Hi, Desert Gardener,
A lot of gardeners have been commenting that their plants are looking bedraggled even when they're watering as usual. Some have even questioned if the sun's path has changed! (I hope not!) ๐ฎ
I think the problem is three-fold.
First, our first 100+ day occurred in March and the monsoon rains haven't kicked in yet, so our 5th season -- "arid foresummer" -- has been months longer than usual. (March through July, rather than May and June.)
Second, because we didn't have a freeze last winter, many of us (including moi) did not hard prune plants that didn't die back. Those plants, which looked gorgeous in the spring, are now looking tired. (Lesson learned.)
And finally, it's been really windy. The daily weather pattern has been dry heat followed by extremely windy afternoons. So if your plants aren't as happy as you'd like, you can blame the desiccating wind, which takes its toll on plants that are already stressed. (If you live in Arizona, you can check your wind speeds here.)
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If you're itching to plant something new, now is the perfect time to sow seeds for summer or monsoon wildflowers. (I just sowed some this morning.) This week I've featured 3 plants that fall into this category. (Articles include sources for seeds.)
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In this week's newsletter, we cover:
- Featured plants: Desert senna, Arizona poppy, sacred datura
- Why desert wind is so tough on plants
- Monsoon plant sales coming up soon!
- What to do in the garden in July
- and more!
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