Garden Tips

Text by Carol Parrott | Superstition Mountain Master Gardener Co-Coordinator University of Arizona, Pinal County

Why Plant uring Fall?

Early morning is the ideal time to be in your garden. All is quiet but not for long. Birds chirp happily awaiting the rising sun while crayon pinks streak the morning sky. Lizards scurry in search of food; hummingbirds linger over tubular flowers; our beloved Sonoran Desert is waking up.

Fall is the ideal time to plant in our desert; October is the perfect month. So it’s no wonder that the Arboretum has a fall plant sale! It’s to celebrate this glorious season and help you get ready for a spectacular spring. October planted trees, shrubs, and perennials will have time for their roots to become established, thus enabling them to endure our sizzling summers.

Below are three plants that are easily overlooked at the fall plant sale, because they do not look their best in October. If you’re patient, you’ll be rewarded in the spring. They are spectacular examples of native plants that thrive in our Sonoran Desert.

1. Yerba mansa Anemopsis californica Lizard Tail family

A stunning native groundcover that grows by rhizomes thrives in our alkaline soil and only goes where it gets water. In Arizona, it can be found growing in riparian areas. Yerba mansa adds elegance to our home ponds and our gardens. It takes full sun or part shade. In spring, stark white cone-shaped flowers emerge from a bed of white bracts. Yerba Mansa is stunning in a night garden. 2. Apache Plume Fallugia paradoxa Rose family -

2. Apache Plume, Fallugia paradoxa - Rose family

A native shrub-like plant that grows to 6 feet high, embraces full sun, and requires extremely well drained soil. Naturally, drought resistant requiring little watering once established. White five petaled flowers bloom from late spring to mid-fall. Apache Plume reveals its’ true beauty when the pink, feathery seed heads are formed resembling the Apache headdress. Plant where the sun provides backlight for a dramatic effect. 3. Pink fairy duster Calliandra eriophylla Pea family -

3. Pink fairy duster Calliandra eriophylla - Pea family

A robust native semi-evergreen shrub that tolerates full sun, low water, and temperature down to 5 degrees. From spring to fall, clusters of lovely flowers appear. The filaments of their long stamens give the plant a cottony pink appearance making it a hummingbird and butterfly magnet. This Arizona native grows 1–5 feet tall and wide and should be left to grow naturally, no pruning necessary.