Don't plant poppies and harvest heroin. Sherrif Joe doesn't like that particular crop, despite what the nurseries tell & sell you.

Tsk tsk, Jonny. Those types of poppies just don't do that well here....

>grin

What not to plant?? Queen Palms!

beau

Tomatofreak....I had a beautiful Japanese red maple in my front yard in Oregon..it was planted on a small berm was trained so the leaves almost touched the ground. We also grew terrific lilacs and daphne...so fragrant. But that's in the past cause we now love the sun in the Valley of the Sun!

The first plant that I thought of for invasiveness in the
ground is spearmint. I'll never buy it and plant it in the ground again.

Actually, PC, a friend of mine grew the most beautiful poppies of *that type* a few years ago. They were sooooo gorgeous.

I have a bunch of "those poppies" in my front yard. And I live about 15 houses from a police station. Never had a problem. Even when I am out their gleaning them for seeds for next year. Either way they are just to pretty and are not illegal.

As to the gardenia. If you want the fragrance without the fuss. Plant a calamondin citrus. Dwarf or regular. Theyt are ornamental and the blooms (blooms a good part of the year) smell just like gardenias. The regukar (non dwarf) grow in a column instead of bushing out. so a row of them would be a great hedge. The dwarfs grow more bushier than vertical.

As to what NOT TO PLANT.

bermuda grass!!! I cannot stand the stuff. My neighbors have it and it sprouts up all over my yard. ugh

Pampas Grass, its too invasive and if you have never had to cut some back you were lucky, it cuts like razors, most of the time cutting too quick to realize what is happening.

As to WHAT NOT TO DO. to plants
DO NOT cut your mulberry plants back to a stub, just because everyone else is doing it!

Do NOT USE A SOIL STERILIZER EVBEN FOR A GRAVED DRIVEWAY. It may take awhile but eventually the chemical will leach out into areas you do not want it in and kill everything.

DO NOT USE a weed & feed type grass fertilizer after march. Once it gets to be 90 degrees the weed part of weed and feed will turn into a gas and the gas will kill plants that are in the area like bushes, etc

vicki

Oh contrar.

Vincas do great here and are perrenial. I've had the same patch in the ground for years. They look sickly in Winter but come back every year when it heats up. They look awesome all Summer and love full sun. I have the purple ones.

There are some things which the average gardener will not be able to grow here. Of course, some of these plants can be grown by a few people, but I like to think of it more as a miracle that the plants grow. There are so many plants that grow here in the Phx area, why waste your time and money on plants that are stubborn about growing in the Phx area. Lilacs don't normally grow here (I have seen several, tho), hosta (I saw one growing in Scottsdale on an Iris Tour years ago), Mary Irish says agapanthus and Stella D/Oro daylily won't grow here(I grew the daylily for 5 years and the plant never increased in size), Oriental poppy and peony (I have a friend that had a tree peony bloom a couple of weeks ago - I think she said the plant was 5 years old and it was about 18" hi). The opium poppy does grow here (Papaver somniferum). It has a big ruffled flower, greenish=grayish foliage, but the flower is very short-lived. The Shirley poppy lasts a lot longer - it also volunteers and comes back every fall. The flowers are mainly pink and red shades, but it cross-breeds and you will end up with a lot of different varieties.
My Mom grew goldenrod (solidago) and goldenglow in Colorado. I finally found a solidago plant in Baker's Nursery last spring. My Mom's grew about 6' high, this one was lucky if it was 18". I had tried seeds a couple years before that, but they never germinated. I have decided to give up on it and concentrate on something that I know does well here. The Maricopa County Extension Service puts out about 100 Gardening Bulletins. Tomorrow I will look for my list and give you the number of the Bulletin thatgives the names of about 100 perennials and annuals that will grow here in Phx.
Val

OMG, don't tell my neighbor about *anyone* growing a peony! She'd break her bank giving that a try. We have a running joke about which one of us will kill the most plants each summer, but lilacs and peonies? Please, no way! And even though I see the nurseries filled with gorgeous foxgloves, delphiniums and dahlias, I'm passing on those, too. Look forward to that list, Val. Thanks.

I actually had a lilac bush in my last house. It did ok, if I babied it. But It grew nothing like they do back east
vicki

I discourage others from growing red hot pokers. Planted one in the ground and nursed it for years and it never took off. Maybe in a raised garden, but in that case its not really growing in the soil.

