thats but..... duh!

Hello Steve ..

As a fellow Mohavian I know your pains ...

Hard to say via computer but ...

When did you plant ??

Careful with the Cactii .. they will benafit from good garden care including water but need good drainage so don't overdue it. Also .. some Cactii do not like much summer water. Check the root zones for good drainage.

The Ocotillo will sometimes go summer dormant and drop it's leaves so check it out before giving declaring it dead. Again check drainage and if it's dormant be careful with the water.

Lantana likes the heat but if it is newly planted it may not hold up well the first season of very nasty heat. Although it often will bounce back from the roots next spring.

The problem in the desert is everything needs water but drainage tends to limit the watering. A catch 22 ... Also .. texture gradients between native soils and the soil your plants were grown in results in irrigation water going everywhere but the roots. So ... core into the soil and check your root zones very closely.

Start planning for fall planting !! What trees are you planting ?

Good Day ...

It's absolutely amazing what Lanatana do here in the desert. Treated well, they (mine) actually become almost uncontrollable (lots of trimming even in the dead of summer). Some of mine froze last winter (yes, it can happen here in the Phoenix area). After a rather abrupt and extensive trimming, they have not only re-grown, they threaten taking over the gardens, new babies sprout up nearby, and they are beautiful! Ocotillo usually look nearly dead most of the year except late spring, but this being a very wet year... we see the exception. Ocotillos in general this year have stayed beautifully green all summer. Cacti are native, and thrive mostly on neglect. Don't water cactus that are settled in and native, or they will get root rot. Completely contradicting my previous statement, I have large saguaro cacti on either side of the giant lanatanas and other flowers, so they get watered daily in the summer. However, the watering is for the others, not the saguaros, and these are very stable and have been there for many years. We have many saguaros on the ranch that are fabulous, but never get water other than when Mother Nature graces us with a rain.

Spray the Ocotillos with water for about 3 minutes a day for a week and I'll bet you will be surprized.

If spraying the ocotillo is not practical for you, try placing an emitter near the top of the plant. I used a 1 gallon per hour emitter that has a spray option and a zip tie to hold it on. Mine has stayed green all summer even with the endless days of 110+ heat!

Hello hbell ..

I'm curious .. How much do you water your Ocotillo besides the spraying down process.

Good Day ...

I live in Fort Mohave also and I found that the time of year that you plant things is very critical to it's survival. Ocotillos planted in January do very well here, but they need fertilizer at planting and once a month until May.
Trees are the most difficult, planting in October or November ensures that they are established before the summer heat kicks in.
I never try planting anything between May and October except cholla cuttings. Everything else will just go into shock and never come out.

To mohave kid: I had been watering my ocotillo's more than they probably needed but I am very lucky to have good drainage and since this was their first Las Vegas summer, I thought they were thirsty! I have three 2 gal emitters about 6 to 8 inches from the base plus the 1 gal spray at the top. They were running every third day for 2 hours in the summer and I switched them to every 4th day for one hour at the beginning of Oct. They aren't as green as they were, but are still green at this point. I probably cut back too much but I am still trying to figure this whole thing out. I pretty much have been going on the advice from the folks that run Turner's Greenhouse in LV. I buy a lot from them and they have been very sucessful with all kinds of plants here in LV. Where in NV are you?

"Turner's Greenhouse in LV"

They are one of the best in Las Vegas !! I'm in Henderson .. looks like we are getting more Rain !!

I'm curious as to the purpose of the emitter above the plant ?? Does it cool the plant or just add more water ??

Good Day ...

It is supposed to help keep the canes from drying out which helps leaf growth since we are hot, dry and windy most of the time.

In 1962 I lived near Nogales AZ. Our dog kept getting in the flower beds. (it was cooler there). So my DH cut pieces of ocotillo to make a fence around the bed.
Those pieces rooted and grew. We were amazed.

I have cut ocotillo sticks from plants in Inyokern, stuck them in the yard, and since I spray them daily and water once a week, they have sprouted quite nicely. Of course, we have straight sand here, so the water dissipates quite quickly.