Ocotillos & Desert Willows

19 years ago

I'm one of those people who just love flowering plants that attract hummers and butterflies. I also love to "mess" with my plants to get them to flower more than Ma Nature does. Being new to New Mexico (sorta different from humid Florida!) I have a couple of new plants I'm not sure what to do with (I have a feeling the answer is "leave them alone.")

My Ocotillo is about 8-10' tall, has a few leaves on it, but I see neighbors' plants are covered with leaves (the stems look green) and even have flowers on them! NO FAIR!!! I'm trying to see what is different from mine. The only thing obvious to me is that their roots may be shaded by boulders, shrubs, etc.. Theirs are not watered regularly (neither is mine) and all are in the front yard in full sun.

Mine is planted on a small island, theirs isn't. Should I give it some more water? (I know they don't need much.) What about a little Miracle Gro?

Also, my Desert Willow is off to a good start, and I know the flowers will come later, but is there anything I can do now to get MORE flowers? BTW, I planted Blue Bonnets under it and they look great!

Both plants were planted last fall in a new yard (new housing addition) with "imported" soil(house builder built up the lot) I'm not sure how "native" it is, but it does have good drainage.

I actually found a Black Swallowtail caterpillar on my parsley this morning (WHOO-HOO!) I haven't even seen any B Swallowtails, but I'm sure I will now :-) I found some great native plants at the Native Plant Society sale last weekend in Alamogordo. I even joined the Otero chapter. I'm looking forward to becoming a part of this chapter and learn what all the georgious NM wild flowers are.

Comments (3)

hyperdoggie
19 years ago
Hi TBL,

First, I wish I had known that their was a Native Plant sale in Alamogordo, woulld love to have gone! As for your plants, I don't have much to add for your Ocotillo, when I lived in AZ they were so beautiful bloomng in May around the Benson area, but they didn't grow in the clay soil were we lived at the time, so I never grew them. They sure loved the rocky areas though!
I wonder if the area you have your Ocotillo could be a bit cooler than your neighbors? Sice your's is on an island, I'm thinking if theirs are by a wall, they may just be warming up a bit faster and yours will follow shortly with more leaves and flowers? I have noticed I have quite a bit of "zone" difference just in my little yard, and wonder if that could be the reason.

I had a gorgeous desert willow in AZ, it took about 3-4 years to really establish itself but after that it just bloomed like crazy, and was a virtual hummer / bee magnet. Since you just planted yours last year, I really think it just will need a couple years to really establish and then you'll be pleasantly surprised. Mine grew near a little pond that usually ran over once every week or two, but was never officially "watered" after the initial first year. It did get plenty of full sun, which it needs. My neighbor here in Roswell has one planted that has not grown an inch in 2+ years, gets a few blooms, but has to deal with shade from some large elms. It just isn't a happy camper there.
I don't know if this helps or not, but just wanted to share my experience I had with you.

HTH!
beautifulbug
19 years ago
Howdy, Butterfly Lady,
I'm no expert, but I've read that ocotillos thrive on limestone ridges. The back part of my lot (south of Tucson) is a limestone ridge, and is chockful of ocotillos, all just finishing blooming. Maybe research limestone-based additives to your builder-supplied soil? Now, I also have one in my yard up by a concrete porch foundation. It was transplanted there several years back, and didn't bloom the next season, then disturbed again almost 2 years ago when the porch was built, did not bloom those 2 years. This spring, it finally bloomed again -- long groups on some branches, only a couple blossoms on others. It also started almost 2 weeks later than its bretheren on the hill -- as hyperdoggie suggested, maybe the porch is causing a "mini-zone"? Overall, my guess is that yours just needs time to recover from being transplanted -- patience is the only "fix"....
beautifulbug
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darren_nm
19 years ago
A couple of things with Ocotillos. The first full year after being tranplanted they tend to be a bit sparse in the leafing out process. Usually by the third year this changes and they become more heavily loaded with leaves. Also, since they tend to only leaf out after rains, regular watering can "stress" them. They will try to put out leaves after each watering but have not built up the necessary energy to do so, or at least not to the extent as naturally grown plants. I have noticed with mine (a few dozen that I have rescued) that after about a year after transplanting, with no subsequent water, they do great. Of course during that first year they need a lot of water.

Regarding limestone. They do grow on limestone-derived soils but also on what are called volcanics, which tend to be quite different. One of the areas I am currently salvaging plants in consists of soils derived from quartz-monzonite and rhyolite stocks, totally different than limestones, and contains numerous "swarms" of ocotillos, all nice and green and healthy, so I do not think limestone is as crucial to this plant as it is to something like Echinocactus horizonthalonius.

Regardless, good luck and lay off the water a bit, you and your plants will be happier!

Darren