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Quick Answers
The Tucson Gardener's readers have certainly made use of the
Search feature on this site. Some readers have
found answers to their questions while others probably wondered "what good is this
site?" Below are a few quick answers to some of the searches that offered no results.
1. Katchner caves?
I believe the spelling is Kartchner Caves or
Caverns but you wouldn't find anything on the caves on this site which is mostly related
to Tucson gardening. The caverns are a bit closer to the towns of Benson and Sierra Vista.
However, I do agree that the cave gives new meaning to the words rock garden
since the stalagmites and stalactites are still growing.
2. Ponds?
I hope you were looking for information about
the facial cream or possibly the Pond's Institute since I'm a bit anti garden ponds in the
desert although they can add an interesting focal point to the right garden. And the koi
aficionados certainly need a pond for their colorful carp. Who knows the avid bass
fisherman might have a pond to raise water dogs for bait. I must admit when I was growing
up there was a house in one on the neighborhoods that had an entire back yard filled with
water. There were even a couple of swans on that man made lake. My friends and I used to
peer through the fence at all the water. Back then Alvernon was the edge of town and
Tucson wasn't the behemoth it's becoming so Tucson's water wasn't quite the issue it is
today. Check the Tucson Gardener's
Local Garden Links
for the Tucson Water Gardeners Web site.
3. Sissoo, Sisson, Sissor, Sissoo Tree?
Persistent devil! I wasn't familiar with the
tree nor did I find it right away in a couple of resources I usually check. Sissoo Tree,
Dalbergia sissoo according to Duffield and Jones'
Plants for Dry Climates. Apparently
the India native produces small pale yellow flowers and can grow from 30 to 50 feet. It
also seems to be cold sensitive. I'd check with a nursery to see one and learn what
the nursery personnel have to say about the tree's hardiness in Tucson.
4. Snake plants?
Tough question. My purple trailing lantana
often has a king snake under it where it rests during the day. I've found a king snake
under my tomatoes, too. You just never know when a snake is going to show up.
But then maybe the reader was looking for information on Sansevieria trifasciata commonly
known as snake plant, or mother-in-law's tongue. It's an easy to grow houseplant that can
be propagated by dividing the rhizomes. If you're more adventuresome you can try your hand
at two inch leaf cuttings.
I've had a snake plant growing in a container for several years that I only water when
the soil's dry. The houseplant seems nearly fool proof.
5. The Victory Garden?
Whoa there, wrong Web site. Try PBS,
channel 6 in Tucson. I believe the same show is on twice a week. Sorry, The Tucson
Gardener doesn't have a plant of the week. But we are thinking of an annual
membership drive and will graciously accept your pledge for the coming year. All this with
no commercial interruption.
6. Mesquite?
Somebody ought to write a book on
mesquite. A much used and a much maligned native and non native tree. If you haven't
viewed the mesquite grove along River Park between Oracle and La Cholla next to River Road
you should. The trees used to grow abundantly along the Santa Cruz River until the
water levels were lowered and the trees cut for firewood. I used to see both truck and
wagon loads of mesquite being hauled by the Tohono O'odham for firewood back in the
sixties.
Native to the southwest, Mexico and South America there are noticeable differences in
trunk color and the leaves. Depending on how they're trained you can have a single trunk
or multi-trunk tree. They can be messy when the seed pods fall in the summer. However if
the pods are in the open desert, rabbits, ground squirrels, round-tails and other animals
will dine on the pods. Rabbits are very fond of the low hanging branches of mesquite and
will girdle young tree trunks if they're not protected with some sort of fencing.
On my property the fastest growing mesquites have been ones I've started from seed.
I've had mixed results from nursery purchased mesquites. Some do well, meaning they get
established and grow quickly. Others seem to sit in the ground doing nothing. I've also
had problems getting the trees to put out lateral roots to support themselves. In that
case the trees are staked and sometimes it still doesn't seem to help. I've actually taken
a slow growing mesquite from the ground and found the roots to be tangled as if the tree
had strangled itself.
Also keep in mind that the trees are capable of producing thick shade but some
varieties have treacherous thorns when they're young.
7. Cicadia, Cicada?
It's cicada. The desert cicada, Diceroprocta apache
according to my National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Southwestern States. I've
never paid much attention to the cicadas I see sitting on a palo verde tree limb. I'm more
interested when they're in the grub state and actively feeding. I have lots of grubs in
both my raised beds and compost bins. I do know some of the grubs I find are voracious
root eaters.
If you'd like to find out more information on cicadas in general head on over to
Cicada Mania 2000. Check out
the frequently asked questions (FAQ). And if you're curious as if the cicada does any
damage on your trees the answer according to Cicada Mania 2000 is not
enough to worry about. Their above ground season is May to July around Tucson. That's when
they make all that annoying. noise. Look under
insects and pests on
this Web site for a photograph of a cicada.
8. Queen Anne palm? Queen palm?
It's Queen palm, Syagrus romansoffianum (some
of the older books have it listed as Arecastrum romanzoffianum). A South American
native the palm has a distinct appearance with its long graceful arching leaves. I never
paid much attention to them until a reader searched for the plant and all of a sudden it
seemed I'd see a lot of Queen palms peeking over people's back yard walls, planted in
front of businesses and in the nurseries. I'm more partial to palm groves than I am
to single specimen plantings. The look of the plant would make it ideal next to a pool
setting or anywhere you're looking to introduce the tropical look. And with all the Queen
palms I've noticed recently it makes me wonder if they're the in thing.
9. Texas Ranger?
It's Chuck Norris as Walker, Texas Ranger.
Sorry, I don't watch the show. However I did have a hedge of Texas Ranger, Leucophyllum
that was quite pretty when it bloomed after the summer rains. The flowers were short lived
and my hedge didn't work out because the rabbits kept nibbling from the bottom making it
impossible for it to look good. I also had a growth problem. One end of the hedge was very
slow growing. I finally figured it out when I found a prickly pear cactus root under the
Texas Ranger. It was sucking up all the moisture. Once I got rid of the nearby prickly
pear the plants started to grow.
Most of the Texas Rangers produce some shade of purple flowers. The leaves of the
plants are generally a silvery color although Green Cloud is a light green. There can be
slight variation in the leaf shape and some plants will have different growth
characteristics whether spreading, tall or short. You'll want to check with your favorite
nursery personnel to see what they have available to fit your landscaping needs.
The plants look great in the summer with water from the monsoons, some what
distressed in the winter when they lose some of their leaves. A lot of the landscape
plants you'll see are heavily pruned to give them a manicured shape. My hedge was pruned
to give it a hedge look. The plants can also be attractive in their natural state and that
saves the gardener from a lot of future pruning.(2000) |
