Going Native

Mormon Tea

Desert Marigold

Pencil Cholla

Every year water is more expensive.  We can replace gas appliances with electric and put solar panels on the roof to cut down on utility bills.  But we can't do anything about water except to replace water hungry plants with xeric (low water) plants.  Driving between Barstow and Victorville we see exactly what will grow here with only rain water: Creosote Bush, Mojave Yucca, Brittle Bush, Rabbit Brush, and a lot of small scraggly prickly stuff that I don't want in my yard.  There is also the occasional Palo Verde or Tamarisk, neither of them native to the area.  To this I add Mormon Tea, Desert Bird of Paradise, Pencil Cholla, and Mojave Prickly Pear which grow on vacant lots in my neighborhood, also Jimson Weed and Coyote Gourd. 

Jimson Weed

Desert Bird of Paradise



The Desert Holly which abounds in Owl Canyon doesn't grow in Barstow because it needs clay soil.  And I have been unable to grow Banana Yucca, which is sold in the stores and is native to the Eastern Mojave.  So to go native, we need to be more selective than simply using native plants of the Mojave Desert.  And even if we find the right plants, we still need to water them the first few years until they are established, and continue watering them if we want our yards greener, with thicker vegetation than the open desert.

Desert Willow

Personally I like to define "native" as meaning plants from the Barstow area plus plants from the Las Vegas area, which has the same climate as Barstow.  Also, with added water we can easily grow plants like Desert Willow and Cottonwood which are found locally  in washes and river bottoms.  We can grow Flannel Bush which is native to the northen foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, and Our Lord's Candle/Yucca whipplei, native to the watersheds of the San Bernardino and San Gabriel Mountains.



Rabbit Brush

 Driving toward the Cajon Pass from Victorville, we leave the part of the Mojave Desert dominated by Creosote Bushes and pass through the part dominated by Joshua trees, into the Juniper zone.  Along the way we see plants like Joshua Trees and California Juniper wihich grow here, but do not reseed here.  We can even grow a few low desert plants like California Fan Palm and Ocotillo, but the mountain slopes and the low desert all receive more rain than Barstow, so plants native to those areas will require more water.

Cottontop Barrel Cactus



Coyote Gourd

 

Creosote Bush

The only native plants I have that I do not water at all are: Joshua Trees, Creosote Bush, Brittle Bush, Cottontop Barrel Cactus, Rabbit Brush, and Desert Marigolds.





From Arid to Zones - Desert Landscaping

Swimming Pool

Courtyard Fountain



When I moved to Barstow 15 years ago, I was surprised to learn that the climate here is the same as in Conway, Arkansas where I had been living - except for rainfall and humidity.  The lows are the same and the highs are the same.  But Conway is humid.  Because of the lack of humidity, Barstow is a much more comfortable place to live! 

With the same temperature range, everything I could grow in Conway, I can grow here.  That's not true the other way around.  Plants that grow in Barstow do not necessarily grow in Conway because you can add water, but you can't take it away.  However, God provides the rain at no cost in Conway, whereas Golden State Water charges a lot for water.  Sooooo, except for vegetables, I needed to find substitutes for the plants I  was used to, that would give the yard the same appearance. ( As far as I know, there are no dry climate equivalents for vegetables.)



Koi Pond



Indoor Goldfish Pond



The books always tell you to plant in zones, putting the plants together that need the same amount of water and arranging the zones so that those needing the most water are closest to the house.  The zone needing the least watter would then be farthest from the house and closest to the desert, if  you live on the edge of town.  However, that doesn't quite work in Barstow as flowers and vegetables needing the most water also need to be protected from the afternoon sun.  So I put my high water zones on the north and east sides of walls, for shade and sun plants respectively.



Patio Fountain

 I live in the part of Barstow where it doesn't rain.  It may pour at Wal Mart or in Lenwood, or in the river bottom, but 1/3 the way up the hill, it doesn't do any more than speckle the sidewalk.  So I had to learn to go from arid, i.e. natural, to zones of watering: regular water for patches of flowers and vegetables and lawn, moderate water for California natives, low water for plants from other deserts, and only an occasional hand sprinkling for plants native to the Mojave Desert. However, even native ephedra, creosote bush, and rabbit brush  need a little water when they are first planted.  In this dry climate, I have only been able to  grow plants needing abundant water in a hot house.



