Plants for the front yard

Ok, That is a lot of plants. Maybe I got carried away a little, but I have to follow the HOA's guideline for how many plants I need in my front yard. 

This is going to be interesting. How to get the tree into the hole. The best way to get the tree in the hole is to cut of the bottom of the plastic pot and open up one side of the pot. Then roll/lift it into the hole and after that you just pull of the plastic pot.                                                                                       I have learned since I bought this tree that you should not dig a round hole because then the rots keeps follow the hard soil around and not expend out while if you dig a hole with angles it keeps going due to that it can't do a 90 degree turn.  

It is important to dig a big hole so the rots have a easy job growing in the beginning. You can put the same old dirt back, but there is different kind of soil and nutrients you can mix into the old soil to help the tree get started. The most important part is that the soil around the tree now is soft. 

Regrowing Salad

I am done with this salad, only the bottom is left, but instead of throwing it away I put it in a glass of water and it is regrowing. It is going to be interesting to see how big it can grow on only water. Maybe I should put it in some soil. 

Avocado

The avocado plant is growing big it is time to cut it off. Sad but if I don't cut it off the plant will continue to grow only in one direction, up. After cutting off the top the plant should grow in two direction. We'll see.

I put the cut off top in a glass of water. If the top gets roots I have two plants.

Agave-marginata

Agave

I have an agave plant that I don't know what kind it is, I think it is an Agave Marginata. The gardeners keep cutting it so it looks more like a small palm tree now. They dig up all suckers so I can't get more plants but one day I succeeded do save one small plant before they arrived. I put it in a glass of water and waited for roots to grow. 










It is time to plant it outside in the soil. Good luck little plant.

Prickly Pear

Prickly Peat is a fascinating cactus. It looks intriguing, need very little water, you can plant it around your yard like a living barbwire and you can even eat it. 

Like all plants they are small in the beginning but it will after a couple of years spread all over. It grows fast for a cactus. When we planted our prickly pear we planted it next to one of the dripping system controller head. That was not so wisely done. 

The prickly pear has two different kind of thorns. Big thick white ones and thin almost-impossible-to-see once. The big thorns are soft on the new outgrowth but not the thin once.

I try to keep the plant small by taking off some of its new outgrowth every year. I don't use a thong or saw. I just wear heavy work gloves. These gloves can only be used to this because they will be filled with thorns. Using a folded newspaper in between the glove and the cactus is something I am going to try next time to save the gloves and my fingers.

The thorns has small hooks that makes it hard to pull them out when they get stuck in your skin.

I have heard that you can cut off a pad, let it dry for a week and then plant it in a shallow depression cut side down to get a new plant. Water every 2 weeks to get the roots started. Have to try that one. My neighbor have a prickly pear without thorns, I would like that one. 

Read more about prickly pears;

Eat Prickly Pear 

Prickly Pear Cactus

Rosemary bushes

Most winters I buy a rosemary bush cut like a Christmas tree. I put tiny lights and decorations in it and put it outside our front door. In spring time I plant it somewhere in my yard.

I don't now if this rosemary can be used for cooking but they smell lovely when they are touched. They are easy and doesn't need a lot of water.

You need to cut them a couple of times a year to keep them in shape. Trimming them makes them thicker and they can be cut into a hedge.

You can trim them into many different shapes. I like my round one, it's so cute.

Last year one of my plants suddenly looked like is was going to die. 2/3 of the plant just dried up. We cut of the dead part and now it is back on track again growing as ever. 

Read more about rosemary here;

Bonnie plants

The old farmer's almanac

More Baja Fairy Duster

Baja Fairy Duster

See how funny the flowers looks but I love the strong red color they have. Some of the pods have released their seeds.

Inside I have covered my pot with plastic to keep the soil moist and maybe a little bit warmer and see it's working. 

My first grown Baja Fairy Duster plant. I hope it will survive and grow into a big plant I can move outside.

Palm Trees - Queen Palm

The most common palm tree in an Arizona yard is probably the queen palm. It grows with a good speed and don’t get too big. It can though get as high as 30 to 40 feet tall. 

