You can go to the Web site for the National Arbor Day Foundation and do a search for your Zip code area. They will give you a list of trees which should do well. They sell seedlings for a low price. I bought two almond seedlings for $1 apiece, which are growing well. You might want to try hazelnuts.

If your soil is alkaline, which it probably is, you need to take that into account. Some trees won't grow well in alkaline conditions. Apricot does, but I don't know if it will do well at your elevation. Peaches and plums can tolerate alkaline soil, but again your elevation may be a disadvantage regarding fruit trees. Pinon produces pine nuts. I imagine pinon would grow well in your area.

If you aren't familiar with growing trees, do some research. Planting a young tree too deep will deprive it of oxygen and kill it. The first flare of roots, the top of the root ball, should barely be covered with earth.

I think you might be able to grow raspberries! I didn't bookmark the URL, but I once came across a Web site about folks in New Mexico who got a government grant to try a raspberry farm. It was thought that raspberries would not do well in NM. It was an experiment. The couple managed to make a success of their little raspberry farm. They proved that raspberries can do well in NM. I believe they live in a mountain area.

I moved to central NM six years ago. It doesn't seem to me that trees grow fast around here at all. I live on a mesa south of Albuquerque. I'm not sure what my elevation is exactly, definitely above 5000. The high winds are hard on trees. Young trees need a gallon of water every day! It takes a few years for a tree to become established to the point that it no longer needs daily water. All mature trees need to be flooded with water about once a month, all year round.

Lorna

Nantinki,

Lorna always has good advice. It sounds like you live in a wonderful area, and you should be able to grow all sorts of neat things. But I would bet your soil is pH neutral or below, at your elevation, where you probably have loads of evergreen trees. A trip to some nice gardens in Santa Fe (7,000 feet along the colder Sangre de Cristos) should give you a good idea of what's possible. You probably could grow fig successfully with winter protection, but the fruit quality may not be that good. I have yet to harvest sweet figs (just bland ones) from my Brown Turkey plant here in Santa Fe. Growth is also not incredible due to the cool nights.

Yes, you should have pinyon growing wild on or near your property I would imagine. This is a very good crop year, make sure to stock up on the 'nuts' in the next few weeks while they're still littering the ground under productive trees. And yes, I have certainly seen apricot trees at your elevation, and sometimes they produce when valley trees are frozen, due to later flowering and cold air drainage.

Fast growing shade trees for your area would include: aspens, cottonwoods, willows, sycamores, locusts, etc...
while good vigorous fruit trees would include apple, apricot, peach, mulberry, american persimmon, pear. And yes, raspberries grow wild at your elevation in NM mountains. Just get out and explore our beautiful mountains and higher elevation towns to see what does well in the wild and in cultivation. Good luck...

Lorna,
Hi and thanks a lot. I know that many fast-growing trees are trouble. They can be weak-wooded and prone to disease and insects. And many fast-growing trees have shorter lives than slower-growing trees. But I am looking for the exceptions, and I am trying to get all the information I can before planting.
I have two cherry trees to close to my fountation. Last fall when I moved here I had to cut them down. I put sand bags on the roots to kill them. Well they didn't die and are poking up again right under the foundation. I think that they are bing cherry.
When out and about I check all the trees around here. So many are pinon' and pine. I would like to have fruit, ( never see any here) and don't want to waste money buying what won't grow.
I am grateful for your expertise and help and thank you again.
Nantinki

Fabaceae,
Thanks so much! I am thinking that a Mexican sycamore might be best to try. It is supposedly best in full sun and it is told that it is tolerant of most soils. I think I might try one. Are there othere sycamore that people plant here?
We are not going with the fig tree after what I was told. Nope. Not that.
Any particular kind of apple? I know that they take forever to grow but I would like to have one. Any suggestions as to kind?
Another great thought was raspberries. I never even though of them. Now, I need to find some plantings from somewhere? Grapes might even grow too?
Is fall planting best?
One last question: What about rhubarb? Will it grow in NM?
Thanks to you and I am grateful.
Nantinki

Rhubarb should grow in NM. When I lived just outside of a desert in southern Idaho, the neighbor lady grew and harvested rhubarb throughout winter.

I had a successful crop of strawberries for a couple of years. They need some shade, full afternoon sun is too harsh for them. I had to make their soil less alkaline, as they like acid conditions. I have a couple of blueberry bushes. They have survived for a few years, but haven't come into their own. I'm not giving up on them! Melons do well in my area. I've grown cantaloupes and watermelons.

I just mail-ordered a couple of elderberry trees and hazelnut bushes (should grow at least 10' tall). I am not sure they will do well here, but I'm going to give them a try. Pecans grow well in southern NM. I want to try a couple of them, too, though elevation may be a problem.

