Desert Horticulture

Mulch is anything applied to the soil surface. It can keep the soil cooler, save water that is already in the soil and control weeds. Organic mulch may rot or decompose into the soil and improve it. Learn why mulch is a critical component of desert soils and which ones you should be using and why.

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Quite a few people have been asking what vegetables they can plant in this fall. This podcast discusses the fall planting of vegetables in the desert and what you can do to have a more successful fall garden.

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Summer time when it's hot is not the best time to plant landscape plants. The best time is an early spring and early fall when temperatures are cooler. But sometimes planting during the heat is unavoidable. Learn what mistakes some of the professionals make and how to avoid them. All this and more on today's Desert Horticulture.

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According to some, this past summer heat was hard on plants. Was it the heat or was it something else? Listen and find out. All this and more on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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Plants don't care where their nutrients come from. Its not the source of the nutrients that is the problem. Toxicities arise in fertilizers when and how it is manufactured or mined. That is not to say that so-called organic fertilizers are blameless and that topic will be handled in another podcast. Learn how plants use nutrients, which nutrients are important for plant growth and why. Learn how to apply fertilizers and when in this Desert Horticulture podcast.

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Ever hear of the Damascus rose? Syria is a pretty dry place. Roses can do quite well growing in the desert. But you should know which ones to use, which landscape locations are best, how to plant them and care for them to look good. This audio podcast will tell you how. Also read about them on my blog at  https://xtremehorticulture.blogspot.com/2020/06/this-isthe-time-of-year-when-garden.html

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HOA's have the daunting responsibility to keep landscapes attractive and save money at the same time. Two of the most expensive costs to community members in desert HOA's is the water bill and landscaping bill. Landscapes can be attractive and not ruin the resale value of its homes for community members, and all the while keep water costs to a minimum, by following some simple rules. Learn what they are and how to implement them.

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Thinning fruit, or fruit removal so the remaining fruit becomes larger, doesn't work on all fruit trees. Some are "thinned" during the pruning stage, Some trees dont seem to care if they are thinned or not. They produce the same regardless. Learn which ones to thin and why on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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Bottle trees (Brachychiton pupulneus) are NOT desert trees. Many people believe they are but they come from semi arid parts of Australia and should be watered, planted and managed as mesic not xeric plants. Spider mites are the bane of many gardeners whether they are found on Italian cypress or tomato plants. Learn how to identify and manage them. Plant yellowing is common in the desert either resulting from a plant nutrient shortage, planting or watering issue. Learn the difference!

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I would like to see you do three things to your landscape the day after a rain in the desert; make sure your irrigation applications are away from cement and steel structures, inspect your landscape and fruit trees and shrubs for borer activity and take care of any mushroom problems that appear. Water in the desert is very destabilizing. Desert soils are formed under eons of dry weather. Keep water away from cement and steel. Borer activity will express itself with sap oozing from the trunk and limbs the day after a rain if they are present. Mushrooms are a good sign in a residential landscape. It's a sign of biological activity.

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