Desert soil, when mixed with water, will have the consistency of concrete. So, when potting desert plants,you'll need to create your own soil mixtures.
Desert plants are fairly adaptable organisms, able to modulate their systems to adapt to many different soil types, so you can have variety and ease of growing a desert container garden.
The only requirement they have is that the soil medium has enough structure to allow for adequate drainage and airspace, water-holding ability and nutrients.
The optimum soil mixture, however, is made up of equal parts of good garden soil (also known as loam), peat moss, and perlite.
Unfortunately, most desert soils take on the consistency of cement when mixed with water (that's what adobe bricks are made of).
If your soil has this consistency, then you might want to use a soilless mix, or use commercially-available potting soil or topsoil.
To make a soilless mix, combine equal parts of peat moss and vermiculite along with a small amount of fertilizer.
There are a great many types of potting soil on the market. Don't get confused. A general -purpose potting soil is quite sufficient for all plants.
You can use a general-purpose fertilizer about once every two weeks for your outside potted plants. There is a large variety of fertilizers on the market. There are even purely "organic" fertilizers which contain no man-made substances. There are fertilizers that can be diluted with water and applied with a sprayer or watering can. There are also slow-release fertilizers which release nutrients into the soil on a regular basis.
Pest Control.
Even though desert gardens tend to have fewer pests than gardens in more temperate areas, you may experience infestations from some insects.
Aphids, red spidermites, white flies and scales are sucking insects. Check your potted plants often for them, particularly for aphids and scales. If you find them quickly, you can usually wipe them off the plant, or wash them away with a cold stream of water.
White flies are a little more difficult to control. Use a dust of spray recommended by your nursery for these insects. Follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully.
More Desert Garden Flowering Plants.
Sand Verbena.Abronia angustiflora. An annual that grows up to one foot high and three feet wide. Tends to spread along the ground. Violet-purple flowers.
Brownfoot.Acourtia wrightii, Perennial growing 1 ½ feet high and three feet wide.
Butterfly weed.Asclepias tuberose. Two feet high by two feet wide. Perennial.
Desert Marigold.Baileya multiradiata. 1 ½ x 1. Perennial.
Bigbend BluebonnetLupinus havardii. one foot x one foot. Perennial.
The copyright of the article Soil for Desert Container Gardens in Desert Gardens is owned by Robert Dailey. Permission to republish Soil for Desert Container Gardens in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
<p></p>I read your blog entry on the increasing problem of
water shortage with interest. I wonder whether your figures for water
consumption in the US included industrial use? I've read that industrial
water consumption dwarfs consumer consumption - to really make a difference
we're going to have to do more than change our shower heads (and convert to
desert gardens ;) )
Rosemary Drisdelle birds.suite101.com
Aug 18, 2006 5:00 PM
Robert Dailey :
Yes, Rosemary, the figures do include industrial consumption, e.g.
hydroelectric, construction, agriculture, etc. The average actual use per
person is more like 80 gallons per day. But, to bring home the reality of
the situation, I used total consumption figures divided by population. And I do agree with you that the task is herculean. Merely doing a little
xeriscaping and small, around-the-house water conservation techniques won't
come close to solving the problem. I plan to do a series of articles
on desertification, a process happening around the world, in which we see
declining fresh water supplies seriously affecting life and, in many cases,
countries, cultures and civilizations. Creating awareness of the
problem is the first step. Moreover, having lived in the high desert
(Santa Fe, N.M.) for almost a decade, I became aware at how much water we,
as consumers, do use and waste. In Phoenix, for instance, the
absolute largest user of water is the consumer...for swimming pools, water
parks, and large, green and lucious lawns. Jim Knopf, author of The
Xeriscape Flower Garden, A Waterwise Guide for The Rocky Mountain Region,
and a nationally-known lecturer in the area of water conservation, points
out that extremely large amounts of water (from rain runoff, utilizing
xeric plants, creating zones, limiting lawn sizes, and using simple routing
techniques) can be saved and directed to where it is most needed. Many
communities in Africa and Asia are now utilizing xeric conservation
techniques (originally invented on Israeli kibbutzes) to significantly
increase agricultural yield without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Of course, those areas are quite poor, and are the first and hardest hit
by drought, and the extending process of desertification. I really
welcome your input, and am open to any ideas-suggestions you might have. B
Aug 24, 2006 7:39 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle :
Thanks Bob; you touched on a lot of things in your reply, but I'll just
make a quick observation about lawns - people seem to be unaccountably
obsessed with their lawns, at least here in Nova Scotia. We've had record
rainfalls here this summer, yet I stil see a lot of people watering their
lawns. More often than not, the sprinkler is set so wide that hundreds of
gallons of water go onto driveways and streets and straight down the storm
drain. It's nuts. And the rage over our pesticide ban, well, I won't get
into that.
Rosemary Birds.suite101.com
Aug 24, 2006 2:39 PM
Robert Dailey :
Rosemary, I agree about the lawn-watering thing. I get sick when I see
water from lawn watering rushing down the gutters. Such a waste.
Aug 31, 2006 1:53 PM
Timbre Beck-Murphy :
I live in the Redwoods, and our water table's so high that nobody worries
about the lack of here. It is still a pet peeve when I see sprinklers
going during winter. All it really means is that someone was too lazy to
reprogram the timers. Most people go organic here, so our water is great
-- unless you live close to a dairy farm (in which case, you use a filter.)
In my home mountains of Trinity County, though, our lake is
drained every summer to supply Southern California with water. On drought
years, the drainage is extreme. Sometimes the lake is over 100 feet down.
Not only are small recreation/tourism businesses suffering, but so is the
wildlife and fish that have come to make the lake their home.
Thousands of people decided to move to an area that has gross air and no
water. They aren't compensating Northern California communities for taking
their water. It's a state mandate. Trinity Lake isn't the only one
they're taking from either.
I guess this brings me to my
point: People need to be responsible and accountable. If they choose to
live in an area where water is limited, they must conserve and work to
prevent contamination. They should not be taking clean water from the rest
of us who are smart enough to put our family's mental and physical health
above the almighty dollar.
On that note, if we're talking about
world-wide water shortage, there are places -- like Del Norte County --
where water is more than plentiful. Does the state take water from here?
No way. It's a couple hundred miles north of the other lakes, lakes that
are in mountain communities that don't have enough water. Their motives
and focus are transparent.
Aug 31, 2006 2:22 PM
Robert Dailey :
I agree, Timbre. The large population (and agricultural)centers in the
U.S. take more than their share of water from others. The problem will
reach crisis proportions (probably in 50 years or less) unless there is a
radical change not only in the way people use fresh water, but also in how
we think about it. Rampant urbanization, thoughtless water policies,
and the expediency of politics are going to come back and haunt us.
Aug 7, 2006
