Plant of the Month – April
Bladderpod Peritoma arborea Plant Form: Evergreen shrub Water Use: Very Low Mature Size: 4-6 feet tall & wide Exposure: Full Sun Bloom Time: Year-round; heaviest bloom Feb – June Native to: California (between 200 – 6,000 feet) Hardiness: Cold Hardy to 25°F Bladderpod is a hardy, drought-tolerant, evergreen shrub with lacy gray-green leaves. This relative of capers produces showy, yellow flowers year-round with only occasional water. Bladderpod derives its name from its seed pods that are shaped like small […]
Plant of the Month – January
Desert Agave Agave deserti Plant Form: Succulent Water Use: Very low Mature Size: 2-3 ft. tall x 2-6 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun Bloom Time: Spring (May); Summer (June-July) Native to: California, Arizona, Baja California Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F Desert Agave forms symmetrical rosettes of fleshy leaves in this slow-growing monocot. Stiff, sword-like, blue-green leaves are edged with prickles, and tipped with a sharp spine. After 8-20 years, a flowering stalk shoots up, growing 5-15 feet tall in just weeks, with […]
Plant of the Month – Century Plant
Century Plant American Agave Agave americana Plant Form: Succulent Water Use: Very low Mature Size: 6-10 ft. tall x 10-15 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun, reflected sun Bloom Time: Summer (June – August) Native to: Mexico, SW US Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F Century Plant is a large and impressive succulent that forms symmetrical rosettes of fleshy, gray-green, spiky leaves that can grow up to 6 feet long. Named from a belief that it blooms only after 100 years, it […]
Plant of the Month – December
Firecracker Plant Coral Fountain Russelia equisetiformis Plant Form:Perennial shrub Water Use: Low, moderate Mature Size: 3-4 ft. tall x 4-6 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun, part sun, filtered sun Bloom Time: Spring (Mar – May), Summer (June – Aug), Fall (Sept – Oct) Native to: Mexico Hardiness: Cold hardy to 25-30°F Firecracker Plant turns heads with its showy, 1-inch-long red flowers on arching stems throughout all warmer months of the year. Hummingbirds and butterflies can’t resist it. Also known as […]
Plant of the Month – August
Desert Senna Senna armata Plant Form: Shrub Water Use: Very low Mature Size: 2-3 ft. tall x 2-4 ft. wide Exposure: Full sun Bloom Time: Spring (April-May), Summer (June – July) Native to: California, Arizona, Nevada, Baja California Hardiness: Cold hardy to 15°F Desert Senna is one of those surprising plants that almost disappears into the landscape until it bursts into bloom with an explosion of flowers that can cover almost every inch of the plant. Most of the year, […]
Plant of the Month – July
Pencil Cholla Cylindropuntia ramosissima Plant Form: Cactus, succulent Water Use: Extremely low, very low Mature Size: 5-6 ft. tall and wide Exposure: Full sun Bloom Time: Spring (March-May) Native to: California, Baja California, northwestern Mexico Hardiness: Cold hardy to 10°F Pencil Cholla can be either erect and treelike, or trailing on the ground with rising branch tips. It also expresses its individuality in the number of spines it produces, with some plants having no spines, others sporting sparse spines, while […]