Dry Pond



In hot arid climates there is nothing nicer than the sight and sound of water.  And so, despite an evaporation rate of 2"/day, I have my water features.  This blog shows a variety of water features from a dry pond to a swimming pool.  Anything you can imagine, is possible providing it has a recirculating pump, and a water source that maintains the water level. The Moors who built the Alhambra in Seville, thought that every room should have running water.  The Italians surrounded their villas with gardens which had fountains and ponds.  We can do the same -- and pretend we live on a tropical island.

  

Grapes? Nuts!

My grapes are finely ripe.  I have a grape arbor over part of my patio and friends have been trying to pick the grapes ever since June when they first looked big and juicy.  I have had to say over and over again, "Don't pick them yet, they are red grapes, not green."  Well they are finally ripe and I have a bumper crop, even with all the sharing I do with the local animal kingdom.  My yard is an unofficial animal sanctuary.



Bagged grapes



One mockingbird builds her nest in the grapevine every year so she can have breakfast in bed.  The ground squirrels have tunnels as near the vine as they dare, so they can make a quick escape when I  come out the door.  In fact, I learned several years ago to put ziploc bags over the bunches of grapes to protect them from predators.  I cut the bottoms out of quart size bags, giving the grapes fresh air and room to expand.  In theory this keeps the birds from grabbing hold of the bunches of grapes.  The ground squirrels have learned to open the bags and take them off.  I find bags all over the back yard.



Wendy waiting her turn


With all the wildlife enjoying the grapes, some end up on the ground.  What is that fable about the fox and the grapes?  Wendy, my foxy pomeranian stands guard over her share.  She has taught Hercules to ignore the grapes, except when she isn't around and he can grab what he can.

Hercules has his own spot.  The walnuts have begun to fall, so Hercules sits under the walnut tree guarding them from rabbits and squirrels, until I go out and pick them up.

The pistachios are ripening too; but that is a problem I haven't solved.  I pick them one at a time when the skin becomes pink and loose.  When I have enough, I soak them in salt water then roast them.  The ripest ones, the shells open automatically.  If they have been picked a day or two early, then they do not ripen, but are still edible.  It takes a hammer and nutcracker to get the open.

The other evening I was sitting in my living room, reading when I hear a pinging noise in the kitchen.  Wendy and Hercules were both at my feet sleeping, so they hadn't made the noise.  When I went into the kitchen to investigate, there was a mouse sitting on the counter, holding a pistachio, looking at me.  On the floor were a few unopened pistachios.  That mouse actually  though it could break the shells by dropping them1  A live trap and a little peanut butter took care of the mouse.  The unopened pistachios are still a problem.

Surly Sit-upons -- barrel cactus

 A shipment of barrel cacti just arrived from YuccaDo Nursery in Texas.  I hoped they would wait to ship until the weather was a little cooler, but they didn't.  So I had to do something with the plants and it was still too hot to put them out in the garden.  Besides, they are all about 4" in diameter and I haven't had much success in my garden with barrel cacti that small, not even with the Golden Barrels from Home Depot.  So I put them in pots and will wait until they are a little larger before planting them.

Golden Barrel



Barrel cacti in home gardens look like prickly hassocks.  We don't live long enough to see the ones we plant turn into 5' columns.  

                                                                                             



Fishhook Barrel

 Like all cactus, barrel cactus are planted for their shape and also for their spectacular flowers.  They can be used as specimen plants, but usually look better in groups.  There are only two genuses of true barrels: Echinocactus and Ferocactus.  They are easily distinguishable as the echinocactus have a woolly top and woolly seed ods, while the Ferocactus lack the wool. Other types of cactus may resemble them when they are young, so can easily be mistaken for barrels. 

Ferocactus fordii



Ferocactus. townsendi









All cacti are native to the Western Hemisphere, and barrel cacti are native to Mexico and the Southwestern US.  I have planted most of the varieties that I can find for sale, that are advertised as growing in this climate zone.  A good source is YuccaDo Nursery (http://www.yuccado.com/)  in Texas.  Information about individual species can be found at http://www.desert-tropicals.com/.



