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Creating an Arizona Hummingbird Haven

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There are at least 15 species of hummingbird that call Arizona home, and luckily none of them are considered truly endangered. However, the Black-chinned, Rufous, Broad-tailed, and Calliope hummingbirds are on several ecological watchlists due to shrinking habitats. Hummingbirds are extremely important to the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, as they pollinate when they drink the nectar of flowers of all types, especially the tubular and trumpet-shaped flowers of the desert. If you want to bring more hummingbirds to your home, and thereby give them a safe place to eat, drink, and nest, it’s actually pretty easy to do so!

There are several known “hummingbird plants” that you can grow in your yard that will be sure to attract them with time. They absolutely love bushes like the Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla), California Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica), Chuparosa (Justicia californica), Coral Fountain Grass (Russelia equisetiformis), and any species of Penstemon (a great choice is the Penstemon eatonii). These are just a few options, as they love any bush with trumpet-shaped flowers, tubular flowers, or puffball flowers with lots of nectar.

Some trees that hummingbirds love include Desert Willows (Chilopsis linearis), Mimosa Trees (Albizia julibrissin), Bottlebrush Trees (Callistemon citrinus), and to an extent, Velvet Mesquites (Neltuma velutina). Some annual and perennial flowers are hummingbird favorites as well, such as any Lavender (Lavandula), any Salvia (Salvia), Zinnias (Zinnia), Petunias (Petunia), and Cupheas (Cuphea).

Once you have some of these plants installed in your yard, you can actually look into having your home made a Certified Hummingbird Haven! The International Hummingbird Society has a set list of criteria on their website (www.hummingbirdsociety.org), and if you qualify, you can sign up to certify your outdoor space as a hummingbird haven. The requirements include having at least 20 hummingbird-friendly plants, a source of moving water, space for sanctuary and refuge, and avoiding the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides. Funds for their nonprofit go toward research and conservation for hummingbirds and their habitats around the world.

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, many of the plants we install in our communities are hummingbird favorites, and we engage in proper pruning and maintenance practices to keep things blooming for as long as possible. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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Arizona’s Fall Growing Season

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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.

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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!

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How to Water Trees for the Arizona Summer

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The Sonoran Desert summer is known for the powerful “dry heat” interrupted by occasional monsoon storms during its latter half. This heat causes stress to plants of all shapes and sizes, from the most robust cactus to the smallest groundcover shrub. Native plants have evolved to handle this stress in the wild, but in manmade landscape environments even they can fall victim to heat damage if not cared for properly.

Most yards in the Phoenix area use drip irrigation systems. By properly utilizing drip irrigation, you can help the trees and shrubs in your yard establish strong, healthy root systems that will help them withstand the summer heat and resist wind damage in the long term. The duration and frequency of watering is vital to the creation of a strong plant. This article focuses on trees, but the same principle applies for shrubs.

The best strategy to help a tree survive the summer in the long term is to do deep, infrequent watering once the tree is established. Let’s say you have a drip irrigation system that supplies water to many trees and shrubs in your yard. You can keep everything on a regular irrigation cycle, but this cycle should emphasize duration over frequency, especially if your plants are already established for at least a year. Instead of watering trees twice a day for 20 minutes each, water them for, as an example, once a week for three hours. These numbers aren’t exact, as every yard is in a different situation with its soil, sunlight, and slopes, and every tree species has different needs. This idea applies universally, though. 

In Arizona’s alkaline, high-clay soil, it takes a high water volume to soak deep into the ground. If you water your trees in a way more similar to the “twice a day, 20 minutes each” style, it’s very likely that the water doesn’t soak into the ground as much as it just moves around. In the long term, that method leads to weaker roots and more wasted money due to evaporation. It may seem overkill, but letting your irrigation run for a long duration, less often, leads to more water soaking into the ground and providing a more consistent water supply for your trees and all nearby plants. This is healthier for the plants and saves money in the long term. Once a tree is established, you can water it manually by leaving a hose trickling for several hours once every week (or even less frequently, depending on the species), and it won’t even need to have drips anymore.

