As the climate and growing conditions in New Mexico have gotten drier and hotter, these natives plants (found only in western hemisphere) have thrived and become the stars of my various xeric gardens. Here are some photos of my home xeriscape taken over the past few weeks. And the cacti have been especially stunning this spring. The colors of the flowers, the geometry of the spines and the musculature of the stems are as fascinating to me now as they were 40 years ago.
Echinocereus triglochidiatus v. inermis
This is a spineless form of Claret Cup (Echinocereus triglochidiatus v. inermis) grown from seed originally
collected in the mountains that straddle the Utah and Colorado state borders. Very rare in nature, this spineless form is highly sought after by collectors and cacti aficionados. But even gardeners with little experience growing cacti outdoors will be delighted to experience how easily it is grown in western xeriscapes. And the intensity of the red flowers is nothing short of breath taking to any lover of flowers.
Echinocereus reichenbachii v. albispinus
Behold, one of the gems in the Hedgehogs from Texas and Oklahoma, the very small clumping, white spined form of Reichenbach’s Hedge Hog (Echinocereus reichenbachii v. albispinus). Found In only in two limited areas in the world (near Troy and Tishoming, OK) this exquisitely rare cactus is also one of the most stunning plants you’ll ever grow. Like the spineless Claret Cup, this beauty is also easily grown in western xeriscapes.
Both these species are cold hardy to USDA zone 5 and require “lean” (infertile), well drained soil. For best success, cacti should be planted bare-root, even in the heat of summer.* Like all our cacti, I grow these two from seed in our Santa Fe greenhouse facility. Hopefully, even those gardeners who thought they have no interest in cacti will try these native wildflowers a try in their dry gardens. Mix them together with other smaller growing xeric perennials and enjoy the show!
- Dwarf spreading Sand Cherry (Prunus besseyi ‘Pawnee Buttes’)
Spring is a long time coming to the high country in northern New Mexico. By late October our gardens have been frosted back and the deciduous trees and shrubs have lost their leaves. In no time, the snows come and winter is here to stay for a while. So when some of my favorite early blooming spring shrubs come into flower, it is an over-do delight for the senses.
Much of my front yard consists of native grass prairie. But up close to the house, I have enclosed my front portal (porch) with a curving 5 foot tall stucco wall. This is a very traditional style in NM and makes beautiful garden spaces, protected from the winds and warmed by the sun. And when my fragrant Desert Peach (Prunus andersonii) and Dwarf spreading Sand Cherry (Prunus besseyi ‘Pawnee Buttes’) shrubs come into bloom, the walls hold
Desert Peach (Prunus andersonii)
the wonderful scents close to house so I can sit on the portal, savor a cup of morning tea and enjoyed the sights and smells as the morning sun pops up over the mountain.
I have long been enamored with the Desert Peach, it being a choice but unknown native beauty from the remote areas of eastern California and western Nevada. I planted this species in two spots in my landscape three years ago. And to my delight, a pair inside my portal have finally matured and burst into full flower! I have a similar fondness for Dwarf spreading Sand Cherry. Both of these native shrubs are favorites for native and honey bees. And the scent of their profuse flowers is sweet and delicious.
As the West becomes harsher and the weather more unpredictable with climate change, these two along with numerous other species of native shrubs will become increasing popular because they are so waterwise, subtly beautiful and habitat friendly. Start with these two early blooming stars to see and smell why you should be growing them too.
Lavandula angustifolia miniature plant with snow
Many folks are hesitant to plant perennials and other frost hardy trees and shrubs before the last average frost date of the spring. “What if it freezes”? “The cold weather will kill my new plants.” And so on. But the bottom line is that many perennial plants (as well as trees, shrubs and evergreens) prefer to be planted in the cool of spring. I start planting as soon as the soil thaws in March here in zone 6 Santa Fe. Here in northern New Mexico, like most of the Great Plains and Intermountain West can get snow clear through May. So here are my thoughts on why not to wait.
Frost hardy plants love to get an early start and shrug off frosts. Occasionally there will be a really hard frost after I plant (temperatures drop into the low 20’s or teens). If I remember I’ll cover the plants for the night with some loose straw or a plastic bag. If I don’t, they may get their flowers or foliage nipped by the cold, but they outgrow the frosted parts quickly.
In fact, I always admonish gardeners to plant before a snow storm if they can time it right. Or I just thank my luck that I happened to plant before a nice snow. But nothing beats new transplants covered by a blanket of snow. Snow protects the plants from the first clear, cold night after the storm with its insulating properties. When the snow melts, it waters the transplants and settles the soil gently around the roots. And snow melt, like rain, has near magically properties when it comes to growing plants. Generally it’s the gentle boast of atmospheric Nitrogen that the snowflakes absorb as they fall from the clouds. I also hypothesize their negative ions have a positive effect on the soil and plants
When you’re at the nursery, be sure to ask if the plants have been cold hardened. We grow our perennials cold and let them wake up slowly in our high desert cold. You don’t want to take plants straight out of a warm greenhouse into the cold and plant them without acclimating (“hardening”) the leaves and stems to the cold temperatures.