Fishhook Barrel

 

Large Compass Barrel



Small Compass Barrels













Here is what I have been able to grow in Barstow:

           Species                                              Comments                                  Distinguishing Features 

E. grusonii/Golden Barrel                   water twice a month in summer       golden appearance

E. grusonii/Silver Barrel                      water twice a month in summer      silver appearance

E. polycephalos/Cotton-top Barrel     native, minimal water                     clump of small barrels

E. setispinus                                       red, berry-like fruit                        clump of very small barrels
E. texensis/Texas Barrel                     red flowers
F. cylindraeus/Compass Barrel           native, minimal water                     new spines purple

F. fordii                                              purple flowers                              central spines form cross

F. glaucescens                                    yellow flowers                              short golden spines
F. hamatacanthus/Turk's head             small flattened barrel                    straw-colored hooked spines
F. latispina/Crow's Claw Cactus         wavy ribs                                     flat hooked central spine
F. peninsulae                                      indented ribs                                short black spnes
F. pilosus/Mexican Fire Barrel                                                                hairy red appearance

F. robustus                                                                                             very hairy
F. townsendiensus                                                                                  very long central spine

F. wislizeni/Fishhook Barrel                native, minimal water                    spines form hooked cross





Golden Barrels at Huntington Gardens



Whatz That? - Barstow Palms

A tropical island would not be a tropical island without palm trees.  And when we think "desert" or "Southern California" we think palm trees as well.  But actually palm trees are oasis plants, not desert plants.  All palm trees need a fair amount of water.  If you plant a palm tree in the Mojave River bottom, the roots can probably find their own water.  Farther up the hill, they need to be on a watering system.  I'm told that the first palm trees in the area were in Newberry Springs.  And that they are still there.  Neglected or not, they would have been able to find their own water.

Of the many types of palm trees, only a few are hardy enough and xeric enough to grow in Barstow without running the water bill up too much.  The following are the varieties I have seen around town.  The second part is additional  palms that according to the Sunset Western Garden Book, ought to grow in Barstow.



Blue Palm





Blue Hesper Palm/Brahea armata  The only examples of this slow-growing palm that I have seen in Barstow are small.  I tried to grow one, but it died, probably from insufficient watering.

Guadalupe Palm

Guadalupe Palm/Brahea edulis  This palm was given to me by Oak Hills Nursery when they were cleaning out a greenhouse.  They received it in a shipment of palms, but did not want to sell it as it will not survive in Hesperia.  They gave it to me hoping it might survive in Barstow.  I planted it in a somewhat sheltered location, but it has not been through a winter yet.  I am hoping it will do all right, as it has edible date-like fruit.

Canary Island Date Palm



Canary Island Date Palm/Phoenix canariansis  This palm can become too large for the home garden.  Some of the tall ones around town were planted too close to buildings and have to be trimmed regularly.  If it has room to grow, it is a very attractive tree.  The fruit is edible, but too small to bother with.



Pygmy Date Palm in rear
Mediterranean Fan Palm in front



Pygmy Date Palm/Phoenix roebelini  This is a small, slow-growing palm, that is often offered for sale.

 
Mediterranean Fan Palm/Chamaerops humilis  This is a small, often multi-trunked, clumping palm that has the appearance of a shrub.  It grows well in Barstow as it is from an arid part of the world.

Dwarf Windmill Palms

Dwarf Windmill Palm/Trachycarpus fortunei  This is a small, slow-growing palm that is particularly attractive planted in clumps.  It is known for its shaggy trunk.




Date Palm

 

Date Palm/Phoenix dactylifora  This is the palm that produces edible dates.  However it does not do so in Barstow's climate.



Queen Palm



Queen Palm/Syagrua romanzoffiana  This palm is marginal for Barstow.  Except for those in the picuture, I have only seen it growing south (up hill) of I-15 where the climate is slightly warmer than in the river bottom.   Even when established, it is unlikely to survive a heavy frost.

Mexican Fan Palm on left
California Fan Palm on right

Mexican Fan Palm/Washingtonia robusta  This is the tall, skinny palm tree that predominates in Barstow.  It grows well here and needs less water than most other palms.  When young, it is indistinguishable from the California Fan Palm.

California Fan Palm/Washingtonia filifera  This is the not-as- tall, stout palm tree found throughout Barstow.  It grows well here and needs less water than most other palms.  When young, it is indistinguishable from the Mexican Fan Palm. 



Sago Palms



Sago Palm  Not a true palm, this plant is a cycad, a modern relic of a prehistoric plant.  However it is included here because it resembles a palm tree and is commonly called a palm.  Sago Palms prefer a more humid climate with a more even temperature.  Given that, they become quite wide without gaining much in height.  I have managed to kill a few by not providing enough water.  Their blooms and fruit are fascinating.