|
After the
much needed winter rains, our desert is sporting a look we haven’t seen
for awhile ….GREEN! One of the smaller native shrubs contributing to
the lush look is the abundant and widespread Triangle
Leaf Bursage
(Ambrosia deltoidea). This gray leafed shrub is now being used
extensively to revegetate desert areas denuded for construction,
along freeways, in common areas, and in drought resistant landscaping.
After establishment, this plant will survive with little or no
supplemental water. Indeed, many times it is overwatered with
irrigation systems and becomes rank and sprawling. In its native
habitat Triangle Leaf Bursage goes dormant and even leafless
during rainless periods and like other truly drought tolerant
 plants
it looks pretty raunchy during times of stress. It often appears beyond
redemption, only to spring to life with a shot of moisture. Along with
its drought resistant feature, other desirable points are its small size
(a couple of feet high and around – if not overwatered!), low
maintenance requirements, and dense silvery gray foliage. The
un-assuming, greenish yellow flowers that appear in late winter and
spring are nothing to write home about, unless you’re one of the lucky
people with allergies! Yes, unfortunately this is a premier hayfever
plant, being a kissing cousin of the ubiquitous Ragweed. So,
is you nose itching? Your eyes watering? Are you sneezing
uncontrollably?? Don’t be too quick to blame the
most colorful or most obvious flowers around you, it could be that
unassuming but sneaky Bursage! Colorful flowers depend on
insects for pollination and so oftentimes have a heavier pollen that is
not as air-borne as the pollen of less obvious flowers such as those of
grasses and the trees and shrubs that depend on wind for pollination.
Those are the ones that get up your nose and in your lungs. Since
Bursage is such a common desert plant, putting some in your yard
won’t change the situation much.
Another
larger shrub is the Giant Bursage or Canyon Ragweed
(Ambrosia
ambrosioides).
The leaves of this plant are larger and greener and although the
greenish flower spikes are inconspicuous to the eye, the nose knows
when they are in bloom! This plant haunts the desert washes and is
occasionally used in revegetation programs. A smaller, but we
think more interesting, Bursage for your desert landscape is
White Bursage (Ambrosia dumosa). The little whitish leaves
are lacey and the branches dense. Old plants develop the gnarled look
prized by bonsai
enthusiasts. In fact they make an excellent subject for a container
bonsai. This is also a plant that needs little or no supplemental water
once it’s established in the landscape. It looks good near boulders and
among cactus.
One of the colorful plants you’ll see now is the Valentine(TM)
Emu
Bush
(Eremophila maculata).
You won’t see this one on the desert as it’s an Australian
introduction. Not many downsides to this plant! It can be
 kept to a
desirable size with a light trimming after flowering, has no thorns, is frost and drought tolerant, has cute little purplish
evergreen
leaves, isn’t very messy and produces a striking show of carmine flowers
in late winter. One minor downside is that the striking flowers occur
pretty much only during this time, with the plant looking fairly
unremarkable the rest of the year.
Purple
Lilac Vine (Hardenbergia violacea) is another Australian
plant that is very colorful in late winter only. This tough vine
produces cascades of bright purple flowers. Its twining stems with
dense, dark green leaves will cover sunny walls, trellises and arbors
fairly quickly. It will tolerate poor soils but must have good drainage.
And as far as vines go it’s not exceptionally messy.
February
is a Tomato planting month in the low desert areas, and you can
enjoy homegrown fruits if you remember a few things. One is that the
varieties that get huge and luscious in other parts of the country
don’t usually have enough time to properly ripen here before the heat
sets in. Try to use varieties that ripen in 70-75days. Some of the most
successful medium fruited varieties here include but are not limited to
Early Girl, Celebrity, Beefmaster, Lemon Boy, Champion, Betterboy.
The cherry
types do very well here and will produce fruits later into the summer.
Sweet 100 and Yellow Pear are good varieties. In the
desert the skins of Tomatoes are often tough and tend to crack
due to the dry air and will sunburn if not shaded by leaves. When
planting now, put plants in rich soil and where they get the most sun.
Be sure to protect from frost. Also remember that you can take off the
lower leaves and plant very deep into the soil to get a more extensive
root system which will support growth and fruit production. Using a
large and portable container or pot full of rich commercial soil for
your Tomato crop is sometimes a lot easier than trying to prepare
a proper bed in our hard desert soils. |
