Heat:

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Unfortunately, during the heat of summer, it's common for plants and trees to die. In most cases they die very quickly, and often their decline cannot be stopped.

 The summer heat stresses plants and exacerbates any existing weaknesses. Just as a person or animal can get heat stroke and die even if they're hydrated, plants also struggle from excessive heat even if they receive adequate irrigation.

 Reasons for decline include; the plant's age (everything gets older and weaker and many plants have a short natural lifespan), pests, disease, the type of plant, location, past environmental factors, fertilizer, water, temperatures, and just plain luck. In recent years we've seen more diseases on all kinds of palms, ash, citrus, and tipu trees, as well as several types of shrub such as oleanders and orange jubilees.​

 Preventative actions we recommend are to fertilize (twice per year for most plants, more often for citrus and queen palms) and to replace all drip heads at least every 2 years. It's important to replace heads before they completely clog up with calcium or the first visible issue will be a dead plant. A drip head replacement also includes making sure each plant has the correct number and size of heads. Obviously if there is a problem with the drip system - a bad valve or timer, or if the line is too old and brittle - that will need to be replaced promptly or plants will certainly die.

 If you notice a problem, please contact our office so we can take a look. We can treat many pests and diseases with a broad spectrum of insect and disease killer, as well as a systemic pest deterrent. It's usually worth trying, but unfortunately we cannot guarantee the treatment will work for your plant's specific problem.

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Frosts & Colder Weather:

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Most plants can handle cold weather & mild frosts. Some will turn brown, but will come back and flourish in the spring (e.g. lantana, bouganvillea, orange jubilees, canna lilies). Cannas will get ugly for a short time but new growth will usually come up in the spring. Others will get "frostbite" so they will be partly brown and will not regenerate quickly, however they rarely die (e.g. ficus trees, boxwoods). A few may die - primarily tropical or newly established plants. Most people just allow their shrubs to brown and have them trimmed back in the spring - so you don't need to do anything special unless you have sensitive plants or there will be a severe frost in the low 20's or below (in a severe frost you should definitely try to cover your plants with a sheet, bag, or tarp overnight). Because many plants are brown & look dead in the winter, but are actually only dormant, we recommend waiting until mid-March to decide if a plant should be removed. Deciduous trees will also lose all or some of their leaves - again, don't panic, that's completely normal.

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Monsoon Season:

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Monsoon season in Arizona is June 15 to September 30. It is still very, very hot - but you can also expect strong winds, lightning, some heavy rain, and an occasional haboob (dust storm). We recommend trimming any trees with a dense canopy that might be blown over and any that are touching your house - especially desert trees like mesquite, palo verde, and acacia. You should consider changing the battery on your timeclock to keep the programmed settings if the power goes out. 

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Seasonal Grass:

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Bermuda is the grass that can survive Arizona summers - however, it goes dormant in the winter (note, it doesn't die unless you completely stop watering it). Those who wish to have green grass during the winter will have their lawn overseeded with a winter rye blend. The overseeding process begins in September. In the spring, the rye will die off and the bermuda will come back through. Please note: you must be a biweekly maintenance customer in order to do overseeding. Please contact our office by mid-September if you would like to overseed.

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Fertilizing:

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We recommend fertilizing all plants & trees in April and September. We also recommend an additional fertilizing of citrus & queen palms in February (so 3 times per year). Grass should be fertilized in April and August - plus, if overseeding, in October and January.

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Seasonal Plant Health:

 

If you'd like to plant something new, we recommend planting either in spring (March, April) or fall (October, November). These are when new plants tend to have the easiest time adjusting to their new home.

 

We recommend doing aggressive cut backs to reduce the size of a plant in the spring. This is great for sages, and will help them grow back nice and full. We also recommend stumping Mexican (red) birds of paradise in December.