Plant of the Month – August
Desert Almond Prunus fasciculata Plant Form: Deciduous shrub Water Use: Very low Mature Size: 6-10’ tall & wide Exposure: Full sun, part sun Bloom Time: Spring (March – May); fruit Summer (June – July) Native to: California, Arizona, Nevada, & Utah (at elevations below 7,300 feet) Hardiness: Cold Hardy to 20°F Desert Almond is a densely-branched, fast-growing, deciduous shrub that makes a good screen or background plant. Its small, linear leaves are arranged in bundles on the stems, which […]
Harvesting Desert Almond
Part of my appreciation of our native desert plants comes from the indispensable gifts that these plants have provided for millennia to humans, wildlife, birds, insects, soils, and the whole ecosystem. Indigenous peoples have long valued and used native desert plants for food, medicine, healing, shelter, clothing, utensils, and ceremony Desert Almond is a relative of our commercial almond that is smaller than the store-bought almonds that you are familiar with, but they have the same familiar structure: a furry outer covering, a thinner […]
