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.
Comments
Aug 16, 2006 9:52 AM
Rosemary Drisdelle :
<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.