So next time you look out the kitchen window and see your new Salvia covered with snow, smile and thank the clouds for the gift of frozen water.
Tags: lavender, new perennials, Snow
Winter is often the forgotten season when it comes to landscaping. I love a beautiful perennial border in the summer; the colors, the flowers, the interesting foliage and textures. But in winter, when all the perennials have gone dormant and lost their summer glow, there is not much to look at and enjoy. Woody trees and shrubs along with cacti and succulent plants can provide what is known as the “bones of the garden.” We’re not talking literal bones, but are referring to plants with a year round presence in the garden. These plants, along with hardscape elements, provide the structure around which a landscape can be planted to have year round interest, texture, form and substance.
It is after a winter snow that the “bones” take center stage, providing a new view, and new perspective, when we see leaves and branches covered in white, peeking out from under a chilly blanket left behind by a quick moving late winter storm. Here are some photos from my front yard showing how xeric cacti and succulents like Agave, Yucca and Opuntia mixed in with the structural grace of a weeping ‘Mary Potter’ flowering crabapple, catch the snow with sublime beauty.
Delosperma Firespinner® (Firespinner Cold Hardy Ice Plant)
About 25 years ago, Panayoti Kelaides of the Denver Botanic Garden brought the first cold hardy iceplant, Delosperma cooperi into cultivation. This magenta flowered beauty was a revelation. Who had ever heard of an Iceplant that could live in a cold winter climate? Since that first introduction the genus Delosperma, with its various cold hardy species and hybrids, has become a staple groundcover and rock garden plant in waterwise landscapes throughout the intermountain West.
Well, Mr. Kelaides has done it again with the introduction of Delosperma Firespinner ®. It’s a rare occurrence when a new plant with such vividly and unusually colored flowers is brought into cultivation. Chosen to receive a Direct Gardening Association’s 2012 Greenthumb award (formally known as the Mail Order Gardening Assoc.) and as a 2012 Plant Select® winner, this dazzling groundcover is getting lots of attention in the gardening world.
Blooming for about 4 weeks beginning in late spring/early summer, the outrageous tri-colored flowers sit right on top of the plant’s evergreen foliage. Plant it into well drained soil and mulch with crushed gravel in full sun. It is cold hardy in USDA zones 5-8. Note that Firespinner® needs some cold winter temperatures to bloom in the spring. So unlike many of the other Iceplants, it is NOT recommended for planting in zones 9, 10 and 11 because of the lack of winter cold.
Aloinopsis ‘Karoo Red’ (Hybrid Aloinopsis)
Closely related to the Delosperma, are other members of the large family of succulent plants known as the Aizoaceae. Native primarily to South Africa, this fascinating family of plants have very brightly colored, shimmering flowers and some of the most unusual foliage in the plant kingdom. Rock gardeners love these small growing jewels. ‘Karoo Red’ is a spectacular hybrid that I found about 5 years ago in one of my flats of Aloinopsis aff. villetii. A cross between Aloinopsis spathulata and Aloinopsis aff. villetii (a new subspecies I discovered in South Africa in 2003), the plant has a similar tri-colored flowers to Firespinner® held over scalloped shaped succulent leaves. Requiring fast draining, nutrient poor soil and full sun, ‘Karoo Red ‘ loves to be tucked into rock crevices where its enormous tap root can grown deeply into the ground. Cold hardy in USDA zones 6-8.
Muhlenbergia emersleyi El Toro™ (Bull Muhly or El Toro Muhly Grass)
This large growing native is one of my favorite warm season grasses. Found growing in AZ, NM, west TX and northern MX, this grass is both very heat tolerant and winter hardy (USDA zone 6; -10° F). In flower, El Toro™ stands 3 feet tall by 3 feet wide and blooms from late summer through the fall. It thrives in most any soil as long as the drainage is good. It loves a full sun position in the garden but will do well in partial shade if it gets a half day of sun.
Being a warm season grass, it is best to fertilize in the fall with Yum Yum Mix mixed with a high quality compost and applied as a top dressing to the soil. Cut back the brown flower stems and foliage in mid-spring to a height of 3 to 4 inches and scratch out the center of the clump with gloved hands to remove dead leaves and stems to make room for the new season’s growth.
El Toro™ is an excellent choice for narrow beds in front of hot walls or sidewalks where the reflected heat can be intense. The fluffy flower spikes are some of the best for catching light from the sun in the late afternoon, giving it a beautiful glow at day’s end.
It is recommended for use all the way from the summer infernos of Tucson and Phoenix, throughout Texas, most of California, Nevada, much of Utah and across the southern Plains States and into the Mid-Atlantic states. This improved selection of Bull Muhly is an introduction of Mountain States Wholesale Nursery.
Scott Skogerboe standing next to the original broom.
My buddies Scott Skogerboe (head propagator of Ft. Collins Wholesale Nursery) and Kirk Fieseler (Co-owner of rock garden nursery Laporte
Avenue Nursery, Ft. Collins) made a fantastic discovery as they were hiking in the foothills west of Ft. Collins, CO this winter. They found a “broom” growing on a Ponderosa Pine.
