Ten Desert Gardening Commandments

12.23.2011 - I've lived in the desert for over 8 years now and when I first started working in my arid garden I made mistakes. Lots of mistakes! Tired of having moments of silence for plants I've destroyed I hit the books and it wasn't long before I had this whole desert gardening thing down. To save winterers and desert garden novices oodles of time I've created the Ten Desert Gardening Commandments. By adhering to these simple rules you are sure to save yourself hours of unnecessary work and hundreds of dollars in destroyed plants.

Without further ado here it is, the Ten Desert Gardening Commandments:
1. Thou shalt not take gorgeous desert shrubs and butcher them into little balls or squares. In addition, do not over prune your palm trees, it makes them weak and more susceptible to rot.

2. Thou shalt not be succumbed to the promising beauty of delicate plants such as camellias and mandevilla sold at big box stores, for they are not meant to grow in our harsh desert conditions.

3. Digging shallow holes for plants only means you will most likely be replacing them after the first summer.

4. Thou shalt not place thy watering emitters up against the tree trunk, always follow the canopy of the tree.

5. Water is sacred to us and our plants. Water infrequently, but deep. Let the system run for several hours infrequently, rather than 30 minutes every day.

6. Thou shalt respect thy neighbor by pruning thick trees during monsoon so they don't blow over and land on top of their house.

7. Thou shalt never feed wildlife, no matter how cute they are, as it messes with their entire habitat and in the end will do more harm than good. Not to mention you don't want them to tell all their friends!

8. Thou shalt consider mature sizes of plants when planning out the garden. Canary Island Date Palms look ridiculous in 6,000 square foot lots.

9. Thou shalt not prune thy desert plants between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. When you prune you are basically taking away another layer of frost protection for the plant.

10. Use caution when dust storm warnings are issued. Working in the garden during a dust storm is not only unpleasant, it is extremely dangerous. Breathing in the dust can cause valley fever which has no cure. Pets are even more affected and it can be lethal so keep your furry ones indoors until the storm has passed.