I'd agree with the general advice given, but I do disagree about Eastern Redbud(Cercis canadensis) not being drought tolerant. It grows wild well into Central Kansas where many other Eastern species of tree don't make it out to because of heat and drought(average precipitation in this area is as low as 25"(6350mm) and summer highs can be as high as 115F(46.1°C)). It also grows in full sun and nearly full sun in this area. In fact in the beginnings of creeks and erosion channels in the upper 1/3(elevation) of hills in the largely treeless Flint Hills it is one of the tallest trees, forming in some parts somewhat of a canopy growing over the top of Chinquapin Oak(Quercus muhlenbergii) among others. So, it is quite drought and heat tolerant. Although Phoenix, AZ is even hotter and drier than Central Kansas, at least for a much much longer period of time during the year. So, it would most likely do best in full shade and definitely need regular watering, but not excessively like many other Eastern trees would need in your climate. There are other Redbud species which would look very similar and be even more heat and drought tolerant than Eastern Redbud. 'Oklahoma' and 'Texas' are both popular cultivars of Oklahoma Redbud(Cercis reniformis), which was first described from Southern Oklahoma's Arbuckle Mountains. It has a smaller thicker glossy leaf, with generally darker flowers(except the cultivar 'Texas' which has white flowers), and grows a bit smaller than Eastern Redbud. Western Redbud, or California Redbud(C. occidentalis) is native to Arizona, even not too far from Phoenix. It grows all around the Grand Canyon also and I've seen it in full sun surrounded by baking hot exposed rock there(i.e. it was growing out in the open with no other plants around). It has smaller, duller, more blue-green, thicker leaves than Eastern Redbud and grows smaller with multiple trunks. It's leaves are also often notched at the tip giving them a kidney shape to them, but otherwise rounded at the tip and not pointed like Eastern Redbud. It should do well for you in Phoenix. Lastly, Mexican Redbud(C. mexicana) is native from South Central and SW Texas(starting around San Antonio) down through much of Eastern Mexico. It's leaves are even smaller(1"-1.5"(2.5cm-3.8cm) long and wide) than C. reniformis with an undulating leaf edge and very thick and glossy even more so than Oklahoma Redbud. It's also very closely related to and probably should be lumped with Texas Redbud(C. texensis) which has slightly larger leaves, which are less glossy, and doesn't have an undulating leaf edge. Both will grow smaller than Eastern Redbud. Some also try to lump C. reniformis with C. texensis also(putting them all under the name of C. reniformis and calling them all "Texas Redbud"). Historical treatments of these different Redbuds have lumped most all into the same species or just mere varieties, but based on current information I think they are well justified as their own species. But, if a plant tag says something like Cercis canadensis reniformis or Cercis canadensis var. mexicana, etc. you can just delete the canadensis part to get to the scientific names I used. Mexican Redbud, Western Redbud, and Oklahoma Redbud are all in the nursery trade, with Western Redbud being the most difficult to find, at least in my experiences(only found it offered in a couple of nurseries in California). Mexican Redbud is the next most difficult to find, but I've seen it at nurseries in Texas and Arizona. Sorry, but I can't remember which nursery in Arizona, but it was in Tempe or Scottsdale.

Hi lazy, I had luck with C, so I'll answer that one and defer to the more experienced on the other two. I have been compiling a list of determinates for your A request. I'm probably going to experiment in a plot that fits 40 plants. Narrowing types to 20 (2 of each) gives me a headache. We share the same mindset on the concentrated early set though. I'd like to clear out that garden by the 4th of July next year. I had good results with cherries. Sungold and Super Sweet 100s as usual suspects. Both have a reputation for cracking. I saw little, maybe 1 in 50? I may pick earlier than most. Azruss in Tucson had good results with Gardener's Delight and I'll put in one or two of those next year. Juliet gets good reviews for our conditions. Mine was a weak plant from the start and the fruit is plain in comparison. I keep going back to this, but Porter's Dark Red Cherry Hybrid is healthy and still setting fruit. The flavor suffers a little in high heat, but it's still good. Like some other crops, pick it early in the morning before the heat messes with it. Rather than being a sweet sugary marble like the others it has a nice bigger tomato taste. It is a bit larger too. 4 Husky Red Cherries acted like determinates, which is okay for us. They're small plants, 3 feet high, very compact and stout, and they covered with dozens of nice size delicious cherries that some (mom and sis) felt were the best I grew. They stood up to the sun, delivered heavily for a month+ and perished. I could have cared for them better. It came the closest to ripening clusters evenly per your request. Starting as early as you said, these could be staggered every two weeks for about six weeks into mid march and give you a strong steady supply through mid July, I think. I'm also thinking they have what it takes for a fall crop. The type I am trying currently is not up to this heat, but that husky bull of a cherry plant may do much better. It was my earliest cherry. Another project for next year. As the cherries go, I feel emboldened to try just about anything. I have seed for all above but the Husky and Sungold plus Black Cherry, Chocolate Cherry, Large Red Cherry, Orange Cherry, Green Grape, Red Grape, and Black Plum. I'm looking for more varieties and want great big plants. I'm happy to send you a few seeds if any interest you. I'd like to spread them around hard core desert conditions like ours and see other results.

