Moved to Tucson - question about state of my plants + trees

12 years ago

Hi, I moved just outside of Tucson and planted some things this winter and I'm not really sure how they're doing or how well they they can thrive here.

I planted a row of bamboo (buddah, heavenly, golden goddess). I watered them every day for two weeks and then cut back to twice a week. They seem very dry and, well, dead. Is this normal for bamboo in the winter? I'm really worried about them.

I also planted two myrtle crepe trees. They're both still very green, but have a consistent duller sheen that could also be due to the winter. Is this okay? I also watered them every day for two weeks and now twice a week.

All these plants have been in the ground a month now. I specifically picked the crepe because of how drought tolerant it is. How well though does it have to be established to cut back on the watering?

Does anyone have any more recommendations for fast growing trees and plants that are also drought tolerance? I'm planting a long a fence for privacy with these. Thank you.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (2)

naycat
12 years ago
Hi Incitatus
First off I need to know if you are in Vail, Corona De Tucson, Basicly where. Because if you are in Tucson the temps are warmer than in Vail... So I need to know how much freeze they have gone threw.

Just to let you know I have been growing plants in the high desert all my life, As child at Edwards AFB. My Mother gave me a little corner in the backyard which I grew a vegtable garden, in Casa Grand AZ. while in jr. high, and High School I also grew a vegtable garden. While in apartments in Tucson going to U of A I grew my veggies in pots. I work in a nursery in Tucson.

To Start I would never water any plant everyday even in summer. Unless they were bedding plants, or in pots.

Watering in the desert needs to be done deeply, it forces roots to grow deeply, and the plants don't get overwatered.

The first sign of plants being overwatered is, the plants look fine except that they are not growing, not producing flowers.

The second sign, is the leaves starting at the lower leaves turn compleately yellow, and will drop off.

Bamboo I don't believe will have an over watering problem as long as they as the soil is a good draining soil. I believe watering everyday for 2 weeks is not long enough to do damage. The duller sheen could be due to the fact that the myrtles are going dormant. In some areas they can go compleatly dormant. In other areas they can go semi-dormant. Depends if you are near a wash, a large park or golf course, or near the mountains or in Tucson. It also depends on your yard and where thing are placed in the yard. This is known as micro climates.

when I water to establish; I water once every 3rd day, in summer. Shrubs to depth of 18" trees to 18 - 22". I keep doing this untill I see leaves turning yellow, and droping. Then I will water every 5th day and deeper, till I see the signs again, then every 7th. till I get the watering down to once every 2 weeks.

In winter I would water once every 4th or 6th day to start.

Again I need to know your area to advise you on what plants to get for privacy. I don't want to tell you something to get if your area wont's support the temps for the plant.

If you noticed my zone is 13. That is because I don't follow the USDA's idea of zone temps. That is because they do not take into concideration the extream heat we have to deal with. Any thing that is writen by Sunset deals with the western states, and have zone ranges that deal with all the climets of the west, and takes into concideration the extream heat we have to deal with.

I tell you this because If you read something writen by someone who is in the east, and their information tells you, you need to add lime into the soil to bring the ph up to nutural,,, well that would be very bad for us because are soil is a high ph. We have to add acid to our soil to bring our ph down to a nutural level.

I hope this isn't too much information to start.

Naycat
incitatus
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you so much for all the information. To answer your question I live in Sahuarita near the mine. I just moved here a few months ago so I'm unsure about the temps. I just know it was very hot at the end of the summer and it's cool here now. I may have to take a pic of my bamboo, I really hope it's doing well. I bought many plants and they weren't cheap.

