Watering Plants in Tucson, Arizona

Watering Native Drought-Tolerant Trees and Shrubs

• If you look around while driving in the Tucson desert, you will notice that some species do better in some areas than others. This is because soil conditions or micro-climates are influencing nature's plant selection. A mistake that many newcomers make is believing that if it is a native or drought-tolerant plant, they don't have to water it. Others may set their irrigation timer to weekly and leave it there all year long. While native plants can survive in the desert on rainfall alone, bringing them into your yard presents conditions that are now quite different. Your yard may be hotter or the soil poorer than where that species normally would grow. Native and drought-tolerant trees and shrubs should be watered deeply at least once a week in the summer months --- for Tucson, that is May through September --- and twice a month the rest of the year. To save water, you can back off to once a month for December and January.

Watering Cactus and Succulents in the Ground

• For the most part, cactus do not need supplemental water unless they are newly planted, or looking very drought-stressed. A newly planted cactus should not be watered at planting time. Wait two weeks and then water. A drought-stressed prickly pear cactus will have puckered pads, while a barrel or sahuaro will have narrow ribs. If you see these signs, give them a deep soaking once a month during the hot months until it rains. Succulents such as the agave and ocotillo can take a little more water than cactus. They will look better with twice monthly watering throughout the hot months, and once a month in the fall and spring. There is no need to water in the winter months of December through February.

Plants in Containers

• Growing annuals and perennials in containers is a great way to have some color in your yard, and also gives you the ability to move plants around so they get the right amount of sun or shade. Keeping them watered, however, is a bit trickier. You may need to water small containers twice a day in May and June. It helps to put small containers in larger ones so they do not dry out as quickly.

Cactus and Succulents in Containers

• Some species of cactus and succulents do well in containers, and can look quite dramatic in the right pot. However, all the rules about not watering cactus go out the window when they're planted in containers. Cactus and succulents in pots that sit in full sun need watering weekly, as these containers get very hot.