Exposure: Full Sun
Water: Low
Height and Spread: H 3' X W 4'
Blooming Season: Fall
Description:
This evergreen shrub is a win-win in our high desert gardens. It has a lovely dark green color year-round, and in the fall, it has beautiful yellow blooms to brighten up the garden. There is no pruning needed due to its predictable rounded shape.
Exposure: Full Sun
Water: Low
Height and Spread: 4' x 4'
Blooming Season: Late Summer and Fall
Description: This blue-green evergreen shrub likes western and southern exposures. Its predictable shape and form works well as an informal hedge in the garden. It is a welcome pop of purple during the heat of the summer when all the spring blooms have faded away. Be careful where you place it because it can freeze if located on northern protected exposures.
Exposure: Full sun
Water: Rainwater
Height and Spread: H 2’ X W 5'
Blooming Season: NA
Description:
Mormon Tea is a desert adapted evergreen shrub that has been around since before the dinosaurs roamed the planet. It is an ideal native plant for your full sun landscape and does well in well-drained soil. Ephedra, also known as Joint Fir, can be used successfully as a ground cover, erosion control and does well in rock gardens. This perennial lacks leaves but relies on photosynthesis occurring in its green, jointed stems and is very easy to grow once started.
Hardiness Zone: 4-10
Tree Type: Evergreen
Mature Size: Height 1-3’ and Width 1-3’
Growth Rate: Moderate
Sun Preference: Sun
Water Use: Low
This native, evergreen shrub has a fibrous root system with a deep penetrating taproot which makes it a good choice for erosion control. Winterfat attracts birds and its ornamental seed heads are a point of interest in dried arrangements. Male and female flowers grow on the same plant but are arranged separately and bloom from mid-spring to summer.
Exposure: Full shade in the Albuquerque area
Water: Medium
Height and Spread: 2’ x 6’
Blooming Season: Spring
Region: All Areas
A great shade loving plant for the Fall and Winter months, Coralberry is best planted where water collects in the yard. It can be found along stream beds, making it a great plant for beneath the runoff of down spouts. Lined with pink flowers in the summer and pink berries in the winter, Coralberry is a great used underneath trees. Their foliage keeps the soil cooler for tree roots. The stems of this plant arch when loaded with berries and will root where they touch the ground, making more plants. Deep water established plants twice a month for vigorous growth in drier gardens.
Exposure: Sun / Shade
Water: Medium
Mature Size (H x W): 5’ x 5’
Blooming Season: June - September
Flower Color: Purple
Region: All areas of Greater Albuquerque
Noted for its ability to handle alkaline soils, the Dwarf Butterfly Bush is a magnet for its namesake garden visitors, including the majestic Monarch. Some gardeners consider these the absolute best plants for attracting butterflies (though Asclepias is a strong contender for that award), as they are known to attract as many as 25 North American butterfly species. Panicles nearly 6” long emit a light fragrance vaguely reminiscent of honey, and produce a nectar that attracts not only butterflies, but hummingbirds!
Like most plants, the Dwarf Butterfly Bush is most susceptible to pests and disease if stressed by drought. Irrigate these plants according to our Watering Guidelines (look to the middle of the range recommended for shrub irrigation frequency). Tolerant of urban pollution, this plant prefers well-drained soils. To best take advantage of the fragrant flowers, locate these in groups along a path or near a window or porch, or in the front of a bed where their petite size can be appreciated. And take heart, these will not require pruning like the standard Butterfly Bush.
In recent years, breeders have produced plants with a variety of flower colors and mature sizes. Look for cultivars including “Nanho Blue,” which has mauve-blue flowers, and “Nanho Purple,” which has a more traditional, distinctively purple flower. Enjoy a cascade of flowers from June to September.
Photo Courtesy of Hunter Ten Broeck with WaterWise Landscapes Inc.