introduction to hot weather thinking

Put very simply, the key is “Right Plant, Right Place”.

The start of my career in horticulture came when I was hired at a plant nursery down the street in Fountain Hills AZ. I was a nursery tech and customer service employee primarily, because without plants and customers there is no plant nursery. My job was to water and care for the plants – of course – as well as handling the register, the phone, the plant care questions, making potted plants for customers, IDing pests from leaf samples, selling sculptures, making basic designs, dealing with wholesale nurseries, and all the other daily tasks of a small business. I was outside for 95% of my shift all year, even during summer. 

We all know the Sonoran desert summer weather is no joke. The most unexpected aspects of the low desert heat waves for new residents are how fast the soil loses all moisture and how hot the dry soil gets. Mulch turns to tinder and the clay desert soil slams shut to become a layer as hard as concrete and nearly as impermeable to water. 

The difference between the Phoenix summer and a hot sunny day almost anywhere else is that the sheer intensity of the conditions throws everything into survival mode.

Full sun exposures, plants in containers, rootbound plants, and water hungry plants are all in danger of drying out quickly over summer whether in a plant nursery or a residential garden. And plants that aren’t suited for our region or are in the wrong exposure might crisp up no matter how well we take care of them.

In addition to the typical summer heat, the urban landscape faces extra challenges that make the environment even less hospitable. Our houses and buildings are reflecting heat, and the sidewalks and roads radiate heat back into the environment at night. Even the toughest native plants will need extra care to survive in stressful microclimates like our roadsides and wall plantings.

Despite the challenges of Arizona low desert gardening, there are some strategies that can help protect plants. In this article series I will identify some of the biggest hurdles to having a successful yard in the low desert and some potential solutions. 

This series about summer desert landscaping will include articles with these themes, so please subscribe to be notified by email when the new ones come out:

What exactly “right plant right place” means

Why potted plants need to be treated differently than plants in the ground

If this information is helpful but you feel like you need more guidance, please reach out to schedule a call or an in-person consult. I’ll make you a document specifically for your garden and be available going forward to help with landscaping tasks, designs, and installations.