Kate Henrikson

Backyard Fruit Tree Zone by the Oleander

This is your fruit tree zone. There's room for two fruit trees here, one on either side of the oleander. You liked the idea of citrus, peaches, and figs, and all three will do well here. Here's everything that would work.

Citrus

Oranges, tangerines, and mandarins all do great here. Evergreen, fragrant spring blossoms, and fruit in winter when nothing else is producing. Plant 8 feet apart.

Lemon Tree

Meyer lemon is the easiest and sweetest for home use. Produces heavily and stays a manageable size.

Lime

Mexican or Bearss lime. A little more frost tender than other citrus, so give it the warmest spot or cover it on frost nights.

Grapefruit

Rio Red or Ruby Red. Big tree, big harvest, and the fruit holds on the tree for months.

Kumquat

Small, tidy citrus you eat skin and all. The most cold hardy of the citrus and great if space is tight.

Peach (Florida Prince)

Low chill peach that actually fruits reliably in the Valley. Ripens in May before the real heat. Deciduous, so it lets winter sun through.

Desert Gold Peach

Another low chill peach that does well here, clingstone with sweet yellow fruit in late spring.

Fig

One of the easiest fruit trees for the desert. Black Mission and Brown Turkey are reliable here. Two crops a year, handles the heat, and can be kept smaller with winter pruning.

Where to buy. For citrus, go to Greenfield Citrus Nursery in Mesa. They grow their own trees for our climate and the quality is the best in the Valley. For peaches and figs, A&P Nursery carries good low chill varieties. I recommend 15 gallon trees. Smaller trees establish faster and end up better long term than big boxed trees.

When to plant. Peaches and figs can go in anytime from now through February while they're dormant. Citrus can go in now too, but have frost cloth ready for the first winter, or wait until late February or March once frost danger is past.

How to plant. Dig the hole as deep as the root ball and two to three times as wide. Set the tree so the top of the root ball sits level with the ground or slightly above, never deeper. Backfill with your native soil and just a tiny bit of compost mixed in. Then lay compost on top of the soil around the tree and mulch over the compost. Don't work it in. Keep the mulch back about a foot from the trunk. Space the trees about 8 feet from the oleander and each other so they have room to fill out.

How to water. Deep and infrequent is exactly the right goal, and that's where you'll end up. The first year is different though, because the roots are still just the size of the pot. Here's how to get there:

• First 8 weeks: water every 2 to 3 days, soaking the root ball and the soil just around it.
• Rest of the first year: stretch it out to every 5 to 7 days in the warm months and every 10 to 14 days in winter.
• Year two and on: deep and infrequent. Soak the soil down to about 3 feet every 7 to 10 days in summer and every 2 to 3 weeks in winter. Push a long screwdriver or rebar into the soil after watering. It should slide in easily to about 2 to 3 feet.
• As the tree grows, move the emitters out to the edge of the canopy (the drip line). That's where the feeder roots are, not at the trunk.
• Don't skip a watering after rain. Our rain rarely soaks in deep enough to count.

Care. Let citrus keep its low branches (the skirt). They shade the trunk and that's where most of the fruit is. If any trunk is exposed to the afternoon sun, paint it with white latex paint mixed 50/50 with water to prevent sunburn. Peaches get a light thinning cut each winter to keep the center open, and thin the baby fruit to about 6 inches apart in spring so the rest size up. Figs need very little pruning beyond keeping them the size you want. Feed all of them monthly with compost and organic fertilizer (see Soil and Feeding below).

Banana Spot

This back corner is a perfect spot for bananas. It's protected, and bananas love being tucked in close together.

Banana

Big tropical leaves and real fruit if you feed it. Ice Cream (Blue Java), Dwarf Cavendish, Goldfinger, and Raja Puri are good choices for here since they handle our cooler winters better.

Mulch the whole area first. Cover this entire area with a thick layer of mulch, 4 to 6 inches. Bananas have shallow roots that want cool, moist, rich soil, and mulch does all three. Arizona Worm Farm has great mulch and compost.

