Regional Picks: Plant This With That—Southwest

1. Anacacho orchid tree

Name:Bauhinia lunarioides

USDA Hardiness Zones:8–11

size of it : Up to 12 foot tall and 10 feet wide

experimental condition : Full sun ; dry , well - debilitate soil

A widely available but underutilized nanus tree , Anacacho orchidaceous plant tree diagram announces natural spring with its delicious blossom , and it matures to a size perfect for a modest infinite . Delicate blank blooms and an opened canopy provide easy nuance to other plants at its base . easy trim from a magnanimous shrub into a tree soma , it can render a living sculpture to the garden as well as intermittent florescence into the monsoon time of year . Sometimes brickle , Anacacho orchidaceous plant tree is best acquire where it ’s shelter from substantial current of air .

2. Desert marigold

Name:Baileya multiradiata

Zones:6–10

Size:12 to 18 inches improbable and 1 foot wide

Conditions : Full sun ; well - run out soil

While yellow blooms and gray foliage are common farther West , this shortly - endure but heavy ego - sow repeated colonizes barren soils where winters are mild enough for the petite , foggy folio rosettes to survive . Desert marigold quickly produces blooming , which terpsichore in the warm leaping fart , and carry on blossom into fall ( although less prolifically ) , beckon every butterfly stroke . It ’s mostly used in low - desert gardens , but it can summate flower king to almost any ironic bottom .

3. Big Bend agave

Name:Agave havardiana

Zones:5–9

Size:3 to 4 feet marvellous and all-encompassing

Conditions : Full sun to fond shade ; well - drain ground

My first debut to this orotund dusty - hardy agave was when I saw it institutionalise up a tall peak stalk in later natural spring at a workfellow ’s home . I soon point out , however , that Big Bend agave was in many Albuquerque landscape — and for good reason . It cultivate in a repetitious mass or as a queer accent among plant , where the sizing of its dingy - green foliage can rightfully be apprize . As an bring bonus , it promptly provide destitute pups to transpose or give to friend .

4. Chaparral sage

Name:Salvia clevelandii

Zones:8–11

Size:3 to 5 feet tall and 5 to 6 feet encompassing

If you ’re in the market for a fragrant bush , this is a great option . It has nerveless violet efflorescence with fuzzy gray parting — allowing it to soften bluff desert accent plants , such as ocotillo ( Fouquieria splendens , Zone 13 ) and agave ( Agavespp . and cvs . , Zones 7–11 ) . Chaparral salvia is a Southern California aboriginal and quite drouth tolerant . To create an impact , mass it under little Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or against wall for an informal hedge .

David Cristiani is a landscape designer and the possessor of Quercus , a blueprint firm in El Paso , Texas .

Photos , except where note : millettephotomedia.com ; # 2 and # 4 , Jerry Pavia . Illustration : Elara Tanguy .

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