According to Fabacae's post, I'm wondering how close you are to Santa Fe? I like a nursery called High Country Gardens. They have a small shop in Albuquerque, and a large, very nice, nursery in Santa Fe which includes trees. Check with them about the apple trees, if you don't want to do the National Arbor Day Foundation search. I bought two seedling apple trees from NADF, which were recommended for my area. One is now a sapling and doing well. It did suffer a setback when high winds broke the main trunk in half, but it has recovered. Unfortunately the other one didn't survive. I don't recall what types of apple trees I bought, because I had never heard of them before. Apple saplings need protection from the winds!

I bought a young cedar tree from HCG. I planted it three years ago. It is doing well, though not growing quickly. Apparently cherries do well in your area. You could buy some new ones and plant them in better locations.

When their food sources are scarce during winter, rabbits will eat the bark of young trees. If rabbits girdle a tree, take bark off all round the trunk, it can result in the death of the tree. You can do chicken wire cages around the trees to protect them.

Lorna

Do you like aspen? If you provide summer water and shade the soil (and break through the caliche) they ought to do great at that elevation. I have one in ABQ that grew 18 inches this year in nearly full sun no less and is only 6 ft tall. They can grow very fast especially at your elevation. Other tress to consider are Alligator juniper (found natively immediately EAST and South of Cedro peak in some isolated canyons). The Manzanos are full of them, but they stop around Cedro in the Sandias. I think a hardy fig with winter protection may survive. Plant it against a south facing wall.
For arid spots Bannana yucca is native and will survive your winters at that elevation. Almost all the native conifers of the Sandias will work for you except the stuff near the crest. White fir is very drought tolerant along with Douglas fir.

As for fruit there are native whortleberries, raspberries, blackberries, and thimbleberries in high elevation NM. They require acid soil - you have lime - maybe you could amend. Get a native plants book. We have some cool ones that are available in some specialty nurseries. The people at Plants of the SW on 4th are very helpful and can suggest appropriate plants for your harsher area. Good luck.

Hi again,

Sounds like you're getting lots of great ideas. Sycamores are beautiful and should do very well with enough water. I'm not familiar with Mexican Sycamore, maybe it's another name for Arizona (Platanus wrightii)? In any case, both Arizona and American should do well.

We do indeed have some wonderful nurseries here in Santa Fe, which are great sources of information. My order of preference would be:
Plants of the Southwest
Aqua Fria Nursery
Santa Fe Greenhouses
Newman's Nursery
Payne's Nursery

The first three in particular should be able to tell you exactly which variety of whatever will do well in your location.

Have fun...

Santa Fe Greenhouses is also known as High Country Gardens. They have an extensive Web site with lots of great tips for gardening in NM. They specialize in Xeriscape. They offer Saturday workshops in late winter/early spring. I think the fee is $10 per workshop. I attended one and really enjoyed it.

Lorna

Thank you all so very much. It is truly appreciated. I have decided to do the following.
Mexican Sycamore, Apple, one Apricot, and Royal Empress seeds.
My neighbors donÂt have anything and all think I am wasting my money. I wonÂt be doing a fig. I am afraid that it would be useless.
The fact that I have an organic vegetable garden is good. I have really black soil already. Some of the tree saplings will be planted and fenced it there. I also have a well so water isnÂt a factor as yet.
My vegetable garden is 25 feet by 70 so there is room. Now I am tilling another 40 by 70 for more vegetables. The success of this one now still growing is fantastic. I have about 200 pounds of blue Hubbards, maybe 150 pounds of butternut squash, some 20 small acorn squash, (donÂt know why they stayed so small) have to figure that one out next year, a freezer full of zucchini, string beans, yellow squash, and radishes still growing, so figure that out? Puzzles me on the radishes. Some are flowering, so are hard as a rock, and some are still eatable. I also have a lot of lettuce still. I planted several varieties, but no Boston Iceberg.
I have as yet a 10 by 10 foot cluster of carrots and another of beets. One of the beets was so big I couldnÂt place my hands around it completely. It was huge. We ate and gave plenty already but I still have to harvest them and put them away for the winter.
The butternut will stay on the ground until it turns completely yellow. The blue hubbards are still growing but turning blue now that the nights are so cold. I picked one that weighed 15.5 pound and gave it to the neighbor that gave me the seeds. There are many more bigger than that. I had only one cross with the butternut and it weighs 19 pounds. The rest are in the garden waiting.
The zucchini are still prolific. I picked another 10 large ones today. Amazing how they love it up here. My tomatoes are just now starting to do well. That is really strange. I will pick them green and place in a cool dark place to eat as they ripen. The cold nights must be a factor with them somehow.
I used horse, steer, a little chicken, and thatÂs it for the manure. I didnÂt use anything else at all. I watered lightly every day. About 15 minutes at night and sometimes a little again in the early am. Usually just before the sun was completely up.
So, the reason for telling this here is because I am so happy to have a great soil for next year and I feel that the right trees will make it with little effort.
Once again I must give you all a great big thank you for your time, advice, and help.
Nantinki

Have you tried "Trees that Please" nursery in Los Lunas?

