No doubt about it. We’re fortunate to live in the Southwest. While much of the east coast of the USA is busy shoveling snow off their driveways and scraping ice off their car windows, we get to enjoy the sunshine and the great outdoors. Yes, we're often wearing shorts and a long-sleeve shirt hiking one of the 180 miles of trails in the Phoenix area, exploring Red Rock Canyon National Park in Las Vegas, hanging out along the coastline and gorgeous beaches of Southern California or hanging out in south Texas. Yep, we got it good! We also get to enjoy our beautiful landscapes and plant some trees, shrubs, and do some gardening! Of course, it can get cold, and homeowners will need to prepare for the colder temperatures.
Since we are still experiencing relatively high temperatures throughout the Southwest, this is a great time for planting. With that said, we spoke with our experts, and we’ve compiled some tips, tasks, and suggestions so that you can keep your yard thriving during December and into the new year.
Landscape and Garden Tips That You Can Use for December!
- Continue watering your plants. However, you’ll want to change the watering schedule for the trees, shrubs, and other plants in your landscape. Since the temperatures are cooler and there is less sunlight, the soil stays moist for a longer period so that you do not have to water as frequently. Make sure you are always watering deeply and allowing time so that the soil can dry out between watering.
- If the weather is dry feel free to water your lawn, shrubs, and small trees occasionally.
- It’s good practice to apply a layer of winter mulch so that it can protect your perennials after the first few freezes.
- Avoid any major pruning during this time. That said, you’ll want to remove any dead, diseased, or damaged branches from trees and shrubs.
- You’ll want to fertilize your lawn after the first mowing.
- Cool-weather vegetables can be planted right now. These vegetables include beets, carrots, chard, lettuce, leeks, peas, potatoes, radishes, spinach, and turnips. You can also plant asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.
- This is a great time to prepare the soil for any new shrubs or rose garden. To prepare the soil, you’ll want to dig it up, remove weeds, and add compost.
- This is an ideal time to design a new landscape and upgrade your garden! Ask us how!
Citrus and Fruit Tree Picks
Grow an edible landscape and toast to healthy eating! Our Fruit and Citrus trees are grown specifically in our local climate so that they are guaranteed to produce! With Moon Valley Nurseries, you can purchase #fruittrees and #citrustrees at fruit producing age, so plant them now, so they are ready for next spring! Of course, you can always visit your nearest Moon Valley Nursery to purchase one or two or three or more of our fruit trees bearing citrus and fruit right now! Call your closest local Moon Valley Nursery to find out what we have in stock!
Orange Trees (various):
Why settle for just one kind of orange variety when you can have multiple! For instance, at Moon Valley Nurseries you can find the juiciest varieties perfect for eating whole, juicing, or adding flavor to recipes. We carry the best varieties such as Valencia, Blood Orange, Navel and more! All orange trees are attractive in any landscape, and when growing near windows, they can bring the sweet aroma straight into your home. Grow a few and use them to create an aromatic privacy screen that blocks out unwanted views in style!
Tangerine, Tangelo, Grapefruit Trees:
Enjoy a tangerine dream with each juicy bite of this scrumptious fruit! We have taken the guesswork out of finding the best and most reliable ones for growing in our area. We grow the best varieties, including Satsumas, Clementine, and Mandarin! Tangelos are a tangerine and grapefruit hybrid that is full of mouth-watering flavor and juice! And speaking of Grapefruit, we also have the Sweet Ruby Red, Oro Blanco and more that are bursting with healthy juice! These citrus trees are beautiful landscape trees too, where the combination of orange, yellow and green colors can enhance any yard. Let them grow free form and use them to block unwanted views!
Lemon and Lime Trees:
Eat them whole, slice them up for cocktails or use them in a favorite recipe, any way you slice it you can toast to healthy eating! Lemons and limes can be enjoyed all year long and growing them means you won’t be in a panic the next time there's a lime shortage. And since they are small to medium-sized trees, they are the ideal size for any landscape style or application. Besides growing them for citrus, they can be planted in rows to create a privacy screen or used as an attractive focal point.
Deciduous Tree Picks
Deciduous trees are such a great tree to plant in our area – they can let the warmth of the sun in during the winter and can provide a massive amount of shade once the temperatures rise! December is a great time to plant deciduous trees so that they can get roots established and ready for spring!
Arizona Ash (Fraxinus velutina):
These deciduous shade trees are cold hardy, heat resistant, and can cast a wide umbrella of shade just in time for summer! In the winter, this seedless variety will lose its leaves so that they can let in the warmth of the sun. They have a fast growth rate, and we love their attractive velvety, gray-green leaves that make them a perfect addition to any yard, and when properly placed around a home, mature trees can reduce temperatures inside a house.
Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii):
Beautiful at any stage of its life, when young it has an attractive pyramidal shape before eventually branching out to create a vase-like shape with a beautiful structure that can also cast ample shade! In late fall, the leaves turn the tree to a vibrant red before shedding its leaves and letting in the sunlight. We like to plant this deciduous as a shade tree, street tree, lawn tree or as a focal point that is sure to attract the right attention.
#FREEPLANTING!
That’s right! With free professional planting on all box-sized trees, it cannot get any easier to transform your yard! Now is an excellent time to replace the trees the builders chose or start from scratch! Financing is available, so there is no reason to wait! And with the largest premium-quality selection of trees and plants, and free professional landscape design available at any of our nurseries, Moon Valley Nurseries has got you covered for all your landscaping goals!