Hi,
I moved to Tucson 3+ years ago from Pennsylvania. Love the climate here! I moved several Japanese maple seedlings, hoping to grow them in pots. They were doing fine until I went on vacation in the summer. Should have moved them into the house, but I figured the cats would eat them. I have some maple seeds that I will plant in the Spring, but only to keep in pots.
Do I miss my east-coast plants? Oh, yes, especially the hosta! Could some of the east-coast plants survive here? Yes, but only with lots of irrigation and protection from the sun.
My advice to you -- learn to love the Arizona native species. There are desert willow, screwbean mesquite, pink fairy-dusters, and endless varieties of cacti. So many plants here that I never heard of before. All of my neighbors have commented on what a nice job we did landscaping what had been a plant-less lot. All the plants are natives or desert-adapted, low-water use plants -- nothing that I would have been able to grow outside in Pennsylvania. My yard looks nothing like what I had back east. But it is gorgeous, all the same.
Welcome to Arizona!

Sedum, hens & chicks, roses and several more. We you get to Tucson, google Pima Co. Extension Service. They have a rather extensive list of plants you can use. Take you time in planning and planting. I would not go with any professional because they use the cheapest plants, most common, available plants and most of them are not appropriate for a well though out plan. You can use drought tolerant native grasses such as Buffalo or Blue Grama rather than stones which are a great big heat sink.

As someone who grew up here (70s and 80s) then moved away, came back in the 90s and is now miserable with allergies I never had b/c people moved here and brought their non-AZ native plants with them, please don't. Not only has doing this by so many others been a source of allergies but it's invasive to our native plants. Please enjoy the new area that you are moving to and respect the nature that is already thriving here. It will be very different from what you are used to, but that's the beauty of nature! :-)

Cherilynn is right. Southern Arizona used to be a place where people moved to escape allergies. Now they have to move away to escape them. Birdlady is also right. You have a whole new world of beautiful plant life to explore here in Tucson. Embrace it! Your east coast plants might be cajoled into existing here, but they'll thrive better where they are. Leave them.

AZ has let down their guard. It used to be that you couldn't bring ANY live plant into the state without proper labeling and quarantine time. Certain plants, like vining morning glories, are prohibited as are their seeds, but every once in a while you'll find a packet of seeds in one of the garden centers.

Please leave your plants in MA. We really don't want the pest eggs and disease spores that are prevalent in MA transferred to our corner of the country where the desert is already in peril just from humanity. Once you're here, you'll have access to all kinds of nurseries and information about plants that do well in the Tucson climate. Many plants can be grown in both AZ and MA but there's a huge number of plants that do better in AZ or can only be grown in a warm climate.

Maryld,

Here is a link to the on-line version of Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert. It has over 200 trees, shrubs, groundcovers, perennials, vines, succulents, cacti and more, complete with photos and descriptions.

You may also want to take a look at free landscaping and gardening publications from the University of Arizona. Go to ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/html/pubs/pubs.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert

Water