The palm tree comes original from Brazil and likes a lot of water and nutrients. The queen palms roots grows more outwards then downwards so it is best to move the dripping system emitters farther away from the trunk as it grows.

These three palm trees were planted at the same time but the one to the right did not get enough water during a long period. 

More pictures that show how different palm trees grow. All 4 of them planted at same time. 

When to cut branches. 
Some gardener loves to cut down branches, no brown branches can be left on the tree. That is not a good philosophy for the tree, it needs it branches. Only cut down branches that are hanging down. If a tip of a branch is brown and looks dead you can cut of just the brown part. 

How to plant a tree.

When you plant a palm tree make sure the hole is wide enough specially if you live on hard soil. The hole should be 10 to 20 % larger than the container the plant comes in. When you put the plant in the hole it should be at same level as the ground. Dig the hole a little deeper and put in some new soil. Mix 50 % mulch and 50 % soil. After you put in the plant put the mixing around the plant. After you done, water a lot, and you can also add some root stimulator.

More about Queen Palms;

How to Care for a Queen Palm

Queen Palm
Palm tree care
How to plant a tree video

Rhubarb

Rhubarb pie. Oh, it is so good. Believe it or not but you can grow rhubarb in Arizona. It needs well-drained and fertile soil. Living on old farmer land this is perfect for rhubarb. Our rhubarb plant was huge and we made many pies every year until we left the yard to a neighbor to keep an eye on it. When we came back all plants was happy except our rhubarb, they drown. After that we couldn’t get any new plants to grow. This year I am trying again and now I am even trying to plant them in my herb/potato-land. I think it is not going to be the best spot but I feel desperate.

We bought a couple packs of rhubarb.

When you buying a rhubarb plant you only get the roots. Dig a not too deep hole and placed the roots.

Sometimes the roots have already start to spout in the bag. It is OK to cover the spout with soil but I try to let some part of it stick up.

I will come back with a recipe on rhubarb pie if my plants survive.

Read more about rhubarb;

The old farmer's almanac

The Rhubarb Compendium

Avocado

Growing my own avocado tree. Clean of the seed and let the avocado seed dry some before you plant it. Put it in a pot of soil with the pointy edge up. 

Don't cover the whole seed. 

Let about 1/3 stick up until it starts to grow then you cover the whole seed. 

I found some alternative way to start up, 

read more on this websites;

Grow an Avocado Tree from an Avocado Pit
 

I think I am going to try that on my next avocado pit.

Baja Fairy Duster

Baja Fairy Duster is an excellent plant for an Arizona backyard, it is a plant that can take direct sun and don’t need a lot of water. You also don't have to prune unless it's necessary. Pruning can be used to make the shrubs denser. Another advantage with the plant is that it attracts Humming Birds.

It has a lovely red flower that looks like brooms. 

The flowers are followed by seed pods. When they dry they will pop open and release their seeds.

I picked some pods to get to the seeds before they were launched.  I planted them in a pot inside and now it is only to wait and see if I can multiply my plant.

Read more about the plant at;

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

horticulture unlimited inc.

Planting Potatoes

Do you have some old forgotten potatoes in your pantry? - It is time to plant them.

If you have a small spot over in your garden with no direct sun you can plant some potatoes there. 

You don’t have to use seed potatoes, old potatoes from the grocery store works just fine. If your potatoes are big you can cut them into smaller pieces just make sure every part has a couple of “eyes”. 

Dig a small hole for each potato. Don't dig to deep, planting the potato close to the surface will help the plant to start grow faster. When the potato plant starts to grow you should rake some more dirt around the plant to make sure no potato will be exposed to sunlight. A potato that is exposed to sunlight will produce chlorophyll and become green. Try to stay away from green potatoes.

I planted these potatoes in December. If you live in Phoenix area you have to plant your potatoes early or they will burn under the Phoenix sun.

Read more about how to plant potatoes;

Organic gardening

The Old Farmer's Almanac