Desert Blooms

Southwest Yard & Garden   reprints by Dr. Curtis Smith Reprinted columns from May 2000 ( https://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2000/050600.html ) Many roses grow well in New Mexico, even with minimal care and relatively low amounts of water. Scroll down for answers to more common rose questions! :) -Marisa Rose damaged by thrips feeding on new bud tissue. Photo credit Scot Nelson flickr.com (public domain).  Show-offs at the Albuquerque Rose Garden on May 13, 2020. Photo credits M. Thompson. Question: Is it too late to plant roses now? Answer: In all of New Mexico, it is too late to plant bare-root roses (those that come in the pack with sawdust around the roots). However, containerized roses (those in pots in the nursery) can be planted. They may suffer some transplant shock, so be careful to keep them moist and protected from full sunlight and wind for a while after you plant them. You can do this by placing them inside a tomato cage wrapped with white floating row cover material

  Southwest Yard & Garden REPRINTS by Dr. Curtis Smith, former NMSU Extension Horticulture Specialist (updates and photos by Dr. Marisa Thompson) Cottonwood fluff, shown here coating the Los Lunas bosque floor in July 2018, is not the allergen enemy some people think it is. The “cotton” is the female seed with a fuzzy appendage to help it fly far, where it can grow into a new tree. It’s the male flowers that are the allergy problem, and they release pollen earlier in the season, April in central New Mexico. Photo credits Marisa Thompson. Reprinted from May 2003:  https://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2003/050303.html   Which Cottonwood Makes Cotton? Question:  I know some cottonwood trees make cottony fluff, and others make pollen. Which is which?   Answer (by Dr. Curtis Smith):  Male cottonwood trees produce pollen, while female trees produce the cottony fluff that we call cotton. That “cotton” is an appendage to help disperse the cottonwood seeds so they do not fall only at the base of

Southwest Yard & Garden  by Dr. Marisa Thompson Golden currants ( Ribes aureum ) in bloom in the Los Lunas bosque on April 7, 2019 (left), March 25, 2020 (middle), and April 5, 2021 (right). Photo credits Marisa Thompson. This week, in honor of the golden currant ( Ribes aureum ) shrubs blooming in the Los Lunas bosque and at the City of Albuquerque BioPark Botanical Garden , I’m writing about hummingbirds in the garden. I learned from a local birder (I wish I could remember who it was!) that you know it’s time to put out your hummingbird feeders when the golden currants are in bloom. If you’re curious about creating a hummingbird haven in your yard, the book Hummingbird Plants of the Southwest by local author Marcy Scott is a great place to start. On top of excellent details on 120 hummingbird plants for gardens in our region, Scott profiles the 14 hummingbird species found in the Southwest. She also provides precise information on how to create prime hummingbird habitats. “ Fo

Southwest Yard & Garden by Dr. Marisa Thompson AND Dr. Curtis Smith ( partial reprint! )   Artichoke seedlings planted by Chuck Havlic and Mellene Pablo at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas in 2020. Photo credit M. Thompson.     Starting plants from seed can be confusing. Too little water, and they dry and die. Too much, and all of a sudden, you’re farming algae. Patience and attentiveness are required during this delicate phase of seedling growth, especially if some seeds are sprouting while others take their sweet time. For more seed starting tips, check out: The recorded webinar “ Indoor Seed Starting ” with NMSU Bernalillo County Extension Program Manager Nissa Patterson that's part of the  Ready, Set, GROW! gardening  series. My recent article in Edible New Mexico Magazine: " Touch and Grow: Seed Starters " NMSU Extension Guide H-220, “Starting Plants Early Outdoors”   aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_