The average nighttime temperatures in the valley have been increasing due to the many heat sources in the city (roads, roofs, parking lots, etc) creating a worsening “heat bubble” around the city. This makes survival more difficult for plants of all types. Thus, creating shade is absolutely vital for the future of the Phoenix area. If you want to create long-lasting, healthy shade trees that won’t fall over in a windstorm, this strategy of long but infrequent watering is pretty much a requirement. It will create healthy trees with robust root systems, which will save you money and improve the health of every plant provided with healthy shade thanks to your efforts.

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we install trees and shrubs the right way, improving the likelihood of long-term survival and creating the shade that we need so badly. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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How To Properly Dig a Planting Hole

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How To Properly Dig a Hole for Planting

It’s an understatement to say that one of the most important aspects of a landscape plant’s long-term health is the strategy with which it is initially installed. The manner in which the initial planting hole is dug is vital to this process, along with how that hole is filled in once the plant is in the ground.

The soil in the Phoenix area is highly alkaline and made mostly of clay, making the dimensions of the initial planting hole particularly important. For most plants, especially desert-adapted shrubs, trees, and cacti, it’s important that the planting hole is NO DEEPER than the initial container they came in. In fact, accounting for soil settling and crumbling in the pot, the hole could even be a bit shallower than the container the plant came in.

In these clay soils, width is extremely important to assisting the circulation and root growth of the plant. Typically, it is recommended that the hole be at least TWICE AS WIDE as the diameter of the container the plant came in. Most roots in desert-adapted plants grow much more horizontally than vertically, as that’s where the most water and air will be.

Once the hole is dug, it’s time to install the plant. Once it’s out of its container, it’s often a good idea to gently unravel any roots that are tightly bound. If the roots toward the bottom of the pot are so tightly wrapped up that they could make a basket, you can often pull the matted mess off the bottom. Be warned though, doing this may increase the plant’s initial shock damage. In the long run, it should be better for the plant’s longevity.

 

While many people like to add fresh compost or other soil to a planting hole, this is actually usually unnecessary, and can even worsen the plant’s chances of survival in the long term. It’s best to fill in the hole with the same soil that was dug out. This increases the likelihood that the plant will adapt to its surroundings quickly. When the hole is filled in, DON’T STOMP IT FLAT! It’s best to water the hole in so the air pockets in the soil are allowed to remain and gradually set naturally while the plant begins to grow new roots. Stomping down the soil can choke the plant’s roots of water and air and give it a disadvantage from the start. If you’re worried about erosion early on, it’s better to use rocks or gravel.

 

You should be able to clearly see the Root Flare of any plant that is freshly planted. The root flare is the plant’s transition from stalk to root. If all you see is a stalk or trunk going straight into the ground with no visible root flare, the plant is too deep in the ground. Sometimes, a plant may even be buried too deep in its container at a nursery, so be sure to clear out any soil that covers the root flare, even if it’s soil from the original container.

If you followed all these steps correctly, your plant should be off to a good start for its life in your yard!

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we install plants using the best practices for each species in Arizona landscaping. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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Turn Your Yard Into a Butterfly Wonderland!

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With the springtime comes the planting season! While ELS is planting new shrubs, trees, and cacti from our Wholesale Nursery in communities across the valley, residents are planning what to do with their backyards, planters, and private landscape spaces. Adding native plants is always recommended, as it improves the quality of life of the Sonoran Desert wildlife and the ecosystem as a whole, all while being beautiful and fitting into the natural landscape around us. Certain plants attract different pollinators, all of which are beneficial to the ecosystem as a whole. One group of helpful insects that is particularly threatened in the Sonoran Desert is the butterflies, as many of their primary food sources have been displaced by invasive species. To help create a haven for local butterflies, there are annual and perennial options that will look great in your yard this spring, most of them native to Arizona!

