Exposure: Full Sun, Part sun
Water: Rain Water
Height and Spread: H 3’ x W 4’
Blooming Season: Summer, Fall
Effectively grown in dry and sandy soils, the Red Yucca is a standout for its drought and heat tolerance. The beautiful red to pink flowers bloom from May to October and attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. It’s a great accent plant for that sunny spot in your yard.
Our urban forest (yes, the trees in your landscape are part of a forest) provides so many benefits too us – cooling, increased home values, beauty, and better mental health just to name a few.
Here’s what you can do to help keep your members of our urban forest as healthy as possible.
1. Water your trees to a depth of about two feet, because 95% of the tree’s roots are in the first two feet of soil. To check if you are getting down to that two-foot optimum, insert a long screwdriver or soil probe into the soil around your tree a day after watering to determine the depth the water has reached. Adjust your watering time, if needed, to reach that two-foot goal.
2. Water your trees a little inside and outside of the canopy edge (the outer ring of the tree’s leaves) because that is where the roots that take in water are located.
3. Water deeply and infrequently for maximum tree health. See the Summer Watering Recommendations for more information.
4. Check your trees for signs that they aren’t getting enough water: wilted leaves early in the morning, scorched leaf edges, twig die-back from the top down or a sparse leaf canopy.
5. Take advantage of rainwater by directing downspouts or canales toward existing trees. Consider planting new trees in lower areas to take advantage of captured moisture.
6. Surround your trees with 4-6 inches of organic mulch. Organic mulch helps to retain soil moisture, keeps soil temperatures more consistent, and keeps weeds out. Additionally, over time it loosens compacted soil, adds organic matter, and slowly adds nutrients to the soil. Note: organic mulch does not include bark (sometimes called ‘bark nuggets’ or ‘deco bark”). Use actual wood chips like what comes out of an arborist’s woodchipper. Many tree services offer wood chips for free and several local businesses sell wood chip mulches in bulk.
If you suspect you have an indoor leak, or if you have questions about your landscape and irrigation system, call our experienced staff for a free one-hour educational phone consultation. To sign up, visit https://rebates.abcwua.org/ or call 505-842-9287 and press option 4.
Our staff will respond to your request and schedule a one-hour call between the hours of 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Monday - Friday.
We will offer two types of educational phone calls:
Indoor Leak Consultations consist of a full walk through, via telephone, on how to identify and repair leaks. We aim to educate you on the most effective method to check for leaks in your home. Topics include, but are not limited to:
Landscape and Irrigation Consultations will answer many of your landscape and irrigation questions. We will also be able to troubleshoot specific situations and walk you through projects and offer advice and guidance where we can. Topics include, but are not limited to:
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