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Desert plants

Tucson's got Lithops, and if you haven't encountered one, get ready for a double take. The tiny plant mimics the size, feel and look of a smooth stone. It's so strange and beguiling, you'll want to stroke it and take it home. Good idea, according to Lithops expert Jane Evans. Along with her husband, Gene Joseph, Evans owns Plants for the Southwest, a nursery specializing in cacti and succulents. Evans and Joseph have been selling Lithops, a succulent from South Africa and Namibia whose name means "living stones," for 17 years. "They divide, so they never get taller," says Evans, looking out over a greenhouse filled with diverse examples of the odd little plants. She says Lithops, tended with care, are great container plants for the patio. "They have a big white or yellow daisylike flower in the fall. They aren't cold tolerant, so bring them in during cold months - and water carefully. They'll die if over-watered." From the intriguing Lithops to majestic saguaros, Southern Arizona is home to a fascinating world of cacti and succulents. Local residents increasingly are turning to desert and desert-adapted plants for patios and yards, attracted by the unique beauty of the plants, their easy care and low-water needs. "Tucson is one of the few cities in the country that doesn't value grass yards," says Mark Dimmitt, director of natural history at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. "It is the center of the universe with cactus. They are enormously popular here." Dimmitt says desert landscaping your yard or patio has an unexpected benefit. "It helps to develop a sense of place," he says. "It helps you to feel you belong here. There are things that grow better here than anywhere else, and they help to define who we are." Yet, even longtime Tucsonans can be confused by how to select and care for desert and desert-adapted plants. For newcomers, the learning curve in such a new and foreign environment often seems overwhelming. If you're ready to bring a cactus or succulent home, where do you turn? What do you choose? And how do you care for it? The Tucson Cactus and Succulent Society, a nonprofit organization devoted to education and information about cacti and succulents, offers excellent information on its Web site ( see accompanying resource list) and through its monthly meetings, where experts give free talks on desert and desert-adapted plants. "In the last two years, our membership has more than doubled - it's at 450 this year," says Kevin Barber, vice president and Webmaster for the organization. "People who are relatively new to town want to learn about desert plants. Why put in a lawn when you can have a beautiful landscape from cacti?" The society rescues cacti and other native plants from real estate developments, Barber says, selling them several times a year "at rock-bottom prices. We're a very good bargain." Another source for both plants and information are the local nurseries that specialize only in desert and desert-adapted plants (see accompanying nursery list). "There are very few good cactus nurseries in Phoenix," says Mark Dimmitt. Phoenicians "come here to buy cactus." That's due, in part at least, to Tucson nursery owners' ready advice. "We have a lot of time and energy invested in our plants," says Jane Evans. "Our goal is to see them survive. I've talked people out of things that I can tell are too demanding. I don't see any reason to send a plant to its death." Two of the nurseries, Bach's Cactus Nursery and B&B Cactus Farm, have mature demonstration gardens where you can see how the plants look in the landscape and get ideas for your own yard or patio. "There's a beauty in the desert, and we try to show that through the different colors and textures and shapes in the gardens," says Diane Bach, co-owner with husband Dan Bach, a well-known horticulturist, of the 10-acre nursery they started more than 30 years ago on a former chicken farm. The chicken coops became greenhouses, which now number 20. "All our plants are grown from seeds or cuttings," Bach says as she leads the way through an exhibit of pincushion cacti, stopping to admire the brilliantly colored blooms on a group of Trichocereus hybrid plants created by Dimmitt. He gained international renown when he created an adenium hybrid called "Crimson Star" in 1985. A selection of Dimmitt's hybrids are sold at several of the local nurseries. Jon R. Weeks, who holds a doctorate in plant physiology and owns Landscape Cacti, specializes in cold-hardy desert landscape plants. Though most nurseries reported some plant damage from last winter's unexpected freeze, Weeks says all his plants survived. "Most of my plants can handle temperatures as low as 15 degrees," he says. "I do constant plant breeding and experimentation, testing for the suitability of the species for Southern Arizona. Will it take the heat, and will it take the cold? I guarantee every plant I sell." What plants are Tucsonans buying now? Weeks says his top-selling cacti are: golden barrel; Thelo, with its large showy flowers in shades of pink, white and fuchsia; bishop's caps; hedgehogs; and Mammillarias, which include pincushion cacti. If you're concerned that a desert landscape means no flowers or color, Weeks has good