I added very little perlite to the mix for this plant since I was putting it into a clay pot, so it's mostly regular potting soil. I added a little peat moss and vermiculite like I always do to the mix. I usually start out plants in containers with a little osmocote plus mixed into the soil mix, and for general fertilizer I've used fish emulsion for this one. I generally fertilize my potted plants at least twice a month depending on the plant (I stop fertilizing June thru August since most new foliage that is grown fast will just burn in those months). Right now my plant is just coming out of dormancy so it's not much to look at but I'll show you a pic so you can kind of see how wide it gets: For reference, each square of that path is 1 foot, and I had taken off some of the branches that went further out because I figured they were dead but I found green in the middle so they might have been okay. If you look closely you can see the new branches forming. Last year it started the branches a little bit later than this so I guess it's improving a little bit. Wow I didn't know it got that cold there. The coldest I've seen here was 19 degrees F a few years ago, but I had protected everything really well that night. It's a good idea to let it stay in a container the first year. I'd just use a 2 or 3 gallon container and make sure you plant it's top root just below the soil line. A lot of times nurseries add soil around the base of a plant to protect it and people think that's where they need to plant it at. I think I want to eventually plant this into the ground as well, but I'm not sure how much I like the whole "dormant until May" thing. :) I'll probably wait another year or so and see how it reacts to a warmer winter under the patio. Hopefully we're not hijacking this thread.. I would put all this into a new post but I've already put it down here :)

Hi Mary! Thank you so much for all the info and for taking the time to write! Its really uplifting to have someone in town who truly understand what it takes to garden in Phx and your guidance has already been helpful in so many ways, so thank you! I've heard from so many that doing the garden in Phoenix is looking for added headaches, not an easy process, specially coming from the Northeast. Anyways, I think what really pushed me to start doing my raised bed was to find a nice, healthy project to do while being in quarantine. I have two girls, 3 and 6 that would benefit from doing this together, so I thought its an overall win despite the difficulties. I will say that I thought I knew that I was starting late in the season with this project by having the bed fully built by April 19, and that was the day I planted the few plants recommended by my local Lowes, (Cherry Tomatoes,Zucchini, cucumber & mint). Later on, we planted from seed carrot and potato, both doing beautiful until last week the potato as well as the cherry tomatoes started showing the curl leafs I showed you earlier. So, that was the first challenge I encounter, and later that week I tried to plant two green tomatoes plants to fulfill two empty spots I had and both died within a few days... So I am still learning and there is definitely a learning curve to this. Also, right before the heat wave from last week, I finish the irrigation system to water the raised bed from (manual hose watering straight to the roots) to now, a 6 inches apart dripping through my timer controller. I am very excited about this improvement but for sure, your suggestion to use the moisture meter will become handy, because I'm unsure how much water are my plants really getting within 25-30 minutes every morning, I'm getting the meter today! I would love if I get to see our plants give us some produce, even though I'm a little afraid the cherry tomatoes and the potato plants might be in trouble without much understanding yet on what the cause might be... This morning I was trying to look up close the the cherry tomatoes, see if I find insects or anything that might be able to discard as an option, and couldn't find anything, but a few leafs did show little black dots, up to 8 in some of the leafs, they didn't move so they dont look like insects, but could be caterpillar poop, which I have found couple caterpillar in the past weeks and moved them somewhere else farther away from my garden. Not even sure how they came along, do they come within the soil I bought? Anyways, Im impressed with your setup, thank you for sharing! I haven't even started doing my own compost, I find it challenging, and a bit overwhelming, since I am still taking baby steps, but I am very intrigued how you transition the wigglers from one bedding to the next. Doesn't sound easy. To start my raised bed I fill the bottom half with dried leafs, branches and yard soil and then I used garden soil purchased at Lowes for the top half. Plants seemed to enjoy it since they were growing fast and healthy. I will have to do further research on all the steps you are currently applying in your garden, so gain a bit more confidence and understanding on the how to and benefits. Here is a link so you can see my raised bed since the beginning to where it is right now. https://photos.app.goo.gl/RGytgdz8hzwCjYts5 Thank you again as always!