Mountain Gardening Highlights
By Ken Lain, The Garden Guy

A week ago and now again, I find myself cheering for the boys on the Prescott High School wrestling team. Last week was the regional championship meet and this weekend is the Arizona State Championship tournament. I have a special interest in this year’s grapplers since my son, James, a senior on the team, was named regional champion last week at the 189-pound weight class. To James and to all of the PHS wrestling team: Way to go!

I have to give Harold Watters a big shout out for teaching last Saturday’s garden class on planting, growing, and pruning roses. I've been trying to get Harold out of retirement for years so he can share his experience of a lifetime gardening in Yavapai County. I’m not the only one glad that he finally gave in to my persuasion, because I've heard nothing but rave reviews about his class! Thanks, Harold.

At today's garden class entitled "The Fruitful Gardener", Harold again will be our tutor. He’ll be talking about which fruit trees, grapes, berries, and vegetables grow best in our area. He also will cover plant foods, sprays, bugs, and ever-increasing harvests. Dozens and dozens of fruiting plants of many varieties will be on hand as will the garden center’s professionals to help with your gardening plans. Of course, this class may not make you an expert but you’ll leave knowing all the right questions to ask as you develop your outline to increase the edibles in your landscape.

As usual, class is held at Watters Garden Center and starts at 9:30 a.m. I suggest that you bring a notebook because this class is chock-full of handouts and lots of info for you note-takers. Seating is limited so I recommend that you bring your own chair. You also might like to bring a mug of coffee or tea along with your curiosity in gardening.

A quick note about snow on our landscapes: If we get another heavy snow like we did last week it is very important to knock its weight off your plants. I like to take a broom and gently sweep the snow off my plants, especially red tipped photinia, bamboo, and evergreens. The goal is to relieve our plants of heavy snow and have them unbent and upright before the severe cold hits them at night.

So many garden tasks and gardening basics are taken for granted, and the last few garden classes have shown there’s a need to cover the basics for successful mountain gardening. I usually teach these in my newcomers’ class, or garden beginners’ classes, but I think it is a good reminder for all of us as we start this year’s planting season.

Gardening at higher altitudes is rewarding, but has its challenges. The national garden zone for central Yavapai County is a zone 6, with a large influence of zone 7. This defines our area as mild, but with a definite winter.
The climate is so mild that we landscape 12 months of the year. The average last frost of spring is May 8, but we start cool season vegetables and flowers as early as March. Summer temperatures can reach the mid 90's with comfortably cool nights. The first frost of fall is at the end of October, but gardens look great through Thanksgiving. This makes our average frost-free growing season approximately 150 days long.

Never underestimate the effects of Arizona sun, wind, and dry air. They play large roles in determining which plants will thrive and which will struggle or not make it at all. Our soils are typically clay and have little naturally occurring organic material. Experienced gardeners know that these conditions require the addition of composted mulch or peat moss to condition the soil properly before planting.

Low temperatures provide the chilling necessary to grow deciduous fruits and perennials that thrive in cool climates. This is the ideal growing climate for all the frost-hardy shrubs like forsythia, crape myrtle, Russian sage, hardy hibiscus, salvia and virtually the entire family of flowering perennials. Due to the low humidity and mild winters we can grow some of the most beautiful roses with few bug and mildew problems. We also grow exceptional vegetable crops like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and many herbs. Flowering trees like Bradford pear or purple leaf plum, and shade trees like maple, ash, locust, elm, and willow thrive in our nearly perfect climate.

For more on local area gardening unique to the mountains of Arizona I recommend visiting wattersonline.com. Look for my weekly garden e-newsletter, local garden pod casts, and in-depth garden handouts specific to Yavapai County.

Until next week, I’ll see you in the garden center.

Read Past Articles