Also discourage avocados and pineapple guavas. Hard to keep alive and good luck if you ever get fruit. Evidently there are some miracles around town but you have a 90% chance of failure with these.

Oh now you tell me! I just planted two shrub pineapple guaves and a Standard pineable quava. *sigh*. Good think I saved the receipts. I have a one year warranty :) So far they are doing very, very well. But if it's the heat that kills them, then it won't be long ;) Thaks for the heads up bethhawthorne :)

Easy

I have two pineapple guavas that have been in the ground for about a year. The advice I received on this forum was to plant in full sun; however, their leaves burn in summer and I'd recommend no afternoon sun in summer.

I know several people with healthy gardenias and one person with healthy camelias. Personally, I don't find those plants (along with rosebushes) attractive--but then again, I can't smell :(

I would advise not planting New Zealand/Australian tea trees. (I just saw them at HD, too.) I just saw the most *beautiful* fuchsias at 7th St. & Bell Target--NO! I watched my big beautiful one from HD die a slow painful death last summer :(

I have determined the steps necessary for *successful* gardening:

1. Plant a bunch of stuff.
2. When you finally have a good balance of shade/sun, your new plants will do fine! lol

That was the first thing I planted when I moved into my new home were the trees. Just now I'm starting to get some wonderful shade spots, were I can plant things, that I never could have planted there before, without them backing. Especially in the back yard, which was all rock and dirt when I bought the place. Use to, you couldn't tell any difference, no matter where you were in my garden. Now, when you walk from the front yard into the back yard, there is generally a 5 to 10 degree temperature drop. It is fun trying to create micro-climates such as this.

I don't think when I did plant the trees, I was thinking micro-climates, I had never gardened before in my life, when I bought this house 13 years ago. I guess I was just luckie at that time.

I did plant a garden for fragrance and color though, as I love smelling things. Almost all my trees, except for the mulberry, which I didn't plant, it was already there, bloom.

I really shot for fragrance in the garden when selecting all my roses. But some are not as fragrant as the advertisement, as one is lead to believe. Aroma's are very soothing to my soul and spirit. Hmmmm, wonder what I did in my previous life. ;)

I was chatting with a friend once, as we strolled through the garden. I told her gardening was my stress relief, a place to get away from the fast paced world. She replied back "damn your sressed out!". Hehehe...we chuckled, and then grabbed the pint baskets of strawberries and made us some daquiri's. It was a very relaxing evening in the garden.

Easy

Don't you just love this thread? I have-

fruiting pineapple guavas and queen palms that have survived through horrible neglect (not mine)

seen vincas growing wild in yards and even in alleys

a sister-in-law here in Tucson that can grow the darndest ranunculus & camellias you ever saw, right out of the ground

DesertRat has a good and wise philosophy, I would only add "when in doubt, don't if you can't stand the thought of bad results". Sunset Magazine says that Stella d'oro daylilies are perfect for southern AZ, by the way.

LOL, Eileen, I visited 3 nurseries yesterday and got two opposite opinions, so I guess bravery is one characteristic needed for gardening here. I'm only brave in small doses, though; I ain't gonna spend $129.00 for the huge camelia I saw at Target yesterday, but I *might* spend $15 for a very small one. Might....

Walmart has mangoes and I do want one, but haven't been brave enough yet to buy it. Does anyone have one of these? They also had avocado, guava and something else exotic - I forget what.

Ah, Winter, guess what I have sitting in a pot waiting to be planted? That's right, a tea tree. Oh, well. Love your advice about planting a lot. I was just too doggone busy to do that when we moved here; now I'm trying to make up for lost time. Drat.

Easy, would you plant strawberries now? I see these beautiful plants and so want them, but they're another species I tried once and failed with. What do they want?

I would only add "when in doubt, don't if you can't stand the thought of bad results".

Thanks for the compliment Eileen. Let me add a couple of more quotes which go along with this.

One of my favorites "Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something.

And --Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.--Henry Ford

Finally,

We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn't. Success often lies just the other side of failure.
---Leo F. Buscaglia

Ok, I am full of it today (quotes anyway). Take gardening for what it really is, an enjoyable pasttime where we try to make things grow in a sometimes inhospitable climate and try to create our little pieces of heaven. If you like something, plant it. Just try to give it a place where it will have its most favorable conditions. Like I said before, the 3 biggest reason why things don't grow here and heat, humidity and soil. So don't go out and by a fern and stick it out in a gravel frontyard on a western exposure and expect it to live-and then come out and complain that ferns don't grow here.

