let me also add the majesty palm to the list of plants I have planted outdoors that I don't usually see.

Hi Roots and all,

I've planted spider plants (Chlorophytum) in each of my AZ gardens and they've all done really well. In chilly winters they get some frost damage but they've all always survived and become beautiful plants again by late spring. I think they're really under-used. I like the grassy look of their foliage and the fact they make those fun babies on runners. I have a few friends here in Scottsdale that grow them outside year round in huge pots and they've done great for years. How are you using yours, design-wise? Berridge Nursery on Camelback in Phoenix has a small clump in the ground near their little dog-watering station near the gift store entrance. They look really happy there.

I've not tried dracena but yours sounds neat! Any pics??? We'd love to see.

There are some other not-super-common "houseplants" that I see planted now and then. I'd be curious to hear from other folks too. The Scottsdale Antique Market has a courtyard that has a huge area covered with good ol' pothos as an in-ground landscape plant, plus some arboricola too (Schefflera arboricola) outside in the ground year round. They've been doing great for several years. There are a few specimens of "umbrella tree" or "schefflera" (Schefflera actinophylla) around town too. I see snake plants (Sansevierias) in a lot of places too outside, plus plumerias, lady palms, and some others, though none of those are as unusual as your plants and some of these others. I also grow queen's tears billbergia (Billbergia nutans) outside year round, and really like how durable they are.

I'm sure I'll think of other plants as I think about things. Hopefully some other folks will chime in too. And we'd love to see pics of any of your plants.

Take care,
Grant

Grant,
from the time I first posted to now, the shefflera pretty much died from the sun. every time it started to get new growth the sun would just burn it again. I guess i'm not surprised..it came from michigan with me last year. sad though, it was about 5' tall. as far as the spider plants, I just have the 2 planted in my borders next to larger plants like a pygmy palm and a hibiscus. I guess they are like a ground cover.
those pothos sound cool..I have one inside but scared to try it outside. i'll have to look into some of those other plants you mentioned. and i'll try to get some pics tomorrow..i'd also like to see some of yours.

Here's a few pics:
Keep in mind all these plants moved here from Michigan about 6 months ago, so they may not be showing their full potential yet.

This is from march when they were first planted.
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This is from a couple days, after the sun has beat them up a bit(and after I trimmed off all the babies off the spider plant).
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close up on spider, it's a varieagated one by the way.
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here's my other, it's a mix of babies off the varieagated and a regular spider plant I have inside.
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this is the dracaena. it gets some burnt leaves lately, but I just trim them off.
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a close up of the babies.
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Finally, here is a trade winds hibiscus I bought a few months ago.
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It doesn't look very good to me..and the flowers usually don't make it past 11 am because of the sun out here!! I would appreciate any advice or feedback on any of the plants I posted here. Pictures are even better. As you can see, i got a little carried away with my camera.

GREAT Pics! Thanks so much for sharing them. It's really fun to see who grows what, and how. I really enjoyed seeing your plants.

I have to say, I went back and re-read my original reply and noticed I didn't really describe the light that the plants got. Most of the ones I've seen are in mostly shade, so that would help your "house" plants. I grow my spider plants in almost full shade, with maybe some morning sun.

The other plants I mentioned (the pothos, and dracaena and sansevierias, plus arboricola and full sized schefflera) are in mostly shade too, so that helps.

I think your plants look good overall. They might be getting more sun than they want, but maybe that'll just be for summer. I have some plants that get a bit too much sun in summer but that are happy for the rest of the year, so I just let them tough it out, LOL. I refuse to cover my plants for sun or cold. :P

As far as your hibiscus goes, it looks very, very, good. Nicer than mine for sure. The blooms do wilt quickly during the super hot weather, don't they? I always make sure I'm up and in the garden early both to avoid the hottest temps and to enjoy the plants that fade when the day's heat kicks in.

If you're ever near the Royal Palms hotel on Camelback, walk around their small but beautiful grounds. They have some great obscure palms, huuuuuuge in-ground plumerias, and all sorts of tender sub-tropicals.

