Hi

[detali]

Hi I'm new to this gardening forum although not new to gardening.

My present gardening location is presenting a new challenge to me. Supposedly I'm in zone 8. Arizona.

That should be very nice for gardening, but the micro-climate in this valley between the two mountain ranges gives me much lower temperatures in the winter time, down to 15, and much higher temperature in the summer time, 110.

I'm having to learn how to garden around that.

 

[vfem]

 

[Greenthumb18]

I hope you will enjoy it here!!

 

[Greensage45]

Hi detali,

I am nearby, I live in Las Cruces, NM. I am listed as zone 8a. We usually find ourselves at our lowest around 15 as well, and of course our highs are nearly that ...but thankfully not quite that high.

I can offer some pointers. First off tell us where you were gardening prior to Arizona. It might help in your approach.

As soon as Fall approaches we begin to have cooler evenings, and our normal warm days; this causes what they call "Indian Summers", which is a sort of second Spring. I usually tell folks that we have two Springs.

In the desert SW you need to cast out your annual seeds in the flower beds around Octoberish, September wouldn't be too early, but November could be too late. It is an iffy, but ideally you want to sprout your spring seedlings in the Fall and let them 'hold out' over the winter months as leafy mounds of growth. Sometimes the greens get bitten really bad on the first and second freeze, but usually the plant rebounds with no problem. What happens is when the real Spring finally arrives, all of your annuals have already established root and plant and so those first blooms are bigger and brighter than anything you can imagine. I am always amazed.

If you were to wait for Spring to start your annuals, the temps jump up too fast for the little plants and they soon fizzle out of existence, or they bloom tiny and deformed.

We are talking about flowers right now. Starting veggies for the garden is around January/February, this will get them big enough by Spring so that when the heat arrives they have time to establish. I am always amazed at the buzz at my house in January at starting seedlings. It seems so early but every bit helps.

Oh yes, another tip for the desert; this one is important. Winter dormancy is not dormant. Shrubs, perennials, and trees utilize the winter months to grow up to 90% of their new year's root growth. Once Spring and Summer comes along who has time to grow roots. So with this in mind, even though a tree or bush loses its leaves it still needs to be watered as if it still had them. More garden failures in the desert are from folks who fail to water throughout the Winter season. (that is unless you are fortunate for rain or snow).

OK, that's it for now. Welcome onboard. I will be happy to discuss any plants with you. You can PM any time and I should be able to get back to you within a day or two.

Take Care and Happy Desert Growing!

Ron

 

[digitS']

You are finding other desert gardeners here.

I suppose my gardens are in a semi-desert, semi-alpine . . . maybe more like a semi-temperate forest . . . oh, I don't know!

I think we can all say that "just on the other side of the hill" or "just on the other side of the fence" -- things are different. And, one area with its unique weather, climate, soil, weeds, etc. isn't like another location on the map. Trying to make a move can be a real gardening challenge.

Zone 8? Well, you could be in zone 8 on the Pacific Northwest coast . . . !!

I'm glad you found us here at TEG !

Steve

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi & WELCOME detali

:rose Hattie :rose