Hi, Desert Gardener!

I'm sending this a day later than usual, since I imagine many of you were busy with Halloween yesterday. I hope you had a good time!

I can't believe it's already November. I've been having so much fun in my garden, October flew by. Be sure to check out the November monthly "to do" guide. November is still a great month to plant most plants, but it's getting a little late for some that are frost-sensitive. (There's already been a frost warning for some areas east of Tucson.)

🌵 🌵 🌵

This weekend, we celebrate "Day of the Dead". So I thought I would stick with the theme to discuss dead plants. Every gardener loses plants — it’s an inevitable part of gardening. Each loss can teach you to become a better gardener, provided you understand what went wrong.

Fall is a good time to take a critical look at your garden. What plants thrived during the summer, which barely hung on, and which died? It makes a lot of sense going forward to do more of what worked... and less of what didn't.

🌵 🌵 🌵

A note about todays' featured plant, chaste tree. If you live in Tucson, it's one of the offerings from TEP's Trees for You $5 tree program. But if you live in southern Nevada, it's considered invasive there, so please take a pass on it.

What you'll find in this week's newsletter:

• What to do in the garden in November
• Featured plant: Chaste tree
• Avoiding transplant shock
• 12 reasons desert plants die
• Upcoming gardening classes & events
• and more!

A Reader Asks:

"I planted some petunias a few days ago and they already look half dead. I've watered them every day. The label says "full sun". What did I do wrong?"

Now is the perfect time of year to plant petunias, but it sounds like yours suffered from "sun shock". That happens a lot. Those petunias were grown in greenhouses or under shade cloth. They can't handle our "death star" full sun, at least not right away. That "full sun" label means full sun where they don’t have any! (Even cactus can get sunburned in the desert.) Plants need to gradually be exposed to it. For now, set up some temporary shade for your petunias, and keep watering. If they recover, slowly increase the amount of sun they get.

Tucson Garden Events & Classes

There are always plenty of garden-related activities happening around Tucson. Upcoming highlights include:
​* Succulents in Pots – Indoor & Outdoor Showstoppers @ Tucson Botanical Garden
​* Welcome to Tucson Gardening @ Pima Co. Master Gardeners
​* Strut your Mutt Plant Party @ Four Arrows Garden Center

Get the details on these events and more in our Tucson Gardening Events Calendar →

Not in Tucson? Look for online classes. You can participate in these no matter where you live.

In Case You Missed It

Palmer’s Penstemon: Standout Wildflower​

​The Easy Way to Grow Desert Wildflowers

​What to Plant in the Fall (Month by Month)

Garden Quote

"Show me your garden and I shall tell you what you are." -- Alfred Austin, poet laureate

Before You Go...

Do you have a gardening question you'd like to see answered here? Send it to ask@swgardener.com.

If you found this information helpful or interesting, please share it with friends! They can sign up for this newsletter here.

And please stop by the Southwest Gardener Facebook page and "Follow", "Like", or "Share".

​

Keep growing and learning,
​Desert Dee