July Desert Gardening List

July can be a brutal month for your desert garden. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Plant:
- Warm-season plants are ok to plant now, just be certain to protect from late afternoon sun for the first season.

Care:
- Keep an eye on newly planted succulents. Paling or brown spots indicate sunburn. Use shade cloth during the hottest sun times to avoid further damage to plants.
- A white film called cochineal scale can appear on prickly pear this time of year. Spray them with a strong blast of water to remove.
- Lantana can start to get leggy. I like to cut them back in July to about 1/2 the size to promote new flowering and a bushy appearance.

Watering:
- Water container plants twice daily.
- Cactus, yucca and agave should be watered to a depth of about 2 feet, depending on their sizes.

Fertilize:
- Potted succulents as needed.