Desert Blooms

  Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson I joked in a March 2020 column about switching to a shot glass-sized watering can so that I wouldn’t drown my houseplants with too much love and attention. I’m happy to report that they survived. Here’s a selfie with one of my split-leaf philodendrons. We all know who wears the plants in this family.  One thing is for sure; collectively, we sure did a ton more home gardening in 2020! As I look back through plant photos and published columns from the past year, I’m reminded of how much I’ve learned, and relearned, and re-relearned. Back in February, I reprinted a 1997 column by Dr. Curtis Smith on how to keep your tomato starts from gettingtoo leggy . The trick is placing seedlings in a sunny spot early on, so they’re not reaching up, looking for light. I knew that, and yet, within weeks, I had some of the leggiest tomato starts you’ve ever seen. Unfortunately—or fortunately, depending on how you figure it—I don’t take many ph

  Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson Stacked bigtooth maple leaves in the Manzano Mountains this October. While native to New Mexico, bigtooth maple trees tend to thrive in cooler temperatures and higher elevations. Photo credit M. Thompson. Question: I am updating the Valencia County Extension Master Gardener brochure on trees. How do I access the new recommended trees for climate change? I would like to include them in the brochure. -           Zena K., Los Lunas Answer: The final report, titled “ Climate-Ready Trees: Tree Species Selection Guidelines for the Albuquerque Metro Area, ” has just been released and is accessible online at https://www.nature.org/newmexicotrees   (or click on direct links below) . There you can read about this great project and others led by Sarah Hurteau, the Climate Program Director for the Nature Conservancy in New Mexico . Hurteau was inspired by a similar project performed by researchers at the USDA Forest Service and University of Ca

Southwest Yard and Garden by Marisa Thompson  (revised reprint from Dec. 2017) Beautiful blossoms aside, notice how smooth the edges of the flattened leaves are on this Christmas cactus. Photo credit spablab flickr.com.  Question: How should I care for my new Christmas cactus to ensure long-term health and rebloom next year?            - Wendy H., Las Cruces, NM   Answer: Christmas cactus ( Schlumbergera bridgesii ), a hybrid plant and member of the cactus family, is known for blooming during the holiday season here in the northern hemisphere. The showy flowers are induced by long periods of uninterrupted dark. If your plant routinely blooms early, you may have a different species, Thanksgiving cactus ( Schlumbergera truncata ), which has different requirements for the number of dark hours and therefore blooms at a slightly different time. Thanksgiving cactus has stem segments with more pronounced indentations (aka teeth) and is also called “crab cactus.” Easter cactus is a different

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson In a recent NMSU Cooperative Extension “Ready, Set, GROW!” webinar on holiday gift giving, Bernalillo County Extension Agent Sara Moran described how she makes handcrafted soaps decorated with materials from the garden, like rose petals and other flowers. Photo credits Sara Moran. Question: What are your favorite garden-related items that would make great holiday gifts? -           Mary Jo L., Albuquerque Answer: As part of our ongoing “Ready, Set, GROW!” webinar series , we offered a session on this exact topic on Wednesday, December 2. Don’t worry if you missed it—I’ve included highlights in this week’s column. Plus, the whole episode was recorded, and the presentation slides are available online with a link to the video ( https://desertblooms.nmsu.edu/ready-set-grow.html ). At that web address you can also register for the next webinar, “ Hybrid Grapes,Hardwood Cuttings, and Holiday Wine Pairings ,” at 3 pm on Wednesday, Decem

  Southwest Yard & Garden Reprinted columns written by Dr. Curtis Smith Note from Dr. Marisa Thompson, NMSU Urban Horticulture Extension Specialist and regular author of this column since 2017: When addressing horticulture questions from around the state, I often check the  Southwest Yard & Garden Archives  to see if my esteemed predecessor Dr. Curtis Smith tackled the same issues in past years. This week, I’ve selected two columns from November 2010 to reprint in response to recent questions I’ve received: one on transplanting roses and another on dropping pine needles. Both were written by Dr. Smith. Reprinted from November 20, 2010 Question: I need to move some climbing roses (Lady Banks) and honeysuckle bushes. All have been in the ground two years. When is the best time to move them? Can I move them to pots and plant them later in the year? Anything special I need to know? Thanks! - Mary P., Las Cruces Answer: The best time to move these plants is late in their dormant sea

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson Compost Spent Coffee Grounds Before Using Them on Your Soil The pH of my morning cup of coffee (not the grounds) while still black (left) and after adding cream and honey (center), and plain filtered tap water (right). Photo credits M. Thompson.   Question: Can I discard spent coffee grounds in my houseplant pots?                                    -        T. Dominguez, Santa Fe   Answer: Sure you can, but I can't exactly recommend it. Putting the grounds directly on houseplant soil might not pose a problem, but it’s hard to be sure. Research on the composition and chemistry of coffee grounds has shown wide variability. Some of this variability stems from differences between species in the Coffea genus grown for commercial production—most commonly either Coffea arabica or Coffea canephora (syn. C. robusta ). And then there are many varieties and cultivars too. Plus, th