Great harvest, Nantinki, you did better than I did. I'm an organic gardener, too. I do flowers and produce. I put in two baby elderberries today, and have been planting seeds for cover crop as space frees up in the produce garden. I have kale, carrots, arugula and spinach planted for fall. If you plan on putting in perennials, now is a good time.

Lorna

It's exciting to hear of all the things other people grow. With that in mind, here's some of what I grew this year:
Radish
Potato
Tomato
Corn
Squash (big max, red hubbard, sweet dumpling,zucchini, Queensland blue)
Beans (bolita, pinto, tepary)
Daikon
Tomatillo
Peas
Amaranth
Watermelon
Fava beans
Onion
Garlic
Lentil
Broccoli
Cabbage
Gourd
Herbs

Wow, it doesn't seem like so many different things until I write it all out! The only things that did not do great this year were the sweet corn (flavor not very sweet) and the Moon and Stars watermelon (stayed small, some rotted). The Desert King watermelon, however, was fantastic, just harvested the last of these!

I also have a number of fruit trees, as well as raspberries, rhubarb, and a great variety of cacti. Unfortunately, no tree fruit this year due to a late freeze (19 degrees on May 2nd)

Oh, did I mention the Big Max pumpkin grew to 120 lbs!

My watermelon didn't do anything, the corn was fantastic but not enough, and I don't know what amaranth is?
Your garden seems wonderful! As does Lorna's too!

I'm going to try amaranth next year, Fabaceae. I already purchased some seeds. Nantinki, amaranth is a large pretty grain plant. Some people grow it as ornamental.

Today I put in an order at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. I am branching out into heirloom gardening, particularly for produce.

Good thing we're getting this rain, because I'm going to need to free up more land from the native grasses so I can plant all of my seeds. The grasses come up so much more easily when the earth is wet! I'll be putting all of the squash plants out in an unfenced area because the rabbits don't seem to mess with squash. Fenced areas will be at a premium for the produce which needs protection from rabbits!

Lorna

Lorna,
Amaranth does very well, and adds so much beauty to the garden! I just scattered seed around the perimeter of the garden outside the fence, back in May, and wherever there was enough water, up came the plants.

We ate the leaves, cooked, as greens, and are now letting the seedheads dry a bit in the garage before threshing and winnowing. I expect to get a few pounds of amaranth seed for baking, breakfast cereal, whatever.

Oh yeah, it is really neat to read about your plans for planting squash "outside the fence". I have noticed the same thing about certain plants, including squash, it's nice to have that observation reinforced by others. I also have to deal with gophers (which made it under my fence and into the garden by midsummer), so some things will need to be planted atop buried wire mesh whether in or outside the fence.

Oh, you poor thing, Fabaceae, gophers are awfully hard to deal with! I'm going to try the amaranth outside of the fence, too. I'll just try a little bit at first, to see if the rabbits go after it.

I've been wondering if I should buy stock in a chicken wire company, because I've been using so much of it since I moved to New Mexico!?! I also had to use it to line the bottom of my fences to keep my dogs from digging out under the fences.

I have a couple of acres of land, much of which is wild. About one third of an acre around the house is seriously fenced to contain my dogs. Within the house yard, I have five garden areas fenced off to keep dogs and rabbits out. The perimeter of the property has hog fencing, which is kind of a joke as far as fencing goes. I've had to put circles of chicken wire around young trees and some individual plantings to protect them from rabbits.

This fall I planted a cover crop called GardenWay, it is a mixture of five types of seeds. It can also serve as a forage crop for wild animals. The rabbits have been eating the area I planted in the greater yard. I don't mind providing them with some food, but I don't want them in my gardens.

I planted some osteospermum and Euryops (flowering) bushes this spring. The rabbits steer clear of them! The bushes are cold hardy and can grow three feet tall or more. They flower off and on throughout the growing season. Here is a photo of a first year purple osteospermum. I also have white. I've collected and packaged several types of seeds: purple osteospermum, arugula, jalapeno, bush naturtium, wildflower Spectacle Pod, magenta flowered Marguerite (needs rabbit protection), Desert Bird of Paradise (beautiful bush but all parts are poisonous if ingested). I'd be happy to send any you might like.

Lorna