How to prune trees

Garden Guy Dave Owens runs down everything you need to know about pruning trees and keeping them healthy.

Citrus Trees

orange tree

Living in the desert southwest we are blessed to have the ideal climate for citrus trees. Citrus trees, due to their non-deciduous nature, are able to thrive in our mild winter and spring months, and then slow their growth in the colder and hotter months. Due to their ability to slow their growth, versus going dormant, citrus trees maintain their leaves and beauty all year long. They do not, however, … Read More →

Sick Tree Treatment

sick tree

Nature has created its own way of cleaning up through decomposition, and such is the case of a sick tree. Insects and microbes that may be infecting a tree are not truly causing sickness in the tree, but rather they are the one’s doing their job to decompose the sick tree. Sickness in tree’s is actually known to be caused by environmental conditions, such as chemical pesticides, soil compaction, plants … Read More →

Go Tropical in Your Landscape

avocado

One of the greatest benefits of living in the Valley is the warm weather, which allows us to grow a wide assortment of plants. If you want to try your green thumb at a few tropical varieties of fruiting plants, look no further. I have some wonderful tips! Avocado trees can be purchased from nurseries all over town. Certain species do better than others, so purchase the plant from a … Read More →

Citrus Trees and Roses

rose bushes

Roses Roses are my favorite flowers to grow in the desert. They are very easy to maintain, but keep the following in mind: Buy roses that do well in the Southwest, such as Mr. Lincoln, Gene Borner and Don Juan. Fertilize often. I like to use about 1/4 bag of steer manure every three to five weeks. I also throw a few banana peels in for good measure as an … Read More →

Pruning

pruning

Pruning is a necessary element of landscaping and here in the Arizona desert, it is critical that pruning take place over the next few weeks. Pruning is one of the most confusing and difficult tasks to teach and do here in the Southwest. It could be considered more of an art than a science. One of the simplest types of plants to prune is a rose bush. Rose bushes demand … Read More →

Growing Plants You Can Eat

figs

Many times when landscaping, we forget that our plants can be grown for the food that they can produce. Right now is a great time to purchase and plant these trees and vines as bare root. You cannot produce a safer or healthier organic food product than fruits and berries off of your own trees and vines. I know there are pundits out there that will tell you it is … Read More →

Healthy Soil

dead tree

Often trees and plants start to decline for no reason, but remember it’s not natural for tree or plant to be growing in a sterile environment. Many times trees and plants have different relationships with the micro flora that we do not completely understand but we know these symbiotic types of relationships exist. Often, we unknowingly destroy these mutually beneficial relationships through the use of synthetic pesticides. The usage of … Read More →

10 Best Trees to Use in Arizona

fan palm

Evergreen Elm Shammel Ash Ironwood Texas Mountain Laurel Acacia Aneria Mexican Fan Palms Black Mission Fig Anna Apple Texas Ebony Citrus grafted onto sour orange root stock

Citrus Trees

citrus tree

Citrus trees are a great addition to any landscape. They are easy to grow and take very little care. (Anyone who thinks it takes a lot of care to reap the rewards of citrus unnecessarily induce most of the problems.) If you’re considering planting a citrus tree, go to a reputable source. I like Greenfield Citrus — you can look at all the varieties. And this time of year, you … Read More →


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