Palm Springs Gardening

Plantsgardening

Jul 28

For Sun…

If you’re looking for a flowering plant that looks good over the hottest summer months, check out Mexican Bird of Paradise (caesalpinia pulcherrima). Mexican Birds, as I call them, relish the heat, and their large orange-red blooms with yellow are the best and most prolific under sunny blue skies. Perhaps because they don’t look their best over the winter months, most local gardeners cut them back hard in the winter, but I personally like to leave them to their natural size, only removing dead and “leggy” stems in the spring. This allows the plant to get large verses limiting its size to the spring and summer growth. Either way, they’re a great choice for pops of summer color, plus hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies love them! Mexican Birds are also a tropical that doesn’t require a lot of water, though it does need at least weekly irrigation to bloom nicely. I personally like them combined with cacti, like golden barrels or various agave species, the contrast of the “bold” cacti with the small, delicate leaves and flowers of the Mexican Bird is stunning, plus I just like mixing tropicals and cacti when it’s appropriate (water, light needs…). Plant them anyplace that gets lots of sun. They are readily available at local plant nurseries, including at the plant centers at the big box stores.

For shade…

For a shady spot under a large tree, or on the north side of your home, and sticking with “dry” tropicals, check out a variety of sansevieria species. I personally like a variegated form…for a pop of yellow or cream in a shady spot. If you’re looking for a more exotic variety, plant the cylindrical sansevieria stuckyi or the wide and super bold sansevieria masoniana. The common varieties can be found most often in the houseplant section at the big box stores. Local nurseries, like Moller’s Garden Center will carry common and exotic varieties, and can offer advice on growing them.