Perennial trees, bushes, and groundcover are, in the long term, the best ones to plant to create a desert butterfly habitat. You’ll only have to plant them once and you’ll have years of healthy native vegetation. The first classes of plants that must be mentioned in a conversation about butterflies are the Milkweed (Asclepias) genus and the Milkweed Vine (Funastrum) genus. The Desert Milkweed (Asclepias subulata) is the primary food source for Monarch Butterflies when they pass through Arizona during their yearly migration paths. It looks like a collection of neutrally-colored stalks that occasionally bloom in huge clusters of cream-colored bells. The Baja Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica) is another native option that is frequently covered in puffy red-pink flowers that butterflies and moths love. The Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) is a great butterfly attractor, but it can be quite allergenic in large quantities. The blooms of any Mesquite Tree (Neltuma), while often messy, bring in pollinators of all sorts. The same can be said for the iconic Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis). Dozens of other choices exist as well that can be found at most Arizona nurseries.

There are also good annual options to plant in garden beds or sow as seeds for the springtime bloom. The Coulter’s Lupine (Lupinus sparsiflorus) makes small stalks of blue flowers that butterflies go crazy for. The Mexican Hat flower (Ratibida columnifera), California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), and Gaillardia (Gaillardia aristata) are other options that you’ll see springing up in the desert every year.

While native plants are certainly preferred whenever possible, there are several non-native options that are beneficial to butterflies as well. Several plants from northern Mexico and the Chihuahua Desert would be the next best thing to Arizona natives: the Wooly Butterfly Bush (Buddleja marrubiifolia), Lantana (Lantana) genus, Passion Flower (Passiflora) Vines, Queen’s Wreath (Antigonon leptopus) Vines, Tecoma (Tecoma) bushes, various Acacia (Acacia) species, Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia) species, and countless others.

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we install plants that are beneficial to the important pollinators in the desert. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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Invasive Plants Should Be Removed Before They Bloom

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Since the population boom in the Phoenix area in the past several decades numerous invasive weeds have been introduced to the environment which cause severe damage to the ecosystem and make wildfires more potent and frequent. The worst offenders include Buffel Grass, Brome, and, most recently, the notorious Globe Chamomile (“Stinknet”). Removing or killing these noxious weeds whenever possible is beneficial, but, for several reasons, it is much better to remove them while they are young.

First of all, it’s important to remember that blooming means reproduction. Allowing the pollen of invasive species to spread not only makes local allergies worse, but also causes these weeds to produce seeds that are prepared to sprout the following spring. It’s vital to remove invasive weeds while they are young, so that, at least in your area, there will be less of them to worry about next year. If you remove them too late, there’s also a good chance that you are spreading the unwanted seeds while pulling the mature plant material.

Secondly, invasive weeds that are allowed to grow to maturity will proceed to die and dry up. This dry plant material is fuel for fires. In fact, the species listed earlier are likely nearly entirely responsible for the increase in the size of wildfires in the Southwest in the past several years. If you can keep your property clear of invasive species, you lessen the likelihood that your home will be damaged in the case of a wildfire. It’s much easier to remove these weeds while the plants are alive and young and the weather is cool.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that invasive plants steal resources from native plants. If you allow invasive weeds to grow unimpeded, they will steal root space, water, and nutrients from the soil and weaken native plants leading into the summer. This especially applies to cacti, which rely almost entirely on shallow-depth capillary roots for their water. Invasive plants steal that water individually in small volumes, but collectively enough to put an established cactus into a state of drought.

A final note: Study the appearances of invasive weeds before you pull them, or contact a landscaping professional to do the work for you. It would be very unfortunate to accidentally remove a native plant! 

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we do whatever we can to minimize the growth and spread of invasive and noxious weeds! If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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Dealing With Frost Damage in the Desert

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The Sonoran Desert winter is renowned across the United States for how pleasant it is compared to many other regions, however there are often weather patterns that lead to frosts or even occasional dustings of snow. When this happens, it’s important to follow these precautions to prevent causing permanent damage to your plants.

