Handout
Authors
Paul Larson
Laurie Vance
Deborah North
Publication Date: January 2025 |
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Spring wildflowers abound this month in the desert and possibly in your garden as well as the days warm. Pollinators, critters and pests will all be out enjoying the bounty, making this a busy month for gardeners - so keep an eye out and take environmentally friendly action as needed to maintain your alive and active landscape. Plant your garden with the things you enjoy most; the options are endless.
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Maintenance
- Remove any remaining winter damaged plant parts and compost them unless diseased. Flower stalks on fading spring bulbs are not trimmed - allow them to die back naturally but when fully spent, trim at the base.
- Thin fruit of deciduous trees such as apple, peach, plum and apricot. Pick marble-sized (or smaller) fruit off so that the fruit are spaced about 6 inches part. Read Training and Pruning Newly Planted Deciduous Fruit Trees to learn more.
- Protect young plants from wildlife. The best way to keep critters out is to use fencing 2’ to 3’ high. Stake the fencing to keep it standing up. Cage individual plants or entire plantings. For rabbits, use ½” poultry wire. For ground squirrels or chipmunks, use fencing with smaller openings; ¼” woven wire and cap the top as squirrels and chipmunks can climb. Read Fencing for Wildlife for more tips and tricks. Leave fencing in place until plants become mature & less appealing to them.
- If your plants have yellowing or discolored leaves, contact the Master Gardener Plant Clinic for expert diagnosis and guidance on how to resolve the issue (see the reference link below for online form).
- Check your irrigation systems for leaks, clogged emitters and other issues. Regular maintenance includes flushing the lines on an annual basis as outlined in Drip Irrigation: The Basics and the Irrigation Maintenance Checklist from the City of Tucson and Tucson Water.
- Monitor tender new growth on roses and other plants and check the undersides of leaves for aphids, thrips, and spider mites. Instead of chemical controls, use a blast of water to dislodge pests or add 1 tablespoon of liquid dish detergent to 1 gallon of water and spray the top and bottom of leaves. The articles on Aphids, Diagnosing Problems of Roses in the Landscape and Spider Mites have more information.
- Flush accumulated salts from root zones of drip-irrigated plants in containers/raised beds by watering once 3X as long as normal.
- Plan or install active or passive Water Harvesting systems before monsoon. Good articles to reference include Landscape Management Practices to Optimize Passive Rainwater Harvesting and Plant Health and Harvesting Rainwater for Landscape Use.
- Mulch to a depth of 3-4 inches around trees and shrubs. Be sure the mulch is a few inches away from the trunk; don’t make a “mulch volcano” as you can harm the plant as outlined in Selecting, Planting, and Staking Trees.
Planting
- Plant warm season annuals for summer flowering-aster, coneflower, gaillardia, lisianthus, marigold, pentas, portulaca, Madagascar periwinkle, and zinnia. More information is available in the Flower Planting Guide for the Low Desert.
- Plant perennials that provide color and attract pollinators such as chamomile, Gooding’s verbena, justicia, lantana, Russian sage, and salvias.
- Plant summer bulbs such as dahlias, iris, and caladium.
- Sow seeds outdoors for cucumbers (English and Armenian), melons, okra, squash, and yard-long beans with tips available in Ten Steps to a Successful Vegetable Garden.
- Transplant seedlings of eggplant, squash, peppers, tomatoes, and thyme into the soil, as outlined in Growing Tomatoes.
- Plant heat-loving vines such as Baja passion vine, pink trumpet vine, yellow orchid vine, and crossvine. Learn more by reading Landscape Vines for Southern Arizona.
- Plant fig trees following instrucitons in Growing Common Figs in the Low Desert.
- Plant citrus trees to give them time to get fully established before cold weather.
- It’s the perfect time to plant heat-loving herbs such as Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme and more following information in Growing Herbs in Tucson.
- Plant cacti and agaves as well as native and non-native desert-adapted plants to allow roots to establish before the heat begins. Consider the mature size and sun demands and any other limitations for location. More information is available in How to Propagate Agaves and Cacti from Cuttings and Seed and Saguaro Horticulture: Selecting and Planting Saguaro.
Fertilizing
- Fertilize established (not newly planted) citrus (2nd of 3 annual feedings) if you did not do so in March. For oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit, the first application was 1/3 of the total in January or February, the current 1/3 in March or April, and the last 1/3 is in May or June. Reference the Citrus Fertilization Chart to learn more.
- Fertilize Bermudagrass once a month as outlined in the Turfgrass Maintenance Guide for Residential and Commercial Lawns in the Low Elevation Arizona Desert.
- Begin mild fertilizing of vegetables gardens.
- Fertilize your roses on a 3 to 4 week schedule.
Watering
- As the weather warms, increase your watering frequency but adjust if your garden receives significant rainfall. More information is available in Watering Trees and Shrubs and Irrigating Citrus.
- Consider a free “water efficiency audit” available for City of Tucson residents through the Zanjero Program.