JULY
PLANT SPOTLIGHT
FIRECRACKER PLANT
The Firecracker Plant has many names: Fountain Bush, Coral Fountain, Coral Blow… but whatever you call it, it is an explosion of color! The shrub is made up of wispy, grass-like stems that arch up and cascade outwards like a fountain. Through these stems, clusters of tubular flowers spill out with bright, coral color. The blooms provide pops of explosive color from spring through fall.
The Firecracker Plant is a naturally informal plant. It can be potted to spill out of a container, or added as a border or accent plant. It will do best with seasonal cutbacks, and occasional pruning to keep it at a manageable size, while also maintaining its natural shape.
FUN FACT! The Firecracker Plant is known to attract hummingbirds and butterflies.
HOLIDAYS
AVERAGE TEMPS
CANADA DAY
U.S. INDEPENDENCE DAY
HIGH 106
LOW 82
PALO VERDE BEETLE
Palo Verde Beetles definitely look scary but they are harmless to humans. During the summer, the Palo Verde Beetles will lay eggs in the soil.
SOUTHWEST SOIL
Summer heat is not the only challenge for landscaping in the southwest. Desert soil is low in organic material and difficult to work with. Soil profiles in the southwest are largely made up of clay and caliche. In these conditions, many plants struggle to hold water and nutrients.
The top soil level, the clay soil, has high salt content. Many plants grown in clay soil can have yellowing of the leaves from iron deficiency. The next soil layer, the Caliche layer, can be as deep as 6 feet. In this layer, soil particles are cemented together with calcium carbonate. This layer is so hard that roots cannot penetrate it and water cannot move through it.
Diligent nutrient applications, soil amendments, and other landscape techniques are required to keep our landscapes healthy, green, and growing even in these harsh desert conditions!
HAPPY
4TH OF JULY
When they hatch, they feed on the roots of distressed
trees and shrubs, particularly the Palo Verde tree (hence the name). But the Beetles aren’t interested in eating healthy roots so the best way to keep these guys away from your landscape is to keep your plants and trees healthy all year long!
MONSOON SEASON
Monsoon season in the southwest: we love it and we hate it. The rain can be such a welcome relief during the hot summer weather but a monsoon isn’t a typical thunderstorm. Monsoon season begins in July, fueled by the high temperatures. By mid-September, as temperatures begin to drop, the monsoon season will come to an end. During this storm season we will sometimes also get hit with a Haboob. A Haboob is an intense dust storm, and our dry, dusty desert mixed with monsoon thunderstorms are a perfect combination to get a Haboob started.
Protecting Your Trees
Strong winds from a Monsoon storm or Haboob can cause significant damage to your landscape and other property. Ensuring your trees are properly thinned regularly is a great way to help your trees survive the monsoon Haboob winds. Thinning your trees allows strong monsoon winds to safely pass through the branches. Trees with dense branches are more easily lifted, broken, and damaged by strong winds.
Tree stakes are another defense against these colossal storms. Smaller, weaker trees need to be fastened to strong wooden or metal stakes using tree-tie wire. This provides much needed support against strong winds. Remember, proper tree staking methods will still allow the tree to move and sway. In a storm, a tree that is staked too tightly will snap rather than bend.
It's An Emergency!
Tree damage from a monsoon storm is always inconvenient, but it’s not always an emergency. Debris from a recent storm that is blocking driveways or streets needs to be removed quickly, and should be prioritized as an emergency. However, debris that may be in an open common area, or a parking lot can be marked/coned off until a regular service day. Knowing the difference will save you the expense of an unnecessary emergency service, and allows our crews to take care of true emergency calls during this busy season.
If you do experience an emergency,
contact LandTech at 480-249-3555 for 24-hour emergency removal/clean-up.
