in the Phoenix area, so I was sad to think I might be missing them in the future when we move, so it's really nice to know that you've got some get togethers there, too! I look forward to getting to know all of you... and thank you for the info. I'm very excited about some things I can't grow in AZ... peonies and lilacs, most of all! Oh, and maybe lily of the valley?

Brenda

bsavage lily of the valley luv the Rockies. So much so that they will do a take over if not planted in deep shade so be careful where you place them. Looking forward to seeing you try new things in your new permanent digs.

dalianut,
Lilies of the valley in the Rockies? I have killed more lilies of the valley than i can number. I don't think they like the drought here. I give them extra water, plant them in compost, and put coffee grounds on them. But I still have only one plant that has never bloomed. Any advice?

hmmm they're not supposed to be too particular but I did pump up the soil with compost, peat, poop and sand because I put ferns in with them. They're in full shade against the foundation of the house on the north side. Mine took about 3 years to get really going. I don't get a whole bunch of flowers but enough to make it worth while. Also I dig in and leave on alot of my winter leaf mulch in that bed because they're woodland plants. Maybe I've just faked them out LOL.

Guess I need to do more of everything. I think water is key. Also, I think they like acid soil. More coffee grounds!

Good info!

Paja., I can't keep lilies of the valley growing here, either. I've tried three times...just not happenin' in my yard!

Well, I grew up in the rural suburbs of Buffalo, NY, and my mother grew (until she moved recently) prolific lily of the valley... most often in a ditch, so I'm guessing they need a lot of water. They also grew like ground cover under some of the trees... not that wet, but always heavily shaded. Hmmmmmmmmm...

North side of the house, sprinkler system--and they still won't grow for me. I have bleeding heart trying to take over near there...but NO lilies of the valley. Oh well. I'll be fine without them (though I do love their fragrance).

Huh. I wonder what the secret is then... I'll ask my Mom, but I think hers kind of grow like weeds...

Brenda

I have heard of them growing like weeds, too and I think there are two secrets -- acid soil and lots and lots of water. A friend from Seattle tells me they grow like crazy there. I don't think they like hot weather either. I never saw one in the South though I once knew a terrific gardener who had a little patch of them here, but no one else.
I still have one alive and keep putting pine needles and coffee grounds on it. It is in a very shady area and I have the drip system on it. It has made it a whole year, no bloom, though. Maybe it will take. I hope so.

I hope so, too!