Above all, have fun. Perceverence will be rewarded in the end--- eventually.

someone posted that they would not plant queen palms. As long as you have good soil they will grow wonderful out here! When I lived in Gilbert, we had clay soil and the queen palms did not look that great. I knew someone who spent $100 a month to have thier palms injected with fertilizer and it worked a little better. I saw 2 homes with beautiful palms and the ownres told me they had better soil brought in. Out in Queen Creek the queen palms look very nice all because of the soil.Dont ever give up!

Have 2 camellias on the north side of the house. Amended the soil vigorously to acidify as much as possible. Using fertilizer designed for camellias.

Planted last fall. So far, no signs of stress, such as yellowing on leaf margins, etc. However, plants are no bigger than when put in, but it's still early...

Berylline, my neighbor *never* researches a plant; she just buys them and sticks them in the ground wherever the notion strikes. She planted camellias on the north side of her house up against the wall and they grew and *bloomed*! I think one died, but because the dog insisted on sleeping on it. You just never know; sometimes ignorance is a good thing. If I bought that plant and did all the right things, it would probably die just to spite me. ;-)

DesertRat, I COULDN'T AGREE WITH YOU MORE, (oops- pesky caps lock, not shouting at you) but if you've ever listened to those obnoxious types who canNOT abide being wrong about anything- even though they don't know their elbows from their arses about gardening or houseplants or anything else having to do with plants or landscaping- bellow and complain about defective plants and stupid local weather and idiotic salespeople- anything but blame their own ignorance because they coudldn't be bothered to find out the basics like how to water what or where to plant something and so forth, well, you know where I'm coming from.

*Sound of deep inhaling here*

Your quotes are great!

Tomatofreak, you're too right- you gotta be brave here, too!
Why to heck don't my Walmarts and Targets here have mangoes and avocados? Cowards, all of them!
Last year I planted a bunch of honey mango seeds that all came up, all but one died from various causes, I guess, and that one succumbed to the cold (or other accidental mistreatment), so I'm waiting for honey (aka champagne) mango season to start. Gonna try it again. Honey mangoes are the best things on earth and it's the cheapest way to try them out since I have the seeds anyway, eh? I'm told they're self-fruiting, too, and have my fingers crossed that it's true, though I'm not likely to be THERE for quite a long time!

Ditto DesertRat and EileenAZ!

You can grow plenty of things here if you PLAN properly. I have all sorts of wacky stuff growing 'outside the box' and they are doing great.

'CAN'T never could do anything.'

Sonotaps, I agree "CAN'T never could do anything," but "won't" is sometimes a stopper. How many times have you seen and heard the mantra, "Bloom where you are planted." It's a happy little homily, but if taken literally, it doesn't work for a sahuaro in Seattle or a Sequoia in Sonora. For most of us, challenges of the extreme are best left to those who have a LOT of expertise. I'd be so glad just to have my roses bloom and my tomato plants actually produce something edible! BTW, would you tell us about some of your "wacky stuff?" It never hurts to dream. ;o)

I don't think the point of this forum is to say that there is anything that will not grow. Create a completely artificial environment and you can grow anything. I've seen penguins at the zoo, but that doesn't mean they would survive if we released them into the desert. However, I do think it is very useful for people to know what is exceptionally difficult to grow. That way they know what they are getting into before putting down their money.

I think its useful to ask a number of questions.

1) Will it go straight into the soil and grow well. Mixing in some composit to get it started doesn't totally disqualify this question. Constantly adding ph changing chemicals to keep the plant alive does.

2) Does it have to be watered? Some plants can actually survive with little to no water at all. If it does need to be watered, how much.

3) Can it take full sun? Part sun?

4) Do temperatures over 100 kill it outright?

5) Do temperatures under freezing kill it? How far below freezing?

6) Does it look healthy in this climate?

7) Does it produce fruit/flowers in this climate?

Here is an example:

Queen palms:
Pass every single one of these criteria except for number 6. My neighbors have hundreds of them in my neighborhood and the vast majority of them, the majority of the time look like they are on deaths door. Why buy a queen palm when date palms do 100 times better here. Queen palms have been a wonderful business for some one, especially since they often need replacing.

My 'wacky stuff'?

