Ever since I moved to the southwestern United States, I’ve been growing autumn sage (Salvia greggii). It’s a popular and easy-to-find plant that is perfect for landscapers who want to conserve water. But, are there also downsides to autumn sage? Here are the autumn sage pros and cons! Autumn sage pros and cons PROS: Blooms […]
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Bougainvillea are colorful tropical plants that are also surprisingly drought-tolerant. In addition, they love extreme summer heat. Once established, these plants are relatively carefree. To ensure your success with these vibrant plants, here’s how to care for bougainvillea. Description of bougainvillea plants Bougainvillea are viny, woody, and thorny plants that can be grown as a
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I was surprised to learn that bougainvillea plants are drought-tolerant, and that they can thrive in the sunny, hot, and dry conditions common in the southwestern United States. However, this plant does haves its disadvantages, too. Here are the bougainvillea pros and cons for a drought-tolerant landscape. In the past, I dismissed using bougainvilleas as
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Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas ) will add a colorful, aromatic flair to your southwestern xeriscape. Amazingly, the Spanish lavender will reward you with prolific, purple flower blooms throughout the growing season. Here’s how to grow Spanish lavender. To withstand heat, select the Spanish lavender In addition to the Spanish lavender variety, you might also see
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The White Cloud (Leucophyllum frutescens) Texas Sage is a unique-looking sage variety for drought-tolerant landscapes. While all of the purple-flowering Texas Sage varieties are beautiful and eye-catching, I love the unique White Cloud! Here are the White Cloud Texas Sage care guidelines. But before that, here is a description of the White Cloud Texas Sage.
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Despite its hardiness and ease-of-care, the ponytail palm can suffer from heat stress.That’s especially true if you’re located in an area with extremely hot summer temperatures. So, how can you protect your ponytail palm from the ravages of summer heat? Here are a couple of ponytail palm heat stress prevention guidelines. My ponytail palm lives
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The Canary Island Date Palm tree (Phoenix canariensis), also known as the pineapple palm, is one of easiest and most attractive palm trees to grow in a landscape. It’s drought-tolerant and enjoys the summer heat! Here are the Canary Island Date Palm pros and cons. Canary Island Date Palm pros and cons PROS: Large, stately
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A few summers ago, a number of my Weber’s agaves had rotted. Was I watering them too much, or did the agave snout weevil kill them? I’d like to figure out what happened, so I can prevent more damage in the future. So, did the agave snout weevil kill my agaves? Did the agave snout
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Out of all the agaves I have in my landscape, most of my neighbors have told me that my butterfly agave (Agave potatorum) is their favorite. They love its symmetrical shape, its interesting leaves and spines, and its blue-gray leaves that include a tinge of green. So, what are the butterfly agave care guidelines? But
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I often see the paper spine cactus (Tephrocactus articulatus var. papyracanthus) offered for sale in the garden centers of many big-box DIY stores. It’s an easy-to-grow succulent that has long, white, paper-thin spines growing on egg-shaped segments. This cactus can be grown outdoors (depending on your hardiness zone) or indoors—here’s how to grow the paper
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