Planting. Plant in a group of three to five about 4 to 6 feet apart so they shade and protect each other. Plant them in spring (March to April) once frost danger is past, so they have the whole warm season to root in. Same planting method as everything else: native soil with a tiny bit of compost, compost on top, mulch over that.

Feeding. Bananas are heavy feeders. If you don't feed them, you'll get leaves but no fruit. Here's what to do:

• Compost: 2 to 3 inches of compost spread over the whole area every couple of months during the growing season (spring through fall). Pull the mulch back, lay the compost down, put the mulch back.
• Composted chicken manure: a few handfuls around each plant once a month from April through September.
• Organic liquid fertilizer: every two weeks in the warm months with Catalyst Jenner 8 or Organic Nitro Jen. The kelp fertilizer once a month helps with the heat.
• Worm castings: every quarter.
• Back off the feeding from November through February when they slow down.

Watering. They want lots of water in the heat. Deep watering every 2 to 3 days in summer and once a week or so in winter. Never let the soil dry out completely in summer.

Getting fruit. Each stalk fruits once, usually in its second year. Let one or two pups (the shoots at the base) grow on to replace each main stalk and cut the others off at the ground. After a stalk fruits, cut it down to the ground and chop it up as mulch right there. When frost hits, the leaves will burn. Leave them on until spring as protection, then cut off the brown leaves once it warms up.

Mesquite Trees and Trimming

You've got a good idea of how to trim these. Everything you were thinking about will work. Here are some more guidelines to go with it.

• Thin, don't shear. Make each cut back to a branch junction or the trunk. No topping, and no stripping all the inner branches so the foliage is only at the tips (called lion-tailing). That makes the branches heavy at the ends and more likely to snap.
• Take out what doesn't belong first: dead wood, branches that cross or rub, branches growing back toward the center, and suckers coming off the base.
• Don't take more than about 20 to 25 percent of the canopy in a year. Mesquites respond to heavy cuts by pushing out a lot of fast, weak growth.
• Timing: late winter through spring is ideal. A light thinning in early summer before monsoon helps the wind pass through the canopy so it's less likely to blow over. Avoid heavy cuts in the heat of summer.
• Raising the canopy: if you want to walk under it, remove the lower limbs gradually over a few years instead of all at once.
• Clean cuts just outside the branch collar (the slightly swollen ring where the branch meets the trunk). No wound sealer needed.

For anything big, like large limbs over the house or structural work up high, I recommend King's Tree Service. They're certified arborists and they do it right.

Back Wall with Fruit Trees

Same thing on this wall. Cover it with any of the shrubs or vines from the other backyard walls.

Shrubs for wall coverage

Arizona Rosewood

Native evergreen that grows 10 to 15 feet tall and about as wide. My go-to for covering a block wall. Dense, takes full sun and reflected heat, white spring flowers for the pollinators, and it never needs shearing.

Hopseed

Dense, upright evergreen, 10 to 12 feet, that fills in fast and handles full sun and reflected heat. One of my favorites for covering a block wall. Narrow enough that it doesn't eat up the yard.

Orange Jubilee

Fast growing, 8 to 12 feet, with big clusters of orange trumpet flowers from spring through fall. Hummingbirds are on it all day. Can freeze back in a hard winter and comes right back in spring.

Yellow Bells

Tecoma stans. The yellow variety is native to the Sonoran Desert. Bright yellow trumpet flowers spring through fall, 8 to 12 feet, and a hummingbird and bee magnet.

Twisted Myrtle

Evergreen with small, twisted, fragrant leaves and white summer flowers. Grows 6 to 8 feet, dense and tidy, and takes the heat. Bees love the flowers.

Vines for wall coverage

Hacienda Creeper

Self-clinging vine with small leaves that hug the wall flat. Takes full sun and reflected heat, turns red in the cool months. Great where space is tight.

Tangerine Crossvine

Self-clinging vine that grabs onto block or stucco without wires. Evergreen, orange trumpet flowers in spring, handles full sun and heat. One of my favorites for walls.

Bower Vine

Pandorea. Glossy leaves and pink and white trumpet flowers. Prefers some afternoon shade, so it's a good fit for a covered or partly shaded spot.

