As winter fades away and spring emerges, it's essential to turn our attention to landscape and garden upkeep in Arizona. The Sonoran Desert's unique climate poses challenges for landscaping and gardening, but with effective strategies, you can cultivate a vibrant and captivating outdoor environment.
Here are some tips to help you get started on create your dream yard this March!
In Arizona, the prime time for planting warm-season vegetables and herbs is from March to May. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and herbs like basil and parsley. Make sure to choose varieties that are well-suited to the hot, dry climate of Arizona. You can start these plants from seeds or purchase seedlings from a local nursery.
Spring is the time when your lawn and plants start to come out of dormancy and require additional nutrients. Fertilize your lawn and plants with a slow-release, balanced fertilizer to help promote healthy growth. Make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully and water the fertilizer in thoroughly.
As the weather warms up, you'll need to adjust your watering schedule accordingly. In March, it's generally best to water once or twice a week, depending on the type of plants you have and the amount of rainfall you receive. Be sure to water deeply to encourage deep root growth and to prevent the soil from drying out too quickly.
March is a good time to start controlling pests and weeds in your landscape and garden. Look for signs of insect damage or weed growth and take action as needed. You can use natural remedies like neem oil or companion planting to deter pests, or use a targeted herbicide to eliminate weeds.
Spring is the best time to prune your trees and shrubs before they start to leaf out. Pruning helps to shape the plant and remove dead or diseased branches. It's also important to prune for safety, especially if you have trees that are close to your home or power lines.
Spring is a time of new growth and renewal, so why not add some color to your landscape? Plant annual flowers like petunias, marigolds, or zinnias to add vibrant hues to your garden. You can also add color with potted plants or hanging baskets on your porch or patio.
Mulching your plants helps to retain moisture in the soil and suppress weed growth. Apply a 2-3 inch layer of mulch around your plants, taking care to keep the mulch away from the base of the plant to prevent rotting.
March is an important month for landscape and garden maintenance in Arizona. By following these tips, you can ensure that your plants and lawn thrive in the hot, desert climate. With a little effort and attention, you can create a beautiful outdoor space that you can enjoy throughout the spring and summer months.
Whether it’s visible yet or not, the transition in your lawn from winter to spring has started, and the little things you can do now will make a big difference (and save you lots of work and money later) in the long run. Below are some tips we put together to help keep your lawn looking great all spring!
The Fruitless Olive tree is a magnificent evergreen variety that adds a touch of Italian charm to any yard. With its lush foliage and graceful silhouette, this tree evokes the serene beauty of Mediterranean landscapes. Despite its name, it doesn't produce fruit, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a low-maintenance yet visually captivating addition to their outdoor space.
Whether used as a standalone specimen or as part of a lush garden setting, the Fruitless Olive tree exudes timeless elegance and adds a touch of sophistication to any landscape design.
The Majestic Beauty Ash is a Moon Valley Nurseries Exclusive that we developed with the goal of creating the best ash tree variety for our area. Because we own all of our farms where we grow our trees and shrubs, our arborists have been able to develop a premium specimen that produces no seeds and is super easy to grow. It has a formal upright growth rate that allows it to be planted as a focal point or in a row if you're seeking additional privacy as well.
The unique, large, dark green foliage compliments the wide umbrella-like canopy with its dense growth. Minimal light will pass through this tree, which allows many of our homeowners to plant colorful partial-sun shrubs underneath the tree that will be protected from the sun.
Grown at our farms and acclimated to thrive in our region, theResort-Style Date Palm is unlike other varieties. It features thicker and hardier trunks, more dense and greener fronds, and produce fuller crowns.
This palm can handle hot summers, cold winters, and windy days like a champ. These palms feature a tall, resort-style look, that makes them ideal to showcase in spaces you would like an upscale feel, or around your pool for a tropical atmosphere.
Imagine hand-picking the sweetest and juiciest oranges, lemons, peaches, plums, apples, and more from the comfort of your own backyard! Thanks to our climate, we can grow fruit almost all year long, making growing your own orchard easy!
At Moon Valley Nurseries, we custom grow the best selection of citrus and fruit so that you are always going to get the best-tasting fruit for juicing, cooking, or eating whole! Quit going to the store to buy lemons, oranges, grapefruits, peaches, limes, tangerines, tangelos, kumquats, nectarines, apricots, plums, and figs. We have thousands of trees already at their fruit-producing age, so there is no need to wait to enjoy homegrown fruit anymore!
Moon Valley Nurseries is your one-stop shop for all your landscape needs. From your first step into any of our nurseries, you will be able to choose from our massive selection of thousands of the highest quality trees, palms, and plants. Our free planting from our expert planting crews will ensure your trees are set for success the first day they are in your yard and for many years to come! Our nursery pros and landscape design experts have decades' worth of experience to assist you in bringing the best trees on earth straight to your home!
To learn more incredible yard care advice, design tips, and tree knowledge, check out our library of articles! We have a massive catalog of entertaining and informative articles written by our experienced nursery professionals to help you succeed with all of your landscaping goals.