   

First, it’s important to know that, to a certain extent, frost damage is natural and normal. Simple frost damage can occur even when the temperature is nominally above freezing temperature, even as high as 40 degrees. As long as the temperature doesn’t drop below 29 degrees, simple frost damage should only cause temporary, cosmetic damage to established plants (though recent plantings and plants that are already suffering severe ailments may die). For plants that were chosen for our landscapes specifically for their compatibility with the Sonoran Desert, permanent issues start to arise if the temperature goes below freezing for multiple days in a row, or if snow settles on them for extended periods of time. If these occur, cell death in the bark and roots can cause even established trees and shrubs to lose limbs or, eventually, die.

If you look at the weather forecast and you can see that the temperature is expected to reach within 5 degrees of freezing temperature, it’s best to assume that frost damage is possible. Protect young plants and plants that you don’t want to look ugly for a few months with light blankets, towels, or frost cloths overnight to lessen the impact of the cold. Do NOT leave frost coverings on top of plants all day long, or for multiple days in a row without a break! Plants need to breathe too, and keeping the coverings on for too long can cause more damage than the frost itself would have done.

It may seem counterintuitive, but if you know a frost is approaching, you should give sensitive plants EXTRA water beforehand. A day before the frost arrives, give your plants a deeper watering than normal. This will keep the capillaries, roots, and bark of your plants full beforehand, which actually increases the internal temperature of the plants and lessens that damage to plant cells that do get frozen.

It doesn’t happen often, but if it does snow, and that snow lingers for more than an hour or two, you should do your best to shake or otherwise clean the snow off of desert plants that are covered. The ice can cause cell death in desert tree bark. Also, the plants of the desert, especially trees like the Palo Verde and thorny shrubs like the ocotillo, cannot bear the weight of snow for extended periods of time. During the “Snowpocalypse” of 2019, thousands of trees and ocotillos in the East Valley were flattened and killed by the weight of a strong snowfall that lingered for over two days. This was on a scale that could not have been prevented overall, but if the same happens in your yard you can do your best to mitigate the damage.

Finally, you need to be careful AFTER the frost is over. Shrubs with superficial frost damage should be LEFT ALONE until the risk of frost is over. Some plants go dormant in the winter, and frost can just be the final step for them to shed their remaining leaves – in which case, it’s okay to cut them back for aesthetics. But, if a bush is meant to be truly perennial and it gets cosmetic frost damage, or if a tree experiences severe frost damage, it is best to leave the damaged portions on the plant until springtime. Even if the branches look ugly and dead, they still provide the living portions of the plant protection from the cold. Wait until the last frosts of the spring are over, and then you can cut off the damaged parts. You’ll have to deal with some ugly looks for longer, but you’ll have healthier plants in the long term.

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we handle the seasonal needs of plant materials and hardscapes alike with care and professionalism! If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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What Blooms in the Winter?

What Blooms In The Winter?

Even in the Sonoran Desert, many plants go dormant in the winter. Many trees and shrubs are deciduous, and many others simply slow down their biological processes and don’t create much color. There are some exceptions, though. This article will go over some native options and some non-native options that will provide some much needed color during the coldest time of year.

The list of native options is rather limited, but the ones that do bloom between December and March are quite beautiful options. The Angelita Daisy (Tetraneuris acaulis) is a low, clumping groundcover that blooms in waves all year long, including the wintertime, with pretty yellow daisy flowers. The Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) is a larger, low-growing bush that creates shoots of red trumpet-shaped flowers throughout the year as well. It’s a favorite for hummingbirds. The Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) is generally considered to be among the plants that slow their processes during the winter, but usually their last fall blooms will remain on the plant throughout the winter. Even when most of the leaves have fallen off, the light pink blooms often remain for most of the winter, and their next blooms are typically some of the first of the spring anyway.