Coral Vine (Mexican Creeper)

Fast summer vine with sprays of pink flowers late summer through fall. Bees love it. Freezes back to the ground in winter and returns in spring, so it covers in the hot months and opens up in the cool months.

Lady Banks Rose

Nearly thornless climbing rose with a huge flush of small yellow or white flowers in spring. Vigorous, evergreen here, and tough in the heat once rooted. Needs something to lean on or tie to.

Then in front of the wall, you can space two to three fruit trees, depending on how much you want to take on and how much fruit you want. All the same options as the other fruit tree zone work here: citrus, peach, and fig. Barbados cherry is another great option to add here.

Citrus

Oranges, tangerines, and mandarins all do great here. Evergreen, fragrant spring blossoms, and fruit in winter when nothing else is producing. Plant 8 feet apart.

Lemon Tree

Meyer lemon is the easiest and sweetest for home use. Produces heavily and stays a manageable size.

Lime

Mexican or Bearss lime. A little more frost tender than other citrus, so give it the warmest spot or cover it on frost nights.

Grapefruit

Rio Red or Ruby Red. Big tree, big harvest, and the fruit holds on the tree for months.

Kumquat

Small, tidy citrus you eat skin and all. The most cold hardy of the citrus and great if space is tight.

Peach (Florida Prince)

Low chill peach that actually fruits reliably in the Valley. Ripens in May before the real heat. Deciduous, so it lets winter sun through.

Desert Gold Peach

Another low chill peach that does well here, clingstone with sweet yellow fruit in late spring.

Fig

One of the easiest fruit trees for the desert. Black Mission and Brown Turkey are reliable here. Two crops a year, handles the heat, and can be kept smaller with winter pruning.

Barbados Cherry

Large shrub or small tree, 8 to 10 feet, with bright red cherries loaded with vitamin C. Pink flowers several times a year. It does best with a little afternoon protection, and it fits nicely up against a wall.

Keep the fruit trees about 8 feet apart and at least 6 feet out from the wall hedge so neither one crowds the other. The planting, watering, and care steps are the same as the first fruit tree zone: plant at grade, native soil with a tiny bit of compost, compost and mulch on top, and water deeply, more often the first year and then deep and infrequent.

Backyard Natives to Pepper Throughout

Overall in your backyard, we don't want to crowd up the space. These are desert adapted plants you can pepper wherever you like throughout the yard to bring in color, hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.

Globe Mallow

Native with orange cup shaped flowers in spring, 2 to 4 feet. Native bees depend on it.

Desert Milkweed

Upright gray-green stems, 3 to 4 feet. A host plant for monarch and queen butterflies. Every pollinator garden here should have some.

Chuparosa

Native with red tubular flowers through winter and spring, when hummingbirds need it most. 3 to 4 feet, loose and natural.

Penstemon

Upright flower spikes in spring, 2 to 4 feet, with a small footprint. Hummingbirds and native bees love them. Great for narrow spots.

Desert Marigold

Native with silvery leaves and bright yellow flowers, about 1 to 2 feet. Reseeds a little, which is a good thing in a pollinator area.

Brittlebush

Native silver mound, 3 feet, covered in yellow daisies in late winter and spring. Feeds a lot of native bees.

Greg's Mistflower

Fuzzy lavender flowers that are a butterfly magnet, especially queens in the fall. 1 to 2 feet and spreading. Handles some shade.

Autumn Sage

Salvia greggii. 2 to 3 feet with red, pink, or coral flowers spring through fall. A hummingbird favorite that fits small spaces.

Pink Fairy Duster

Native, airy shrub about 2 to 3 feet with soft pink puffball flowers in spring. Hummingbirds and bees both use it.

Baja Fairy Duster

Red puffball flowers almost year round, 3 to 5 feet. Hummingbirds visit it all day. Handles full sun and heat.

Damianita

Low, fragrant mound about 1 to 2 feet with bright yellow daisies in spring and fall. Loves hot, sunny, tight spots.

Angelita Daisy

Tidy 1 foot mound with yellow daisies nearly year round. Takes reflected heat and stays small.

