Arizona’s Fall Growing Season
Despite the brutality of Arizona’s summers, a huge benefit our region has over others is the rare phenomenon of having TWO growing seasons. Once the temperature has descended consistently below the 100-degree mark and nighttime temperatures creep into the low 70s to mid 60s, we’ve reached the Sonoran Desert’s fall growing season.
This is perhaps the best time of year to install new trees and shrubs, on par with the springtime. Landscape companies throughout the valley will be adding fresh vegetation to communities and homes for the next few months until we approach the cold of winter. The responsible period of fall planting lasts until around Thanksgiving, after which a plant’s acclimation period may overlap with the first frosts of the winter. Deciduous trees have a wider planting window, since they will already be dormant and thus not be damaged by mild frosts in the early winter.
If you’re looking to do some fall gardening, some great crop choices include peas, beans, carrots, spinach, kale, garlic, radishes, and more. Planting these right now is a great way to guarantee that by the time the weather is too cold for them to thrive, you’ll have hopefully made some decent harvests. Of course, the animals are just as happy that the weather’s cooled off as you are, so be sure to protect these crops from uninvited guests.
The cooler weather also invites a change in annual flowers from the summer survivors to plants that thrive in the cooler temperature. Some summer flowers can keep going through the fall, such as vincas, portulacas, and dwarf snapdragons. Some fresh fall flowers include marigolds, petunias, lobelias, society garlic, rocket snapdragons, and many more.
For plants of all sizes, it’s important to keep irrigation in mind. While the duration and frequency of watering may decrease once the temperature has dropped, new installs often need extra water while they’re getting established in the ground. This is a great time to shift irrigation drips further away from the trunks of more established trees and shrubs to inspire them to grow more robust root systems and mitigate storm damage.
The fall is also a great time to fertilize plants of all types, treat root systems with soil injections and soil acidifiers, and add fresh mulch. All of these things will contribute to a healthier yard in the long term.
At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we install new trees and shrubs and complete much-needed biannual work both during the spring and fall planting seasons throughout the Valley. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!