news. "Once cacti reach a certain size, they bloom every year," he says. Cactus blooms usually only last a day or two, but new blooms continue to open. "You can have an eight-month blooming period," says Weeks, pointing to the profusion of flowers in the rows of his nursery. At Acacia Nursery, owner Tim Widger has around 2,500 saguaros, as well as other outdoor desert plants like Joshua trees, ocotillos, yuccas and agaves. Widger says he has been salvaging saguaros for 26 years, mostly from construction sites. He also grows them from seeds. "I've developed specialized techniques for transplanting saguaros," Widger says. "All my saguaros come with a warranty that they will establish and grow." After he shows a visitor the seed-grown saguaro beds, Widger stops beside a salvaged saguaro, its arms curving skyward. "This is several hundred years old and 22 feet tall," he says. "It sells for $3,500." Contrary to popular lore, you can water desert plants. In fact, all these plant experts do. Joseph and Evans at Plants for the Southwest recommend watering once a week in the summer and once a month during the winter months. "A lot of things we're using in the landscape are not from here," says Evans. "Deserts vary." While Joseph and Evans mainly grow plants for containers, they have begun to branch out into ocotillos. "Most ocotillos are yanked from the ground in Texas and sold on the side of the road in flatbed trucks here," says Evans. "Only 50 percent of them survive. So last year we started 10,000 ocotillos from seed. We're trying to halt the Texas market." The year-old ocotillos are already 12 inches tall. Eventually, ocotillos can reach 20 feet in height. As Evans heads back to her Lithops and greenhouses, she has a parting thought for the future: "If people will landscape with plants that are appropriate for this area, when the water gets cut off, they'll still have a functioning landscape. Otherwise, it will be barren. Our desert is a wonderland of plants and wildlife. It isn't bleak." Where to go for cacti and succulents Many Tucson nurseries specialize only in cactus and succulent plants. The owners offer information and education about plant selection, use and care based on years of experience and professional expertise. This list includes highlights of the shops available in the Tucson area and only a sampling of the plants each nursery sells. w Acacia Nursery, 8080 W. Tangerine Road, Marana ● Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays ● Information: 603-6093 ● Owner: Tim Widger ● A 12-acre nursery that sells salvaged, propagated and seed-grown plants. More than 2,500 saguaros of different sizes, plus ocotillos, Mexican fence posts, agaves, yuccas, hedgehogs, Joshua trees, desert spoons, exotic varieties of cereus. w Arid Lands Greenhouses, 3560 W. Bilby Road ● A Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturdays only ● A Information: 883-9404 or www.aridlands.com ● A Owners: Father-daughter team Chuck and Kristy Hanson ● A Specializing in arid-land plants from Africa. Large selection of euphorbias, adeniums, pachypodiums and aloes. Majority of plants are for the patio and are not frost-hardy. w B & B Cactus Farm, 11550 E. Speedway ● Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays ● Information: 721-4687 or www.bbcactus.com ● Owners: Mark and Margaret Sitter ● Offers everything from dish gardens to large landscape-ready cacti and succulents in a 3-acre nursery. Popular plants include totem pole, organ pipe (for select areas of Tucson, depending on location), giant South American saguaro, barrel cacti, agaves, Mexican fence posts. Demonstration gardens, too. w Bach's Cactus Nursery, Inc., 8602 N. Thornydale Road ● Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays ● Information: 744-3333 or www.bachs-cacti.com ● Owners: Dan and Diane Bach ● Extensive 10-acre nursery includes 20 greenhouses and approximately 5 acres of outdoor cultivated plants. Specializes in native, non-native and hybrid plants, many from Africa, and South American saguaro from seeds. Demonstration gardens. w Landscape Cacti, 7711 W. Bopp Road ● Hours: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays ● Information: 883-0020 ● Owner: Jon R. Weeks ● A 3-acre nursery specializing in cold-hardy cacti and agaves that can handle temperatures as low as 15 degrees. Has a large selection of golden barrels, agaves, Bishop's caps, hedgehogs, Mammillarias and ocotillos. w Plants for the Southwest, 50 E. Blacklidge Drive ● Hours: 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays ● Information: 628-8773 or www.lithops.net ● Owners: Jane Evans and Gene Joseph ● Lithops and other plants from around the world that do well in the Sonoran Desert are the specialty of the 3-acre nursery. Most plants are for container gardens for patio and yard. Many hybrids and curiosity succulents, plus containers made by local potters. w Tanque Verde Greenhouses, 10810 E. Tanque Verde Road ● Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays ● Information: 749-4414 or www. cactus-mall.com/tanque-verde ● Owner: Carol Scannell ● A small nursery in business at the same site for 40 years. Sells mostly container plants 5 feet and under, including many from Africa. Pots available; if you buy both plant and pot from the nursery, staff will pot if for free.