Thanks again for the great pics. I'd say things look pretty darn good there.

Take care,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Royal Palms hotel and resort

Thanks for the encouragement! Shade you say? Shade..ah yes, I wish I had some. My yard faces the south, so it's pretty much hopeless except along the east and west walls, and that's only for a couple hours in the AM and PM. So they bassically have to tough it out. I do think they will do better when it's a little cooler, and hopefully by next summer they will take the heat and sun a little better. I don't really dig having to cover them either.
Since my last post, the dragon tree has put out 2 more babies!! I'll try to get some pics.
I live out here in San Tan Valley, used to be called Queen Creek. I will definitly have to make my way up to that resort, it's sounds really cool with all the sub-tropicals, etc. Can you just walk around the outside and they don't mind? Don't want them to think i'm some sort of terrorist ;P

LOL, yes, you can definitely walk around that resort--it has a bar and restaurant that are public so there are always people coming and going and admiring the grounds. It's really lovely.

The Phoenician resort is very close as well and they have wonderful, expansive grounds and a nice (if a bit too shady) cactus/succulent garden too. Just drive in and tell the "guard" you're there to visit the cactus garden and they'll tell you where to park. I go at least once a month to enjoy the plantings. I'll buy some coffee at their cafe and enjoy a nice long stroll. Same for the Biltmore Resort too--great to walk and enjoy and see some interesting, often unusual plantings. Plus Berridge Nursery on Camelback isn't far from the Royal Palms, and there's always the wonderful Baker nursery on 40th and Obsorn so you can make a whole plant day of it on a weekend. Just a thought. I do some variation of that, plus the Desert Botanical Garden a couple of times a month. I wonder if our other members do the same?? Anyway, yes, you're welcome to walk the grounds at all of the above resorts, though Royal Palms probably has more of the leafy subtropical plants you're curious about. All are great though.

I agree that your plants will be better adjusted as time goes by. My back garden faces due south as well and is hot and sunny which I love (I've planted TONS of cactus, succulents and citrus with a few other adapted plants), but luckily the patio is covered so I can keep a few shade lovers there, though I DO have to move them around depending on the angle of the sun. Great news on your dracaena--keep us posted.

Take care,
Grant

Update time!! Here's the new babies on the Dracaena.
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And since I had the camera out, here's the older plants that those babies came from. The dragon tree:
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The spider plant:
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On a sadder note, this is my Jad that was doing beautiful outside until the last month or so. I looked at it one day and it was bassically fried. It's inside now, i'm hoping it will make a recovery.
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Finally, my girlfriend found this at her grampas house. It was just the seed when she found it, so I potted it and now it has new growth. Anyone know what this is?
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Nice updates! Love the pics. Congrats on those baby dracaena shoots--they look really promising.

You know, jade plants need to come indoors in the Phoenix metro for summer, so you did the right thing. I'm sure yours will recover now that it's indoors. They have CAM metabolism which means they don't really open their pores to exchange gases until night time, but then they sense that our nights are really hot so they keep the pores closed and they get sickly. Once they're indoors for summer they'll be able to do their respiration at night like they want and they'll recover. They make excellent year round houseplants here since they tolerate our dry air just fine, just not our hot summer nights.

If you reeeeeally want, they can go back outside in autumn, but I think they're happier indoors year round here. I'm always envious when I visit Los Angeles or Sand Diego where you see them outside year round, but our summer nights are just too hot for them.

Your cactus looks like some sort of cholla. It'll be easier to tell when it's larger, but it looks really happy.

Keep the updates coming, they're fun to see.
Take care,
Grant

I guess i learned the hard way that Jades can't take the AZ summer heat. I completely lost about four of the cuttings I tried growing outside in the ground, as well as a few in pots. It really is dissapointing, because Jades are my favorite plant, and the one that got me into gardening to begin.
My first one was brought to me from my mom--she took a trip to CA and brought a little cutting back in her suitcase!! I grew that indoors in michigan for a couple years, the I moved it out here to AZ. It sat in a completely dark u-haul for about 4 days. The thing is just a survivor, although I came really close to losing it by putting it out in the heat.
What you said makes alot of sense though, Grant. I will be keeping all of Jades inside for the summer from now on. Maybe I will put a couple out in Autumn and compare how they do. I'm jealous of all those CA Jades too.
Update: Majesty Palms are completely fried ;P
I'd be interested to see some pics of how everyone else's gardens are doing.