Just read my ID page and you'll see what I'm talking about. I don't profess to know everything but I'm doing something right, obviously. Much of my stuff is 'off-center' xeriscape specialty plants which makes sense in our environment. Other stuff is more speculative, but fun for me.

It's not like I have a 'giant bubble' (someone said 'completely artificial environment') over my house to create an ideal environment. That's absurd, counterintuitive, as well as counterproductive.

East walls and south walls can be your best friend in the desert. Planting large trees for dappled shade or western sun protection can also help. Mulching helps. Due diligence in terms of researching the cultural requirements of things you are interested in planting also helps.

There are limits to everything. 'Plenty of things' is not all-inclusive. To say or think that I believe otherwise is pure folly.

Someone, somewhere is gardening 'outside the box'and may have perhaps found success. Maybe it is just for the challenge, but regardless, if you want to plant something bad enough it just comes down to how much you want to work on it or not. I won't begrudge someone with some ingenuity or desire to try to plant more challenging things...

Publication AZ 1100 is titled "Flower Planting Guide for the Low Desert". It lists over 100 flowers that will grow in the Phoenix area, their planting season (May to Sep), how much light they need, water, difficulty in growing, whether they attract hummingbirds and butterflies, whether it reseeds, if it is fragrant, etc.
If there is a plant that you really, really, really want to grow, buy 3 plants and plant them in 3 different locations in your yard. That way you will see if it likes one location better than others.
Val

Val, is this a publication from the Extension Service? It sounds incredibly detailed and informative.

Tomatofreak - this is a publication from the Maricopa County Extension Service. Their Webpage is located at:
http://ag.arizona.edu/maricopa/garden/
Val

I know several people with healthy gardenias and one person with healthy camelias. Personally, I don't find those plants (along with rosebushes) attractive--but then again, I can't smell :(

Now that I know what a gardenia is, I meant *geraniums* up there in this thread! There. I feel better now :) Except for the fact that geraniums are everywhere which means that I only know one person with healthy gardenias unless I count *mine*. The fluffy flowers (I just made that up) aren't my thing and I'm still learning about those :)

To add to the list:

Coco palm (I'll leave it to those living in Hawaii)
Plumeria (seen some beautiful ones...mine's not one of them)

I am on the fence with pineapple guavas. The first one I had croaked in the pot. The second one is in the ground and has blooms but no fruit. I also use a brush to cross-polinate them. This is the first season so it may fruit next year.

I have no idea what some are saying about Queen Palms! They are everywhere in the East Valley! I live in Queen Creek, and we have 5 that my brother-in-law started from seed and are beautiful, plus one that we bought on "clearance" from a nursery for $20, and has grown at least 3ft since March, and looks very green and very healthy. My BIL around the corner has a dozen around his yard and pool, and are growing wonderfully! All we do is water ours 3x a week, with some fertilizer every few months, and that seems to work perfectly!

Queen Palms can do well in some areas, but in order for them to look good over a period of years (a young one isn't a good example) they need a pretty specific microclimate. There are a lot of spots in the metro area that get colder and warmer than others - your area is apparently fine for them.

I see waaayyyy too many of them that look pretty bad. When there's so many plants to choose from, why stick with one that is used over, and over, and over, and over .....>yawn!Kinda like yet another master-planned community, filled with lantana, oleander and bouganvillia.... woo hoo. Might as well just use rocks.

My .o2, and then some!

I think this is one of the greatest threads that we have ever had on this board. Every so often, it seems that someone goes back to it.

I am just wondering what other names will get attached to this list once it is all said and done. It seems we are getting more plants that people are trying to grow here, and we will soon hear about the successes and failures, of course ;-).

We too have spent a lot of $$$ on plants that don't work. It has been very frustrating. So, we decided to made a ROCK GARDEN! :->

All rocks were chosen especially for this garden and boulders were "hand picked" for effect. Finding special rocks is as much fun as gardening! We even have crystals in there and geodes, along with a few ceramic critters peeking out from different places.

All plants surrounding our beautiful rocks are ferns, lantana, Yucca, bougainvillea, Texas sage, African daisies, hibiscus, and a few Ficus trees.

All are in full sun and doing very well. None have died. Not even the plants!

We have enjoyed doing this so much we have decided to extend this project. We are now working on a Zen garden.