Turpentine Bush

Native, 2 to 3 feet, covered in yellow flowers in the fall when pollinators need late season food.

Desert Honeysuckle

Anisacanthus. Orange flowers summer into fall, 3 to 4 feet. Tough and a hummingbird favorite.

Ruellia

Desert ruellia with purple trumpet flowers spring through fall. Tough, 3 to 4 feet, handles full sun and reflected heat, and gets by on very little water after its first summer.

Desert Ruellia (white)

Small native shrub with white flowers, 2 to 3 feet. Fills in nicely between bigger plants.

Red Yucca

Clean, grassy clump about 3 feet with tall coral flower spikes the hummingbirds love. Fibrous, shallow roots and very little litter, so it's great near a pool or a foundation.

Desert Lavender

Native, fragrant gray shrub, 4 to 6 feet, with small purple flowers the bees go crazy for.

Texas Sage

Silver or green leaves with flushes of purple flowers after summer humidity. 4 to 6 feet if you let it grow naturally. Thrives in full sun and heat and takes far less water than plants that aren't desert adapted.

Trailing Indigo Bush

Low, silvery spreading shrub about 1 to 2 feet with purple spring flowers. Takes full sun and reflected heat.

Creosote

The smell of rain in the desert. Native evergreen, 4 to 8 feet, with small yellow flowers and fuzzy seed balls. Once it's rooted in, it can live on rainfall plus an occasional deep soak in summer.

You can't fit all of these, so pick your favorites. Plant in loose groups of three or five rather than straight rows, put the lower growing ones near walkways and under trees, and don't stress about exact placement. A little randomness looks fuller and more natural.

The Hot Side of That Wall

This is the other side of that wall. It gets blasted by the afternoon sun. Once the hedge on the other side is established and you have some shade going, other things can go here. Long term, this could be a great spot for bananas. For now, here are a few ideas for things that can take the full blast.

Red Bird of Paradise

Big red and orange flower clusters all summer, 6 to 8 feet. Loves full sun. Butterflies and hummingbirds both visit.

Texas Sage

Silver or green leaves with flushes of purple flowers after summer humidity. 4 to 6 feet if you let it grow naturally. Thrives in full sun and heat and takes far less water than plants that aren't desert adapted.

Baja Fairy Duster

Red puffball flowers almost year round, 3 to 5 feet. Hummingbirds visit it all day. Handles full sun and heat.

Lantana

Low, spreading color machine for hot spots. Purple, yellow, or orange flowers nearly year round. Butterflies love it. Can freeze back in a hard winter and comes right back.

Emu Bush (Outback Sunrise)

Low, spreading Australian shrub about 2 feet tall with yellow flowers in winter and spring. Handles blasting afternoon sun and reflected heat like a champ.

Red Yucca

Clean, grassy clump about 3 feet with tall coral flower spikes the hummingbirds love. Fibrous, shallow roots and very little litter, so it's great near a pool or a foundation.

When you get to the banana stage, follow the same mulch, feeding, and watering steps in the Banana Spot section above.

Desert Willow

A desert willow here is a great option. I would plant it.

Desert Willow

Native small tree, 15 to 25 feet, with orchid-like pink, purple, or white flowers all summer that the hummingbirds and bees work constantly. Deciduous, so it gives summer shade and lets winter sun through.

Go with a 15 gallon tree. Plant it with the top of the root ball level with the ground, backfill with native soil and a tiny bit of compost, then compost and mulch on top, keeping the mulch a foot back from the trunk. It will need deep water through its first summer, every 3 to 4 days in the heat. After that you can mostly let it be. It takes far less water than trees that aren't desert adapted, and an occasional deep soak during the hottest dry stretches keeps it flowering.

Along the Driveway

Down this side of your driveway, something desert adapted like more ruellia would work great. You want plants that only need water through the first summer and then can be fine on their own. Here are more options besides ruellia.

Ruellia

Desert ruellia with purple trumpet flowers spring through fall. Tough, 3 to 4 feet, handles full sun and reflected heat, and gets by on very little water after its first summer.

