Fruiting plants in the southwest ?

Hi , I have involved myself in trying to create a wildlife bird habitat somewhat southwest of Phoenix , Arizona . I have 4 acres to play with but the conditions here are somewhat inhospitible to what most others of you in the country are used to . Less than 10" of rain a year , salty, alkaline soils , high heat . One step this side of H _ _ _ would be a fair description . I live isolated , somewhat out in the boonies . There is no piped water here , to drill a well , water table is down to some 800 to 1000' . It would cost in excess of $30,000 to install a well . Fair chance that piped water might be here in 2 to 3 years . To install a well is money that would never appreciate the property value , so it would very literally be money down a hole . And with the prospect of piped water being here in 2 to 3 years .....

So I haul water from a membership community well , having a 2,100 gallon water tank trailer . In the warmer months I am at present using some 8 to 11,000 gallons a week as is . My garden such as it is , is still young yet and getting it established . As you can see from reading above xeriscape plants would be the rule , tolerant of conditions suggested above . . I have been posting for a time in the southwest forum and the wildlife gardening forum here at Daves and have yet to meet others that either put a stress on wildlife drawing plants under these conditions . Not having posted here before I thought that maybe I would try this forum . I notice that frostweed seems to post here and at the Texas forum and she seems to have an affinity for natives .

Thus far I've planted some 150 trees , mostly natives or desert oriented . Lost count of how many shrubs and grasses . A number of varieties of lyciums , some graythorn , a few different hackberries , desert holly , sand cherry , and others .

Would there be others here that talk my language ?

Hi!
I'm curious of your different Hackberries. We have a "native" Hackberry here in SW Florida Celtis pallida which gets yellow-orange berries. Is this one of the ones that you are growing?
Nobody knows how they got here. Maybe birds pooping out the seeds or even brought over in canoe? We do know they're native in your area and W. Texas.

I've got one of the Spiny Hackberry (Celtis pallida) plants. In the city near us it has become rare...because of development. Many people living in the city have never seen one of these, but know what a crepe myrtle or pyracantha look like. And yet, there may have once been some of this plant in their neighborhood at one time...before the plants were bulldozed down. So one time I dug one up out of a lovely area near a creek where they were going to bulldoze. It's still fairly small, but produced some fruit for the first time this year. I have Texas Persimmon, Brasil and Spiny Hackberry producing fruits now.

Hello Everybody, sorry I have been absent from this forum for a while. I am very much involved volunteering at the restoration of a Texas wildscape right here in Arlington. I also raise most of the plants we are using for the restoration at the city greenhouse. We had a sale last Fall and raised $5,000 plus we planted hundreds of plants too. We do this with 6 to 8 volunteers 8 hours a week.
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Linda is such a native plant lover and such a sweet person, I am so lucky to have met her in person, many of he plants I have i owe to her, thank you Linda.
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Lonediver, it sounds like you have quite a job on your hands, are you getting help? I do love native plants and I wish I could be of help to you, but at the very least I could be moral support.
I hope things are going well with you.
Josephine.

Lonediver, here is a link to a pdf plant list in a chart format: Landscaping for Desert Wildlife
http://www.azgfd.gov/pdfs/w_c/landscaping/PlanningHabitat.pdf

The list isn't just for birds but I think it might help you.

Angele

Very nice list Angele, by the way, how is you garden coming along?
Josephine.

I find myself to be a major disappointment Josephine!
I got my yard down to bare bones last spring and ended up putting in way more non-natives than I hoped. I did find a few native plants commercially. I think the difficulty I had in finding plants has gotten me over my aversion to collecting some seed while hiking – I know right where I can find the prettiest Acacia farnesiana! I was thrilled with all the butterflies, bees and birds that seem to approve the choices I made though and I did not plant any invasive species. A rough guess is I am at maybe 20% native to Sierra County. I was hoping to be at 75%!

Well, you just keep trying and you will get there. It has taken me 10 years to be about 80% native.
Those native plants are just hard to find, but persistence pays off.
I have to tell you, I had wanted an Apache Plume, Fallugia paradoxa for a long time;
http://wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=FAPA
and one day I ran into it at a nursery when I wasn't looking, not cheap, $27 for a 2 gallon pot, and it looked pitiful, but now I have one and I hope to multiply it and spread it around.
Right now it is dormant, so I can't wait for Spring. Wish me luck !!!
Josephine.

Fallugia paradoxa is one of the most common shrubs in a canyon not a quarter of a mile from my home. Between my home & the canyon there isn't one to be found. Funny because it is all open scrubland, must be that the rainfall mostly ends up there. Apologies to you lonediver but I can't resist posting a picture & when I get started talking with Josehine I have too much fun! Please jump right back in. We had a rainy summer with hurricane remnants so this photo shows more green than most the year does. Very attractive to lots of butterflies and insects. I love the plumes and the white flowers too.

That is a lovely picture Angele, I hope mine will look like that some day.
Josephine.