We will be in the 80’s consistently this month. This is why we all live in Arizona. Hopefully, you have already started planting your yard with spring flowers and such. Continue to transplant trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, ornamental grasses, and spring flowers. The sooner they are in the ground the stronger they will be when the heat hits this summer. One good thing about Arizona is we can plant most anything all year long, with the exception of maybe December/January. There are a variety of flowers that can be planted in the desert but the one flower I continue to go back to for all summer blooming is the Vinca. You can plant these hardy flowers in full sun with regular watering and you will get flowers all summer long. They will even last through most of the winter.
Some plant ideas for color from spring to fall include Desert Willow Tree in Desert Amethyst, Desert Rose, or Bi-color for trumpet-shaped flowers to attract Hummingbirds. Feather bush, Dersert Fern provide a lush canopy for shade but it is messy. You can plant citrus trees, Lemon Trees, Grapefruit trees, or a “cocktail” tree with several fruit varieties in one tree.
Garden Planting: Sow seeds for herbs including basil and chives. Plant lavender, lemon grass, oregano, rosemary, sage, santolina, and thyme. You can also sow seeds for quick-maturing varieties of radishes. Alternate planting for a continuous supply of radishes through the growing season.
Garden Maintenance: Cut back all the frost bitten plants. Prune the dead foliage from plants such as bougainvillea, ficus, Lantana, and natal plum. Trim back to the new green parts of the plant. Believe it or not, most of these plants will come back this spring even if they look dead. Give them a little time before pulling them out and giving up on them.
Lawns: It is time to transition your lawn from winter Rye to summer Bermuda grass. Mow the grass shorter over the next few weeks. This will allow the sun to reach the Bermuda grass underneath so it can come back. Increase water in April and fertilize your Bermuda grass if you did not over-seed with Rye. You might need to weed and feed the lawn to get rid of the weeds that have sprung up this winter. There are also many organic solutions including Corn gluten is an option for weed control that works naturally by preventing seeds from rooting into the ground. You can use it for control of crabgrass, dandelions, pigweed, purslane, lambs quarters, foxtail and barnyard grass. Corn gluten is a very safe and environmentally friendly option but you may not see the same control that you will with some of the other pre-emergent’s on the market. Remember, pre-emergent will stop seeds from germinating so do not put it where you plant to sow seeds. It does not kill existing weeds and is not 100% effective on all seeds If you have poor drainage in your soil it may have become compacted and needs to be aerated. This is done by making little holes all over the yard to improve drainage. The holes fill back up over time.
For Landscape Service or Maintenance call Arizona Living Landscape & Design 480-390-4477