Desert Horticulture

Are you frustrated that during the last few years early spring freezes eliminated your peach crop? Want to learn what plants are growing in your yard to take better care of them? Want to know how to prune a miniature or genetic dwarf peach tree? Learn all this and more on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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Have you ever wondered how desert landscapes should differ from landscapes in wetter climates? Desert landscapes must endure hotter and drier weather and they require a whole new set of plants. We will learn why desert landscaping and landscape design are not just cacti and rock. We will compare it to Xeriscape and how it might differ from landscape designs in Colorado, New Mexico, West Texas and most of Utah. All this and more on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) has been grown in China for 4000 years as a fruit. It tolerates a wide range of climates including our dry, harsh desert. In this interview with Rafael for Desert Horticulture, learn how this tree has been cultivated in our Mojave Desert climate with few pest or management problems. Also learn how Rafael has developed some promising new cultivars that specifically were selected for our desert due to their performance and taste.

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This second episode discusses how to implement water conservation measures in desert landscape irrigation practices. Specifically it discusses how desert irrigation systems should be divided (valved) separately for the type of plants used (xeric vs mesic plants) and the size of the plants. Small plants should be irrigated separately from trees and large shrubs. It also discusses the use of a long metal rod (rebar) and inexpensive soil moisture sensors for determining when to irrigate and how many minutes to apply water.

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Desert plants (xeric) use water differently from non-desert plants (mesic). Learn in this episode of Desert Horticulture how to irrigate desert plants and why terms like xeric, mesic, ET and others are an important first step when learning how to water a desert landscape.

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This episode of Desert Horticulture examines the possibility that verticillium wilt could be responsible for live die back in Desert Willow. The second question asks about soil amendments added to soil mixes such as Rock Dust, vermiculite or perlite. What are the reasons for adding them and why not? The third question compares Desert Museum Palo Verde with crepe myrtle and how they differ when managing them in the landscape and why. All this and more on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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Three popular questions I was sent include improving the size of Bartlett pears, whether a pomegranate can be planted during the winter or not, and what are whiteflies and what damage do they create? In this episode I talk about the three major types of pears that can be grown in the Mojave Desert, how to get them bigger and when to pick them. I also talk about the best times to plant a pomegranate and what to be careful about. Finally, one reader didn't understand what whiteflies were, how to control them and the problems that they create. All this and more on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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The dead of winter is not the only time to prune fruit trees. Fruit trees can be pruned 12 months of the year you just have to know what you're doing and do it carefully in the desert. Find out what kind of pruning you can do outside of the winter months on this episode of Desert Horticulture.

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Your plants are telling you something. Maybe not in English but if you observe them they are talking to you. That dark green color of leaves after you fertilize is a good indicator of high nitrogen fertilizer, good growth tells you plenty of nitrogen was present earlier in the season. Leaf scorch might tell you the plant is in the wrong spot or planted wrong. Yellow leaf color may be due to a lack of nutrients, improper watering, or a cold winter. Plants do talk. You just have to stop and listen. Learn how on this podcast of Desert Horticulture.

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Principles never change. How to apply them changes because you live in the desert. Vegetable production is the same in the Mojave Desert as it was in Michigan, Idaho, Utah or California. The APPLICATION of these principles change. Learn from this podcast the basic principles important when growing high quality vegetables in the desert.

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