Transition Desert Garden

It's the part between the desert and the oasis

Mar 28, 2006

The "transition" zone portion of your desert garden will require less water and less maintenance after establishment. Here are some suggested plants, as well as watering

The last article covered the "oasis" desert garden zone. Extending outward from our oasis, we now want to look at designing a "transitional" zone desert garden.

The "transitional" zone includes plants that require less water than the "oasis," an area where people spend less time, and one that requires less maintenance.

Understand that most plants, whether they are in the "oasis," "transitional," or "arid" desert garden zones, are going to require regular watering for the first two years until they have established their root systems.

To establish plants, wherever they are in your desert garden, water two to three times a week during the hottest parts of the summer (May through August). Water once a week in September and October and at least once a month November through April.

After establishment, plants in the transitional zone will probably survive without supplemental water, but they're going to look pretty ragged, and they won't reach their full potential without some type of irrigation.

You also need to consider outside influences, such as exposure to the sun and drying wind, heat reflection from south-facing walls, and competition with established trees. All these factors will increase their water needs. Shading and wind protection will decrease water needs. And, in the unlikely event (at least in the southwest) of a ground-soaking rain, you can skip one cycle of watering.

I recommend watering your "transition" zone plants once every one-to-two weeks between May and August (again, depending on rain and exposure to sun and drying winds). In September and October, water once every two to three weeks. Between November and April, water once a month.

Perennials that do well in a "transition" desert garden include: yarrow (silvery, tall and moonshine varieties); hollyhock, aster, perennial bachelor's button, tickseed, coreopsis, blanket flower (gaillardia), bearded iris, just about all varieties of lavender, golden and blue flax, catmint, evening primrose, pentstemmon, balloon flower, soapwort, and hummingbird trumpet. I particularly like pentstemmon and blue flax. The pentstemmon flowers are gorgeous, the plant produces copious seeds and the birds love it. Blue flax flowers in the spring and summer seem to be floating in air as their slender stalks sway in the slightest breeze.

Shrubs that are candidates for the "transitional" zone include: Utah serviceberry, bluemist spirea, Russian sage, littleleaf mockorange, mugo pine, shrub live oak, common lilac and lilac hybrids, and Chinese lilac.

If you want coniferous trees in your "transition" zone, try Rocky Mountain juniper, bristlecone pine, Bosnian pine, limber pine, southwest white pine and Scotch pine.

Deciduous trees can include Western catalpa, native chokecherry, Gambel oak, any of the flowering locust varieties, New Mexico locust and littleleaf linden.