Fall Nursery Update
Dare I say it: the extreme heat has finally passed. And as we hoped in last month’s update, we did manage to squeeze out a few more storms! If you take a look beneath any roadside palo verde, you’ll likely spot dozens of tiny seedlings pushing through the soil. There’s a whole quiet world of change unfolding right now: wildflower sprouts, fresh buds, new leaf flushes—all while we hurry by, already shifting toward the holidays. I encourage you to slow down on your next evening walk; you might notice a plant, bloom, or texture that wasn’t there before.
Growing up here, people often joked that the desert only has two or three seasons. Many transplants (including my dear girlfriend—love you, Thiery) say they miss the clear “four seasons” of elsewhere. But I’ve come to love the subtler transitions of our Sonoran Desert year—the muted greens returning after monsoon rain, the crisp mornings, and that unique, golden October light.
🌾 A Quick Trip to Yuma
In somewhat related news, I recently took a short day trip to Yuma, which turned into an impromptu botanical expedition. Along the Colorado near West Wetlands Park, we came across a beautiful stretch of mesquite bosque, where I collected a modest amount of screwbean mesquite (Strombocarpa pubescens) and mule fat (Baccharis salicifolia) seed.
I even managed to root a couple cuttings of sea purslane (Sesuvium verrucosum), a fascinating little coastal succulent that also thrives in salty inland areas. The tiny world of purslanes, spurges, and spiderlings is easy to miss, but it’s remarkable when you stop, get down, and really look.
🌱 Back in the Nursery
Things in Phoenix have been mostly going well, though not without lessons. Sadly, I lost my couple Datura wrightii seedlings that had made it past infancy; likely victims of a too-silty soil mix that choked their roots. (I should’ve sieved that lava sand first!)
Thankfully, I’ve got plenty of seed left and even have a new germinant popping up from last week’s sowing, so redemption is already underway. I still expect to have a small batch ready by spring.
A few other genera are showing signs of a mystery pest stressing the fresh growth. The plants seem to be holding their own, so I’m keeping the neem oil on standby for now, no interventions needed.
🌸 New Homes for Fall
Most of my fall giveaway plants have found new homes! A chuparosa (Justicia californica) and desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) went to community members via Facebook, and a foothills palo verde (Parkinsonia microphylla) found a home with a coworker.
I also planted one of my own Justicia californica in my family’s backyard, and it’s already blooming at just eight months old! A few ants have taken an interest, but so far they’re just visitors, not vandals.
Over the next few weeks, I intend to plant several of my spring-started specimens along the edges of a few local parks and easements (small, quiet reintroductions that I hope to revisit in years to come). The rest will overwinter here, to be used as seed stock or offered for sale in spring.
🌳 What’s Next
A few velvet mesquite and palo verde trees grown for specific customers will be going out soon. I’ve also just started Texas honey mesquite (Neltuma glandulosa), a species I’d love to see more of in the Valley. (In my opinion, both it and screwbean mesquite deserve far more landscape love than the ubiquitous Chilean mesquites!)
Looking ahead, I’ll also be testing seed from Abutilon and Hibiscus coulteri collected by a coworker, and keeping an eye on a neighborhood climbing milkweed (Funastrum cynanchoides) with ripening pods that I hope to propagate soon.
🌵 Looking Beyond the Pots
Beyond the nursery itself, I’ve been diving deeper into the native plant and ecology community. It’s been refreshing to connect with new people and projects after a long solo stretch. A few of us from the Arizona Native Plant Society are planning a Zoom meeting next week to discuss the possibility of reviving the Phoenix Chapter, something I’d be thrilled to help with.
Be well, keep learning, and thank you for following along on this journey. If you’re interested in having a batch or specific species started for spring, whether for a habitat restoration effort or your own eco-friendly yard, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to grow custom batches for local projects and native enthusiasts.
🌿
Ammar
Sonoran Starts Nursery