Hi, Nantinki, Yes, Amazon.com is a lifesaver. Love that free shipping... I live in a townhouse in ABQ, so my yard is pretty tiny. I decided it would work best with a formalish look and have planted a traditional herb garden--lavender, thyme, sage, winter savory, oregano, etc. They're all amazingly happy. Rue (yellow) and sunset hyssop (orange) are currently blooming around a terra cotta bird bath and looking great. I have three New Mexico olives (which the birds should love, once they're established enough to fruit) (the trees, I mean--not the birds) :) and some sand cherries, golden currants, and American elders. I still have some space for flowers and this fall want to put in a combination I saw at the Botanical Gardens recently (also a great place for ideas, by the way--the zoo's got some amazing landscaping, too): "Moonshine" yarrow, chamomile, and cherry sage (salvia gregii). The yellows in the chamomile and yarrow are almost the same, and they have similar textures while the sage is more spiky and has wine-colored blooms that make a gorgeous contrast. 2 acres to play with--wow! What a blast you're going to have!

Thanks cactus dude! I was worried about the cold and large cacti, but thought I'd ask anyway. I'm in Santa Fe, and I've seen the many beautiful trunked yuccas around... I especially like Y. elata and Y. faxoniana. Do you know of a place in Albuquerque where I could get these (say at two or three feet tall) for a reasonable price? Oh, and I would absolutely love to have a Joshua Tree, even a tiny one without branches, but I haven't seen them for sale here in Santa Fe (I've seen the others plenty, but they're always very pricey). If you're ever in Santa Fe, the following are a few plants you might want to check out that will probably surprise you with their hardiness or size (if you haven't seen them already): - AZ Barrel Cactus (in yard of Tropic of Capricorn at Southeast edge of town along Old Las Vegas Highway) - White Sands Claret Cup (several very large ones at Santa Fe Greenhouses/High Country Gardens display garden on Rufina St., lots of cool succulents) - Unknown Agave (right side of Camino Carlos Rey two blocks north of Zia)... this plant is big and beautiful, and definitely not one of the usually considered hardy agaves, such as A. havardiana or A. parryi. - Huge Yellow Bird of Paradise (Osage St. between Cerrillos and Agua Fria). Well, thanks again, and enjoy your gardening... Chris

Here's what I will toss out. I did some research in Alamogordo and there was a cold snap as you can see in the first picture. The airport is maybe 5 miles from most of Alamogordo. If you go to www.wunderground.com you can view archived weather history on "view calendar forecast" on the local station's page, e.g. type in Alamogordo it allows you to see weather history. I just wanted to point out -13 F was recorded at the Alamogordo airport in early Feb. 2011 and lots of palms made it through that winter. Several days of negative degree nights and not a whole heck of a lot of recovery during the day. Most that died were Washington Robusta (Mexican fan palms) as they were seen dead all over Alamogordo, Las Cruces and El Paso. Mexican fan palms aren't a good choice in this area unless they're a Cali/Mex hybrid because the snaps in New Mexico are just too cold for them. You would be lucky if you got 20 years before they succumb to the cold. I would bet any Washington Robusta in Albuquerque would probably be toast in a few years. A better choice might be the Washington Filfera which is the California fan palm. They have been seen to survive -20 F and pretty sure they would be able to survive anything Albuquerque could throw at it. The Washington Filfera rarely get leaf full leaf burn until it drops below 13 F Very few canary island date palms seemed to have died down in southern NM which was interesting. They are proving to be almost as hardy as the California fan palms. In 1962 there was a -7 snap in El Paso and there are many date palms that are 60+ years old many planted before the snap and are still alive today. However it looks like the few Canary Island dates planted in Alamogordo made it through the winter there in a south facing exposed location in temps as low as -13 which if this is true this might be a new cold hardiness record for these palms which shows how remarkable they are. There's not a lot of information about them in this area because they haven't really caught on in popularity until recently. Most of the newer neighborhoods are stocking the canary island date palms in Las Cruces and they seem to be doing fine. The trick might be that you need to grow them from seed put them in a pot and leave them outside until about 10F then bring them into the garage on nights any colder than that, put them outside in the day when young. After they outgrow the pot in a couple of years plant them outside and your tree will be adapted and used to the cold. I think that's why some of these palms are doing ok even despite the incredibly cold snaps. Even the exposed palms seemed to have made it down in southern NM. Anyways if you check out the image of Alamogordo street view if you look carefully in the top left corner of the street view picture shows a date of 2013 which is after the big 2011 freeze. They look a little ratty as some single digit nights were recorded in 2013 as well. These palms were there before the freeze as well and I'm guessing they're almost 30 years old so they've probably seen some incredibly cold nights over the years. I wouldn't be completely sure a date palm would make it in Albuquerque long term because the snaps in Albuquerque tend to have slightly colder day time recovery, maybe with some mild winter protection like with Christmas lights (non LED type, but the incandescent type) you could have a small one tucked up against your warmest south facing wall with some black gravel rocks beneath it (which absorb heat) and a few large black rocks positioned near the palm to re-radiate heat at night to the tree in the winter you could get one to survive at least until a big freeze maybe 20 years or so. I would imagine it might just survive the cold snaps Albuquerque based on the cold snap data from Alamogordo in a good sheltered location and maybe with a small amount of protection could make it. If a crazy cold winter came up you might need to do some bagging or have a fold out greenhouse to put over it just to be safe. There is a rule of thumb in areas that are on a slope but not too high in elevation but maybe a few hundred feet above the bottom of the valley floor you might see 3-4 degrees in warmer temps on the coldest nights which is going to give you an advantage. In southern New Mexico all the palms in sheltered locations like against a south facing wall seem to get very little leaf burn during the winter despite the very cold nights at times where as the ones out in the open seem to be totally burnt which is telling me that the sheltered location makes all the difference. There are many nights that fall into the single digits every couple of years in Las Cruces and that you're possibly looking at +5-10 F degree micro-climate increase. As far as palms go in Albuquerque I would give it a go and maybe if you are aware of a super unbelievably cold night bust out a small radiator or parabola heater to direct heat at it or get some heat tap to wrap the bud and top of the tree to raise the air a couple of degrees which would likely be just enough to make it through the cold nights or another trick is depending on how your house is built put it near a south facing bathroom exhaust vent. If the vents are on the side of the house then at night just turn on your bathroom vent that blows toward the palm and that would probably help too although not as much as heat tape. This is a good video for showing the freeze damage in palms in Las Cruces which recorded a -5 night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fxNatT2lQ

palmobsession 8 ---- wow, I can't believe you resurrected this old thread! I chuckled at some of the vehemence when I read this way back when it was first posted in '05. I do agree with you. While I love the native flora of my state, in zone 8 southern NM, I relish the drought tolerant, cold hardy palm species that I grow here. I recycle what I can, try to avoid being wasteful, etc., but I won't cave to the 'plant nazis'. I cherish having a colorful, visually interesting garden which is an eclectic mix of textures and geographically diverse plants. Most are xeric or at least moderately drought tolerant, local species or from South America, North Africa, and even Australia. I water mainly with drip irrigation and only as needed. Some get no more than one or two supplemental waterings a year, existing on what nature provides. My garden is an obsession if not a sweet addiction. Maybe its style looks a little like "So Cal meets the Chihuahuan Desert". It's not for everyone, but I didn't plant it for everyone. Anyway, I enjoyed your anger over the discussions people had. Cheers. dl