Desert Ruellia (white)

Small native shrub with white flowers, 2 to 3 feet. Fills in nicely between bigger plants.

Globe Mallow

Native with orange cup shaped flowers in spring, 2 to 4 feet. Native bees depend on it.

Brittlebush

Native silver mound, 3 feet, covered in yellow daisies in late winter and spring. Feeds a lot of native bees.

Desert Marigold

Native with silvery leaves and bright yellow flowers, about 1 to 2 feet. Reseeds a little, which is a good thing in a pollinator area.

Damianita

Low, fragrant mound about 1 to 2 feet with bright yellow daisies in spring and fall. Loves hot, sunny, tight spots.

Angelita Daisy

Tidy 1 foot mound with yellow daisies nearly year round. Takes reflected heat and stays small.

Turpentine Bush

Native, 2 to 3 feet, covered in yellow flowers in the fall when pollinators need late season food.

Penstemon

Upright flower spikes in spring, 2 to 4 feet, with a small footprint. Hummingbirds and native bees love them. Great for narrow spots.

Red Yucca

Clean, grassy clump about 3 feet with tall coral flower spikes the hummingbirds love. Fibrous, shallow roots and very little litter, so it's great near a pool or a foundation.

Creosote

The smell of rain in the desert. Native evergreen, 4 to 8 feet, with small yellow flowers and fuzzy seed balls. Once it's rooted in, it can live on rainfall plus an occasional deep soak in summer.

Keep the lower ones (damianita, angelita daisy, desert marigold) along the driveway edge and the taller ones (ruellia, brittlebush, creosote) farther back so nothing pokes into the car. Space them 3 to 4 feet apart.

North-Facing Corner: Shade

This north face hardly ever gets any sun at all. Here are plants that do well in mostly shade.

Mexican Honeysuckle

Orange tubular flowers almost year round and soft green leaves. Does very well in the filtered shade under a tree. Hummingbirds love it.

Cape Plumbago

Soft, mounding shrub with sky blue flowers most of the year. Happy in part shade, 4 to 6 feet tall and wider. Can lean on a wall and climb a bit if you let it.

Firecracker Plant

Russelia. Cascading green stems with red tubular flowers that hummingbirds go after constantly. Takes shade well, 3 to 4 feet. Nice in front of a taller shrub.

Foxtail Fern

Upright plumes of bright green, 2 to 3 feet. Loves shade and gives a soft, lush look at the base of a wall.

Asparagus Fern

Airy, feathery groundcover-style fern for shady spots. 2 to 3 feet, fills in gaps under taller shrubs.

Star Jasmine

The vine you have now. Fragrant white flowers in spring, evergreen, good in part shade. It needs steady, deep water to get established, which is likely what it was missing.

Mexican honeysuckle and firecracker plant still bring in the hummingbirds even in the shade. Ferns are great tucked in front of the taller plants.

Soil and Feeding

Everything in this write-up comes down to the soil. Healthy soil full of life means stronger roots, better flowering, fewer pests, and plants that handle the heat. Here's how to do it yourself, and below that, what it looks like if we take care of it for you.

Doing it yourself:

• Compost. Spread a generous layer of quality compost around the drip line of the eucalyptus and any other trees, and closer in around shrubs. Two to three times a year. Arizona Worm Farm has great compost.
• Worm castings. Sprinkle worm castings around your plants every quarter. They're loaded with biology and gentle enough for anything.
• Organic fertilizer. Use a good organic liquid fertilizer that's high in fulvic acid, monthly. I recommend Catalyst Jenner 8, Organic Nitro Jen, and their kelp fertilizer.

Catalyst Jenner 8

All-around organic feed for the whole landscape.

Catalyst Organic Nitro Jen

Organic nitrogen for strong green growth.

Catalyst Kelp

Trace minerals and natural growth hormones. Helps with heat stress.

You can find these at Catalyst Product Group. Click Products, then Home and Garden.

Or we can do it for you. Our monthly fertilizing program covers the whole landscape with a liquid organic spray every month plus compost three times a year, and you get a recap video after every visit.

More details here: Monthly Fertilizing.

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