Palm Springs Plants and Landscaping

This is our first article about our favorite plants that we have found do well in Palm Springs. While we’re not nurserymen, arborists, botanists, etc, John and I do have a passion for plants and landscaping, and we thought it would be fun and worthwhile to share our experiences. We’ve had both success and failure over the years, but, most importantly, we get a lot of pleasure from working in our gardens and growing plants.

The first plant we’re featuring is the pomegranate (punica granatum). We have both fruiting and “ornamental” pomegranate in our yard. We find them both beautiful with nice pops of green in our desert landscape. Featured is the fruiting variety, which we’ve had planted about twelve years.

Pomegranate were first planted in California by Spanish missionaries. The tree was first grown in Persia (current day Iran) and eventually grown across the Mediterranean region. Many garden books will refer to pomegranate as a “Mediterranean” plant, along with olive, bay laurel, date palm, etc.

Pomegranate in bloom in Palm Springs

Pomegranate is considered a small tree or large bush…depending how it’s pruned. As a tree, It’s often multi-trunked. Once “trained” and established, it won’t require too much pruning, but it’ll be important to get it off in the direction you want it to take (small tree…or large bush). I’ve heard that over many years, pomegranate can get quite large in our desert climate. Our is probably twelve to fifteen feet tall.

Pomegranate loves heat, but, like most ornamental plants in our desert climate will require supplemental water during the growing season. You’ll be rewarded with beautiful green foliage, gorgeous red-orange flowers in the spring, and delicious (and healthy!) fruit in the fall, right around the Thanksgiving holiday. Generally by mid to late December, the leaves will have turned a beautiful golden yellow, and will drop by early January.

We’ve found that pomegranate does really well in Palm Springs. If you’re looking for a drought-tolerant (low water use) plant that offers year around interest and beauty, consider planting this tree in your desert garden. It’ll fit nicely in both small gardens and large estate-size properties.

Small fruit formed by early May

Have fun in your Palm Springs garden! We’d love to hear about your experiences gardening in our wonderful desert climate.

Poolside Realty

Russell Hill / 760.898.8399 / russell@poolsiderealty.com / DRE 01427657

John Bevan / 208.232.1198 / john@poolsiderealty.com / DRE 02089387