Exposure: Full Sun
Water: Low
Height and Spread: H 2’ x W 3’
Blooming Season: Spring
Region: All areas
An early bloomer, this water thrifty plant is sure to provide you with large bright yellow flowers from spring through summer. Desert Mule’s Ear blossoms have a vanilla smell and are well adapted to sandy soil conditions. They are long-lived and can be a great addition to a dry flowerbed.
Photo Courtesy of Plants of the Southwest.
When warmer days set in, you may be inclined to water your landscape, but this winter continues to bring much needed precipitation to meet the needs of your landscape. No need to water this month!
Per our Winter Watering Recommendations, your yard is still getting enough water to meet your plant’s needs. Remember, if it rains more than a half inch or snows more than 6 inches at least once per month during winter season, there’s no need for supplemental irrigation.
Late winter is the best time to prune trees, Treebates available. They’re dormant and it’s easier to identify which branches need trimming (no leaves). Tree pruning cuts don’t heal like cuts on our skin, though. Tree cuts seal naturally both internally and externally, as long as the cut is well made and doesn’t nick the branch collar. Cuts made flush against the trunk are bad because they cut into the branch collar, making the plant unable to seal the wound on its own. Pruning sealants are no longer recommended because they keep the wound moist underneath and increase the chances of rot by trapping pathogens there.
Recommended pruning techniques continue to change with new research. Keeping up with the newest guidelines translates to better tree care. The late Dr. Al Shigo, biologist and plant pathologist with the U.S. Forest Service, once said, “People who prune the old-fashioned way should be made to go to an old-fashioned dentist.”
Using the right tools for pruning is key. How do you know if you’re using the wrong tool? If you’re using two hands to squeeze your pruning shears as hard as you can, or your thigh to brace one arm of long-handled loppers, you’re using the wrong tool! Move up to a larger size implement. Here’s a literal rule of thumb: if the branch diameter is the size of your thumb or smaller, hand pruners with a sharp blade will work. Lopping pruners are great for making cuts on branches up to 2 inches in diameter. For anything larger than 2 inches, it’s time to pull out the pruning saw.
The winter is best time of year to prune trees. The Water Authority recommends hiring an arborist to prune them because arborists specialize in the care of individual trees. They are knowledgeable about the needs of trees and are trained and equipped to provide the proper care.
Arborists can provide the following services:
How do you find a professional arborist to take care of your trees? We recommend to ask the following questions when looking for an arborist:
To learn more about tree care, visit https://www.treesaregood.org/portals/0/docs/treecare/hire_arborist.pdf
Have you ever wished you could just take a picture of a plant and have the internet identify it for you? Turns out, there are a lot of digital options to help with the identification of plants. We’ve reviewed the best resources so you don’t have to.
iNaturalist: Once logged on to this free application, you become one of their citizen scientists. The app uses your photos then provides you with a list of possible plant choices. Once the plant has been identified the app then asks you to upload the data to help other people learn what’s in their neighborhood (there is the option to skip this and just get the plant identified). This app was by far the best at identifying the correct plant. An added bonus is it allows users to create guides and gives access to others created in the area. In fact, there is a fantastic Plants of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque guide already on the app listing hundreds of plants in the Albuquerque area.
Pl@ntNet: This free app uses a database organized by location to identify plants. Simply upload a photo and the app provides a long list of possible matches. It’s common to find the correct plant among the choices given, but if a match is not made, users may access the world flora database to find the exact plant. This app is good at identifying the plant family which is a good start in finding the right identification. The best attributes of this app are that it does not require a login or account and you can either take live photos or select from your photo library.
New Mexico Wildflowers. This free, local app is a winner - it’s basically an online field guide boasting more than 3,000 local plants! Select a plant type, flower color, flower size, leaf arrangement and habitat. It then provides a list of plants that meet the criteria. From there, users can identify the plant in question. A great feature of this app is that it can be used during your favorite outdoor activity because internet access is not required.
New Mexico Plant List Database: This plant database is courtesy of the Office of the State Engineer. It has a large variety of plants with an easy-to-use interface. https://wuc.ose.state.nm.us/Plants/
Groups: Another way to figure out plant identification is to crowdsource using social media. There are a few notable Facebook groups that regularly answer plant ID questions, where members upload photos of the plant with location details, and members of the group provide input. A few to check out are Native Plants of New Mexico (4,027 members), Entomology (135,034 members), Plant Identification (174,670 members), and Plant Identification and Discussion (278,523 members).
Other apps: PlantSnap, Picture This Plants, Seek. We’ve found these to be less reliable for identifying desert friendly plants.
Local Resources: contact the Bernalillo County Extension Agents or Extension Master Gardeners.
TIP: When using any of these tools, the quality of the photo is important. It’s helpful to have both zoomed-in pictures of foliage and photos of the entire plant form.
It’s officially winter and cold weather will be here for a while. January’s service tip is to take a moment to inspect the trees on your property to see how they are doing.
Walk outside and take a good look at your tree, starting with where the tree enters the ground. Your looking to see that the tree trunk flare out as it goes into the ground. This is called a root collar.
If your tree goes straight into the ground, it’s most likely planted too deep. You’ll want to remove the dirt around the tree until you can see the flare of the root collar.
Next, look up into your tree and check for a main central leader on your tree. Now notice the spacing between the branches. Each branch should have its own space. If your tree looks like it doesn’t have the above characteristics, then it’s probably time to call in an arborist for advice.
This winter continues to bring much needed precipitation to meet the needs of your landscape, no need to water this month.
Last month we recommended you shut down your irrigation system. If you haven’t had a chance to do that yet, December is the time. Read how here.
Trees still need to be watered once a month in the winter, meaning you can hand water your trees per the Winter Watering Recommendations. However, due to the recent record snow storm in Albuquerque your trees have received enough water this month so there is no need to water.
If your landscape gets more than ½” of rain or 6″ of snow during any given winter month (December, January and February) there is no need for supplemental irrigation on that month.