A broom is a piece of congested growth on a conifer caused by a virus or spontaneous mutation. Brooms are a very sought after source of miniature and dwarf conifers.* These brooms are brought into the garden by grafting a small branch from the broom onto a seedling plant of the same or similar species. These grafted plants retain the characteristics of the mother broom creating a slow, small growing conifer.
Close up of the broom showing its structure and size
Kirk, who is a master grafter, harvested about 20 small branches (called “scion wood”) from this broom and grafted them to seedling Ponderosa pines. He and Scott have decided to nam
e their new discovery ‘Little Joe.’ Dwarf Ponderosa pines are very sought after as there are very few named selections in cultivation. Some of these plants will be ready for sale in spring of 2013.
A grafted 'Mary Anne Heacock' Ponderosa Pine
*There are four categories of conifers based on their rate of growth and mature size.
Miniature conifers - a plant that has 1” or less of growth per year. These plants mature to a very small size, typically less than 2 to 3 feet tall.
Dwarf conifers - a plant that grows 1 to 6 inches per year and usually reach a height of less than about 8 – 12 ft.
Intermediate conifers - grow 6 to 12 inches a year and can reach a height of 20 to 30 ft.
Large conifers - are full size trees that grow more than 12” per year and can reach great size at maturity.
A native species from the deep South, Fringe Leaf Tickseed is a plant with exceptional potential. And to add to its appeal, this is a very rare perennial plant in its southern Georgia /northern Florida habitat. It is just now finding its way into cultivation. The plant spreads slowly by underground runners from which its woody stems and glossy bright green foliage emerge. A fall bloomer, gorgeous golden-yellow fringed flowers tip the branches in September and October.
Requiring
photo by Mt. Cuba Center
a couple of growing seasons to fill out, this Coreopsis is longer lived than most other species in the genus. The plant’s habit is compact and very upright. While it spreads underground, it is not aggressive and in fact, may make a nice groundcover. It prefers a moist soil but is drought tolerant enough to survive dry spells when well established. This is a good plant for pond margins and low areas that collect water. I think the plant also has great potential for use in Rain Gardens as it is tolerant of both wet and dry conditions. Coreopsis integrifolia has gotten very good initial ratings in the Coreopsis test trials at the Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware.
Note: our plants are propagated from garden cultivated stock, not wild populations; conservation through propagation!
This unusual native plant has to rate as one of my best plant acquisitions of the past year. Belonging to the genus Monardella,
Monardella macrantha ‘Marion Sampson’
a small group of plants native to the Western US, Monardella macrantha is found in chaparral, woodland and forest habitats in mountainous regions of southern California. ‘Marion Sampson’ is an exceptional selection of the species that will amaze gardeners with its non-stop display of superbly showy tubular, deep red flowers.
In the wild, the plant grows as a groundcover with stem rooting as it grows across the soil. Plant it in partial sun under trees and shrubs where conditions are drier and in full sun where it gets more regular irrigation. I also highly recommend the plant for use in containers as a “spiller” where it will trail over the edge and spill down the side, covering itself with the marvelous deep red flower clusters. In the ground, I like to combine it with Salvia arizonica, another native dry semi-shade lover. In containers, plant ‘Marion Sampson’ with Salvia ‘Ultra Violet’ and your favorite annuals.
Scarlet Monardella is also a fabulous source of nectar for hummingbirds and is like a living hummingbird feeder blooming all spring, summer and fall. To attract hummingbirds with this plant, place it in window boxes, hanging baskets and along the edges of raised beds and rock walls.
Native plants are a passion for my staff and I, particularly western native plants. And yet many of our great Western natives are virtually unknown among amateur and professional gardeners and landscapers. Such is the case with these two species native to the Great Basin of UT and NV and eastern CA.
Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis)
Growing as a small tree or large shrub in its arid habitat, this relative of the popular Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis), Western Redbud has been used historically by native American peoples as a source of flexible branches for weaving baskets. Blooming in mid-spring with pale pink to dark rose pink flowers before the leaves appear, it is a showstopper. Deep green, almost glossy leaves follow and change to yellow in the fall before they drop. Western Redbud becomes more cold hardy with age. Do this by providing young transplants with supplemental cold protection for the first two winters in the ground. This is easily done by wrapping the plant in burlap and filling the fabric with fallen leaves to insulate the branches. My 5 year old plant has now withstood occasional winter lows of -15° F ! Zones (6 with initial cold protection) 7-10.
Desert Peach (Prunus andersonii)
Native in the foothills and lower elevation mountains of eastern CA and 
western NV, this species is a relative of the eatable Peach. In late spring the shrub is covered by a cloud of fragrant, pale to medium pink flowers. The shrub is both heat and cold tolerant and grows to medium size with dense, angular, thorny branching and small light green leaves. By mid-summer, tiny, non-eatable peaches are abundant. As a habitat plant, Prunus andersonii is a fabulous shrub for feeding bees and to provide nesting habitat for songbirds. Desert Peach can also be used as a barrier or hedging and is a great choice for poor soils. Very xeric once established. Zones 5-9.
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