When it comes to trees, the only Sonoran Desert native that blooms in the coldest of the winter is the Sweet Acacia (Acacia farnesiana), a medium tree in the legume family that becomes covered in golden puffball flowers, usually in January.

The non-native list gives us some more options. Most notably for the low growth are the Aloes. The Blue Elf Aloe (Aloe ‘Blue Elf’) and Aloe Vera (Aloe vera) are two of the most common options, though there are hundreds of varieties to choose from, ranging in size from ground cover to enormous trees. The Crown of Thorns (Euphorbia milii) is a beautiful red and green option for the winter. The Bush Dalea (Dalea pulchra) and other Dalea species bloom in lavender legume clusters throughout the winter and spring. The Valentine Emu (Eremophila maculata) blooms a deep red or pink, predictably, by Valentine’s Day. 

Some trees that bloom in the winter include the Shoestring Acacia (Acacia stenophylla), Cascalote (Tara cacalaco), and Mexican Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia mexicana). All three of these will be covered in bright yellow blooms by January. 

If you’re looking for some winter annuals to stick in a flower pot for the cool season, you could look into Pansies, Violas, Salvias (especially the blue Salvia), certain Geraniums (especially the Ivy Geranium or the Martha Washington Geranium), Alyssums, Lobelias, Bacopas, and even Petunias. If you live in an area prone to javelinas, avoid the geraniums, Petunias, and Alyssums. Be careful with Petunias in general, as they are quite susceptible to “damping off,” or randomly dying from an outbreak of root fungus latent in most nurseries. If you can have these flowers planted and established before the first frost of the winter, you can have beautiful blooms throughout the cool season.

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we install seasonal flowers at monuments that provide the best color coverage throughout the year, and install plants that are water-efficient and beautiful! If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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Winter Legumes to Refresh Your Garden

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If you have a garden in your backyard in Arizona, you know how hard it can be to keep garden crops happy throughout the seasons. There’s a helpful strategy built into many of the Sonoran Desert’s native plants, and some winter crops you can plant that operate the same way.

For a garden bed built into the ground, you can take advantage of the Sonoran Desert’s leguminous plants to add nutrients to your garden. Plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) have a special, built-in property called “Nitrogen FIxing.” A plant is Nitrogen-fixing when it has colonies of helpful bacteria in its roots that create clusters sometimes large enough to be seen with the naked eye. These clusters consume water, Oxygen, and Carbon Dioxide and release Nitrogen into the soil and into the roots of the plants. Many, if not most, of the trees and shrubs used in Sonoran Desert landscaping are Nitrogen-fixing legumes. The reason for this is thought to be the fact that Sonoran Desert soil is almost entirely devoid of naturally-occurring Nitrogen. Mesquites, Palo Verdes, Ironwoods, Mexican Birds of Paradise, Fairy Dusters, Cascalotes, and even Clovers are among the Nitrogen-fixing plants commonly used in landscaping out here that can help fertilize your garden.

When a Mesquite or Ironwood tree loses its leaves in the winter, the leaves it sheds are basically thousands of organic pellets of Nitrogen fertilizer that makes up for what your garden bed will be lacking by the time your fall crops are coming to fruition. Instead of blowing away all these leaves, collect some of them and strategically mix them in with your garden soil after the fall crops are finished. Not only that, but if the tree’s roots have made their way under or even into your raised bed, Nitrogen is likely being produced naturally beneath the surface.

Another strategy that can get you a ready supply of healthy snacks is to plant winter legumes in your garden bed. After your fall crops finish, sow any of several species of “winter legumes” in your garden. Not only will you have beans or peas to snack on for the whole cool season, but  you’ll be supporting Nitrogen-fixing root systems in your soil. Once the spring comes and you’re ready to plant fresh crops, your soil will be equipped with a healthy surplus of organic nutrients! If you’ve ever heard of the “Three Sisters Garden,” legumes are one of those vital three “sisters” that replenishes nutrients in the soil for the next batch of crops, alongside corn and squash.