Didn't mean to make you fall asleep, pagancat, though some of us are quite happy in our master-planned communities. I happen to enjoy Queen Palms, and lantana, for that matter (though, I can do without the "ugly-ander" and bouganvillia). Kinda crazy that people who live in the desert enjoy desert landscaping......

Rachel

LOL - trust me, I have enough variety of my own to keep me awake, Rachel. Glad you're happy where you're at! To each their own - you would likely be miserable where I am & I'm certain the same is true for me where you are. So, tell us about your desert plants, Rachel. What desert plants are you using in your part of the desert?

And really, the developers & HOA's are only partially at fault for the incredibly limited plant palette used in the metro area. Many of the nurseries are concerned with the bottom line, not with increasing choices to encompass the hundreds of availble natives and desert adapted plants, and all of the above are simply catering to what people buy.

"We even have crystals in there and geodes, along with a few ceramic critters peeking out from different places."

Good job, GardenNeverFinished - sounds like a magical place.

Beets.

Not because they won't grow, in fact I grew them for a girlfriend years ago, but because I don't like them yeechhhh. :-)

Beyond that I think I'll try anything at least once.

Belated happy birthday, Jeff! Hope you had a great party, complete with cigars, beer and hot peppers. And, hey, if you're so successful growing beets, I'll buy the seeds and you grow 'em. Can't believe you don't like them. Ever had 'em roasted?

OK, back to plants. Just returned from San Diego and have a major case of plant - environment? - envy. Plumerias everywhere, gorgeous neon-purple morning glories (no snide comments, please), fabulous blooming trees including dinner-plate size magnolias, exotic flowering have-no-idea-what-they-are but *certain* they-would-die-here plants. Incredible bromeliad 'forests' in the ground. So what if they have earthquakes?

I'm including rosemary on my list of what not to buy. I know, I know, the stuff is everywhere, but every single one I buy gets decimated by some webby creature and dies. All my other herbs are doing fine. What is it with this rosemary?!

I have seen southern magnolia trees taller than houses smack dab in the middle of Phoenix, so it can be done... but I can't find one in a nursery to even try it... I have an extremely happy gardenia and my geraniums are even summering over...I wouldn't suggest fuschia's to any except the very experienced gardener because of the constant care they need although they are gorgeous(I have 2 that I'm just trying to keep alive through the summer, I'm not the experienced gardener ;) ), I also wouldn't spend money on hydrangeas, azaleas, camelias, rhododendrons, even some columbines, Lily of the Valley (Lily of the Nile does ok),lilac, be careful choosing a wisteria since they sometimes don't do well, and berry bushes like blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry. I think I could keep going so I'll stop... One of the main reasons I don't like Phoenix as much as other places.

Hiya Brittany! if you are looking for a magnolia, try Tera's in central Phx. She had a couple nice ones (5gal?) that have made it through one winter and one summer, so I would say they are acclimated....

Susie

Thanks.. is Tera's the name of the nursery?? I love magnolias and once I realized they could grow here I've been on a manhunt...
Brittany

Yup, Tera's gardens.

There were two at Home Depot on the corner of Alma School and Chandler Blvd last weekend. Big 15 gallon size. I'm trying a smaller magnolia that does not get very big. It's a Jane Magnolia. So far it is handling the heat well, and doing good. It gets filtered sunlight. I'll move it out in full sun this fall through summer, if it does well then, it will go in the ground. There is a link to a picture of this tree below.

Easy

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:398379}}

There is a group of ficus trees that look like sonoran rock figs on steriods (not elastica). They have planted a few at the zoo. I've seen one in Tempe in a hood around Rural and Baseline. There are three planted near Osborn hospital on Shea. Those are all that I have seen in Phoenix - and I've been looking ~ha ha ha~. I FELL IN LOVE with these trees. I searched for them a very long time. I always had nurseries foiling my hunt with incorrect advise and false leads.

I finally found one at Plants for the Southwest labeled Ficus benhalensis. I purchased it, but it was only a foot tall - I needed more. After endless attemps from various nurseries, TreeLand finalley found me a 24 inch box that they called Ficus benhalensis. So now I have it. I planted it in March. The branchs have each grown at least a foot.

I have learned is that my tree is probably not ficus benahalensis. There is a large group of ficus trees that have the large lime green leaves from Africa and India. There is like 20 species and few of them are grown as garden plants. They grow so easily from cuttings that most likely my tree started as a cutting from some other oddball import. Who knows what I got, but I love it.