I look forward to any suggestions you might have.
Related Discussions
question about moving a young fruit tree
Q
Comments (4)
Yes you can transplant trees next spring as soon as extreme weather is over but at least slightly before trees begin to bud out for best results. Yes, you can grow trees and move them later to get quicker results than starting with new trees but you'd be better off mail ordering bare root trees from a nursery that specializes in hardy fruit trees, preferably located in your region. If you have light soil (more work with heavier soil) you can plant the trees right in the ground and move them bare root when ready to go in permanent locations. I move mature but small (not more than 3 inch diameter trunks) fruit trees all the time).
...See More
A few questions about my tree...
Q
Comments (6)
Just leave it there. Figs do not need to go dormant. Fig is tropical tree and it goes dormant with us because we live in cold climate. I have 5 fig trees inside and they are blooming with lots of buds and leaves. My other fig trees outside are Dormant. Look where the fig grow in abundance in Egypt, in Turky and Lebanon the weather is warm and they never go dormant. People in Southren California and Arizona their fig never go dormant. Last year I brought three trees inside and in April I had fresh fig to eat. My trees which went in Dormancy did not have eatable fresh fig until August. Your tree will develop branches later is still young. I had trees like that then developed branches. It needs larger pot and fertilizer.
...See More
Help! I'm moving from Tucson to Santa Fe
Q
Comments (4)
Hi Cactus Dude, I thought you just recently moved to Tucson from Albuquerque? Well, I understand your fears about your tender plants, and I wish Santa Fe were a bit milder than it is, although I do love the climate here overall. I will try to assuage your fears in any event... first, Santa Fe is really only one zone colder than many parts of Albuquerque (2,000 feet elevation difference corresponds to 10 degrees of temperature difference, the difference that 50 miles north makes is neglible). Yes, on record is some extreme cold, just as in Albuquerque, but don't believe anyone who tries to convince you that Santa Fe is colder than ZONE6. The AVERAGE annual minimum is certainly not colder than -10! Last winter for example, was a very cold winter here even for old-timers, and the lowest we reached (on two mornings) was -4. Otherwise the lowest I had seen here was -2. I would say that 0 degrees is the most appropriate design low temperature for lanscaping here in Santa Fe. Even many plants listed as being hardy to 10 degrees have been thriving here for years. Many of your more cold-hardy succulents and cacti will probably be fine outside with southern exposure and appropriate drainage. I have a beautiful cactus and succulent bed along a south wall of my house, with many species from the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. I also grow a few more tender cacti (saguaro, peruvian cereus, orchid cactus) as well as numerous tropical fruits in an entryway sunroom. One more thing, don't worry about heating costs. A well designed greenhouse should certainly not need supplemental heat in Santa Fe! Even those plastic-covered hoop houses grow cool season crops throughout the winter with no supplemental heating. By well designed I mean that it should have enough insulation compared to glazing (the north wall needs no glass after all) as well as heat storage to hold the warmth of the day. If even a slight dip below 32 would spell disaster for your plants, (which I doubt) you can easily throw in a small electric heater for those rare cold AND cloudy times. Anyway, good luck with the relocation process!
...See More
Question About Planting Dogwood Tree
Q
Comments (16)
I am hesitant to plant it too close to the oaks. Ours thrives in the almost full shade of oaks where it is placed only 13 ft away from a Shumard and within 30 ft of a live oak to its south. It catches a short bit of direct sun very early in the morning. Only significant consequence has been that after two decades it is still only 8 or 9 ft tall; though suppose our clay soil could be another factor in its small stature. This size is great for us, but could be a disappointment if expecting more typical growth they get with more light. Heat won't kill it directly; ours sailed through the same triple digit run you saw in 2011. Here, insufficient moisture, sun scald, and rot are most common killers. You shouldn't have to worry about soil pH since you're in its native range and probably east of the worst CRR (cotton root rot) problems. Sun scald is the first problem listed in the Texas A&M Plant Disease Handbook entry for Dogwoods. The leaves are pretty good at indicating when it needs water, but we still often get browning on the distal margins of the leaves by September because we've let it get too dry at some point - it needs fairly frequent deep waterings during the hottest stretches. Remember seeing a caution somewhere about planting in root zones of removed trees due to potential of other rot (mushroom root rot?) problems, so something else to consider if you have options. Others may know more - ours went into the root zone of a recently deceased hackberry, so I'd probably still chance it without other good locations.
...See More

Moved to Tucson - question about state of my plants + trees

Comments (2)

naycat

incitatus
Original Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Moved to Tucson - question about state of my plants + trees

Comments (2)

naycat

incitatusOriginal Author

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

incitatus
Original Author