Sorry to hear about your jades--that's not fun at all. I've lost a couple outside too, mostly from laziness or lack of room, heh heh. The ones that I have kept indoors full time have done GREAT. They are excellent houseplants here for sure. Their relatives (basically anything in the Crassula genus) almost all struggle in our summer as well, so they're good candidates for indoor growing too. Some will struggle and barely survive the summer and then bounce back in cool weather, but jades usually croak. It really IS too bad isn't it?

Sorry about the majesty palms getting fried. It's tough out there, LOL. This insane heat has scoured out a couple of plants from my garden too. Some things that are thriving are Eucomis (pineapple lilies), hippeastrums ("amaryllis"), plumerias, rosemary, asparagus fern (not sure if that counts as "exotic" here, though it IS a houseplant in many cold winter climates), and adeniums, plus a lot of other "standard" stuff too, though there have been casualties, LOL.

I'll post some pics of the good, the bad, and the ugly, LOL. There's plenty of all three, so it's not just you for sure.

Take care,
Grant

Enjoying seeing your plants progress, I to am a MI transplant. Your spiders are doing really well I still have mine in pots as we are leasing and all my hard work is not going to the owner ,lol. I'm hoping my daylillies have just gone into hybernation & not died because they were nice this spring. My angel trumpets are inside as they lost just about all their leaves the 2nd 115 day we had, ugh!

Hi ! enjoyed your pix...I understand your frustration re: Michigan to AZ ! I was curious to know which "valley" you meant, too...there are lots of them in AZ ! LOL! Kinda like California people who say "Rancho"; I usually say "which one?"; there many towns/cities in California whose names start with "rancho"...

As for losing your jade, I too am a jade afficianado; but I have discovered a replacement that absolutely loves the AZ heat ! It's called elephant bush/plant; originally from Africa...does very well in direct sun, doesn't need much water, but definitely needs drainage if it's in pots ! doesn't like "wet feet" ! It doesn't do well (for me, anyway) indoors; but I sure enjoy the greenery outside in the blazing sun, when most other plants kinda hibernate (so to speak)...This plant has much smaller "leaves" than the jade, but usually are a deep green succulent type...I have seen pix of their flowering, but so far none of mine have flowered; I have more than two dozen (plus ones given away)that all started about fifteen years ago from a slip obtained surreptiously from a planter at a motel in Yuma !

If you find someone who is growing elephant bush, all you need is a slip to get yours started ! It's as prevalent in my yard as aloe vera...

Bullhead City, where I live, is on the Colorado River, a tri-state area that meets up with Calif and Nevada...summer temps are upwards in the 115-120's, so gardening is a challenge !

Welcome to AZ,.have fun with your gardening...and wear a hat in the sun !

I totally agree about "elephant bush" a.k.a. "elephant food", Portulacaria afra being an excellent jade substitute. It is utterly fine with high temperatures, and sun (and shade). The leaves are smaller than a jade and it tends to be lower/broader growing, but it tolerates pruning and training just fine. Good suggestion D-mamma. I have a few of the all-green type, and one of the variegated-leaf type too. They thrive in hot summer/warm winter climates.

Take care and happy gardening everyone,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Portulacaria afra

Phoenixtranspalnt- Are you missing the snow yet? :p I donÂt blame you for not wanting to plant those spiders.
Desertmama- IÂm in the PHX metro, just south of Queen Creek. I think it would be the San Tan Valley. Thanks for the info, I will definitely be looking to aquire some elephant bush. I had seen them in stores, but was hesitant to pick one up until I knew they would do well in the heat. Thanks again.