If it dies this winter, I may kill myself

PenBuilder

Japanese Honeysuckle! Nearly impossible to get rid of this pernicious weed that was actually planted in my yard. Even the strongest weed and brush poisons barely make it sick.

Guys guys!!!! Its a great thread but i think it got thrown OFF THE PATH! Lets get to bare basics here and then we can break it down, what you say?

So, what NOT TO PLANT NOW as it will not survive next summer? Let me pitch in a bit.

1. Euonimous i planted in the full sun died, no matter how much water i gave it.

2. Ice Plant in the full sun will slowly dry up and birds will finish it off.

3. Italian Cypress seems to be quite finiky. I have 3 - one is Ok more or less, 1 is almost toast, 1 is in between.

That is all from me for NOW. LOL I am really new to all this so i tried to shy away from complicated plants and stick with toughest "Troops" i can find. My lantanas are doing great! LOL I think everyone should go that route. There are at least 5-6 diffrent colors and they come in low-height traling and bush like varieties to suite many many diffrent tastes. Now, some one just needs to come up with a lantana vine and we are golden!

Eugene

Thought I'd chime in about the plants that were here when we moved in - which I *loathe* because of their invasiveness (is that a word?!)

These are the prayers and/or curses I've hurled at them so many times:

-- Sumac - O, how you trees do vex me! You looked *so* lovely when we got here - Until I realized you reseed like demons. If I don't check *every area* of the yard regularly, you *will* take over, and you *will* be nearly impossible to dig up. Why, O, Why?

That first year, when I was blissfully ignorant, you took advantage by growing multi-trunked babies all around the orange tree. I see wickedness in the way your babies continue to grow, though we've tried to get rid of them. Now they are smothering that sweet orange tree to death.

I am vigilant against your seedlings!

You, in turn, have made our neighbors hate us because they have to be ever vigilant against you, too.

Sumac, you are bad, Bad, BAD!

-- Effing Multi-Color Lantana - Effing breed of Lantana, I think you taunt only me since I've not seen much of you anywhere but our backyard, our front yard, and now our neighbors yards. No matter how hard you are cut back, you grow 6 feet tall and nearly as wide in just a few months. You are tough and I usually admire that, but you have made me use the dread Roundup against you several times now without luck.

Digging you up has been impossible, as you seem to have roots burrowed to the center of the Earth. Birds love your berries/seeds, which is also admirable, but when they eventually drop your endless seed all over AZ, I must take umbrage on behalf of the many plants whose space you've invaded.

Lastly, if you were only one of the solid colors, it might make you seem tolerable, but you are U G L Y.

-- Ornamental Grasses - You should be Outlawed in AZ!!!! Yes, you can be gorgeous. However, you are smothering out life in the desert. In Tucson, I find you along just about every main road, blowing in the breeze - spreading your endless seed.

The big box stores and gardening shows may love you, but I wish you would die.

-- Mystery plant with the evil taproot from Hell that will never die and is always popping up all over our yards - What are you anyway? And uh, how can I kill you?

-- Trumpet Creeper vine - I think this is your name. You have been chain sawed down to the ground, but your mangled stump returned to life like a Freddy Kruger nightmare. Again we chain sawed you. Yet, here you are, completely taking over that huge corner. You attract plagues of aphids. I do not like you. Please, for the love of all that is holy, go away.

To all the Delphiniums, Geraniums, Gardenias, and various other flowery things that died - Although you have nearly made me weep with bitterness many times - When compared to the monsters mentioned above, you seem almost preferable. Almost.

That said, *all* of you are on notice. It is getting cooler now and I have my saws, clippers and shovels at the ready!

Muahahahahahah!!!!

Tomatoefreak:

I think the most important thing is planting the right plants together, adjusting the soil to meet there needs and knowing the micro climates and plan accordingly. I think every gardener probably has a heap full of plants that didn't survive waiting to be returned to Home Depot or Lowe's.
Some of my new favorites are pink Gaura, Butterfly bush Mexican sage. I use Mary Irish's AZ Gardening as my gardening bible so to speak. It tells me when, where, how what type of soil and how much water.
I've found digging a bigger hole taking out as much caliche as I can, sifting the soil through a screen before I put it back in the ground and mixing it with whatever it needs compost gypsum etc.. I try to not amend it more then 1/3rd unless it's a foreign plant like Hosta or blueberries.