One last word of advice on this matter: If you are growing Nitrogen-fixing plants, DO NOT fertilize them with a fertilizer containing Nitrogen. This goes for the winter beans just as much as the full-sized Mesquite tree. If you add Nitrogen to their soil manually, it can weaken or even break the Nitrogen-fixing cycle in the roots of the affected legumes. Just let them be, and if they express signs of a nutrient deficiency, it’s most likely NOT a Nitrogen deficiency. Consult a professional on the proper solutions in order to save time and money!

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we understand the intricate relationship between the landscapes and the plants we install on them, to a scientific level. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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Low-Water Replacements for Grass Turfs

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Clover, Dichondra and Kurapia – Replacements for Grass?

These days, every level of Arizona society from the state government to local governments to individual homeowners are trying to find ways to preserve water. The most notable water consumer in residential areas is very obviously the grass, with golf courses and lawns swallowing up huge amounts of irrigation water throughout the Phoenix area. However, there is a quickly developing field (pun intended) of replacements for typical turf grasses with plants that consume much less water and can handle the Sonoran Desert climate for some or all the year.

 

Clover is often a weed that appears accidentally in turf spaces throughout Arizona. Recently, though, people have realized the reason clover likes to volunteer here so much. Clover can handle the heat and tolerate the higher pH levels of Phoenix-area soils, making it a great choice for a green space that will require less water and less fertilizer. Their flowers attract lots of pollinators, which can be good for a decorative space, but might cause issues if you have kids or pets playing around in the yard on a regular basis.

Dichondra is a type of clover, though it looks much different than the typical clover you may think of. Each leaf looks more like a small lily pad, and it makes for a pretty and soft looking bed when it grows nice and full. Like other clovers, it will barely, if ever, need to be mowed, as it maxes out at a height of only about 2 inches. It is best planted in areas that get morning sun and afternoon shade, as the summer sun can still cook them.

 

Kurapia is a new type of groundcover coming to the market, being a trademarked plant hybrid designed by Kurapia, Inc. specifically for the purpose of lowering water usage while still being a pretty and sun-hardy turf plant. They may use as much as 75% less water than a summer Bermuda grass, can handle the salinity and high pH of Arizona soil, and barely ever need to be mowed. Having even irrigation distribution is important for Kurapia, as uneven watering can lead to larger clumps forming in wetter spots while drier spots can end up looking sparse. Otherwise, this is a great replacement for typical turf grass! Learn more at Kurapia.com.

Ruschia nana is an interesting one. It looks like a dwarf version of various ice plants – with clusters of beautiful magenta flowers and everything – but this is a totally functional desert turf. While it looks like it would be fragile like a typical succulent, it is strong enough to walk on regularly without causing damage. It does great in the full sun and doesn’t need much maintenance whatsoever, though if certain areas thin out it may take a while to get them to fill in again. Learn more at Ruschiananaplugs.com.

If none of those options interest you, the best thing you can do for your yard is a Xeriscape Conversion. This is the act of removing turf altogether and replacing it with a lush, but still low-water, miniature Sonoran Desert ecosystem in your yard. This is the best choice for the environment, as you’ll create an oasis for native birds, pollinators, and other creatures that will help threatened species survive in the massive urban sprawl of the Phoenix area. There’s a catch though – if you have pre-existing trees and shrubs that are relying on the excess water from your turf space, a conversion without a plan can lead to all of them drying out and dying from suddenly losing their main water supply. If you’re going to do a xeriscape conversion, do it in the fall to give stressed plants several months to grow new roots before the next summer. Also, ensure good drip irrigation is getting to your trees and shrubs and supplement with occasional deep soakings, especially as their first summer without a lawn approaches.

At ELS Maintenance & Construction, we are conducting xeriscape conversions in communities throughout the valley to save water and recreate natural ecosystems. If you know of a community or commercial center that needs new landscapers, email contactus@evergreenaz.com and we can get started!

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