HereÂs a question: Can anyone here give some specifics on watering methods, intervals, and times? IÂm learning as I go, but any tips would be appreciated. Grant, or anyone else, IÂm especially wondering how often you water your spiders and jadeÂs?

I have some asparagus ferns from MI that are doing wonderful in pots. One of them has actually flowered and grown berries for the first time ever. I want to plant one in the ground, but I read somewhere that they can be invasive and pop up all over the yard. IÂve also heard that about Cape Honeysuckle, which is another plant I want to put in my garden. I kind of doubt that these plants are invasive in a place like here, but can anyone give any insight on that? Thanks.
P.S.- how much more of this heat do we have left??? ;P

to add to my watering question, I would like to include oleanders, cape honeysuckle, rosemary, and fan palms to the list. I have most of these in may yard also and would like to know how often others water theirs.

Hi Roots and all,

We have plenty of heat left. :)

My spider plants get watered three times a week; same for my asparagus ferns too. I don't find them invasive at all in our climate, but maybe in a flood irrigated lot, or somewhere with more rain they are.

Newly planted plants obviously need more water than established ones, especially in summer. My established oleanders get a deep soak once a week in summer and twice a month in winter. I made small stem cuttings this winter and planted them in the ground early this summer and those smaller/younger/recently planted ones get water three times a week. I'll switch them to the same regime as their mother plant this winter. I water cape honeysuckles the same as oleanders, though I don't have any in this garden (I did in my last). My rosemary plant gets watered three times a week in summer and once a week in winter.

It's very hard to over-water fan palms in my opinion. I only have one and it's in a pot. It gets a big drink that saturates the root ball once a week (it is in partial shade). I'm sure others who grow a bunch of them, especially in the ground, will chime in too.

It sounds like you've got a lot of great plants. Keep us posted!

Take care,
Grant

Nice pictures Roots.....I wish I had some shade so I could put my huge spider plant in the ground. Also have some large pontytail palms that need to go in the ground. We added two mesquite trees last fall so once they settle in I'll have a shade garden.

Love the dracena plant. I have two, I think I'll put them together in one large pot...thanks for the inspiration on that.

Marymcp- Thanks! As far as the shade goes, those plants are barley getting any. They are starting to get burnt tips, but they are still alive and going strong. If you find yourself getting more babies off your spider plants than you have room for inside(like me), it's at least worth a shot outside. Those mesquite trees sound like they are going to be a great addition to your garden.

Grant- Thanks alot, I really appreciate the specifics and solid advide/observations you provide. How about your Jades? What kind of watering schedule do they get? My large jade that was frying in the sun has recovered nicely inside and is now sprouting new leaves;)

Congratulations on your jade making a recovery! That's great. I keep mine in a south facing windows indoors and I water them once a week spring through autumn, and then once a month in winter.

Another succulent that I often keep indoors for summer is Christmas cactus. They struggle during the hottest months and drop a lot of segments. I bring my favorite ones inside for July, August, and September and then put them back outside in shade in October or so. They bloom like crazy in late winter outside, but they do struggle in our hot summer months.

Keep us posted on that jade and all of your other goodies!
Take care,
Grant

Roots,

I live in Queen Creek, do you have any Dracaena cuttings I can get from you with a trade?

Bluegrass,
Sorry I took so long to respond, was doing a little traveling. Glad to back here though. I would love to trade you some cuttings, but unfortunately, all the Dracaenas that I planted eventually died from the heat ;( I do have one left inside, but it only has a couple branches and might look funny if I chopped one off. I have a bunch of small Jade cuttings though, and Spider plants. And hopefully some Portulacaria Afra cuttings soon. Let me know if you need any of those.

Time for a pic update. Anyone else, feel free to post some of your own. This is a part of one of my borders that is almost done.
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This is an Agave in the front. I though it looked cool.
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I forgot this one...I have a feeling it was ready to be repotted.
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Anyone??

Bump...I really want to see some pics of peoples gardens/landscapes....

Would anyone like to revive this thread and post updated pictures, questions, etc? I have some I might post, but only if we can make it beneficial...

yes i grow them in the shade outdoors survive hot tempertures