When to Winterize Sprinklers and Outdoor Faucets in Arizona
Across the Arizona low desert, there’s no fall date to circle on the calendar.
Gardening in Arizona
Everything we have worked out for Arizona: what to plant and when, which varieties finish in time, the pests that actually turn up here, and the jobs that pay off month by month. We also cover the rest of the property, from lawns and soil to home care and energy, because a garden rarely stops at the vegetable bed.
The numbers first, because everything else follows from them. Measured at the weather station in Phoenix, the last spring freeze falls around no freeze in most years; a rare cold snap can bring 32F between late December and mid January and the first fall freeze falls around no reliable fall freeze; see the note, USDA zones 4b-10b, 8,014 growing degree days in the year.
Heat, not frost, is what shortens the season here: above 86 °F tomato pollen goes sterile, so growers run a spring crop and an autumn one rather than a single long season. Garlic is the awkward one: only 0 weeks below 40 °F, where it needs six to split into cloves. Chill the cloves before planting, or grow a softneck type.
Elsewhere on the property in Arizona: the pests that turn up here.
Figures from NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals. A state is not one climate: elevation, a large lake or the coast can move these dates by two weeks either way, so check your own county with the extension service before you spend money.
Heat Pump or Gas Furnace in Arizona: Which Costs Less to Run?
Natural gas edges out the heat pump on running cost in Arizona, but only just.
Protecting Roses Through a Arizona Winter
Most Arizona rose growers in the low desert never need to protect roses from winter, and the ones who do need it only a few nights per decade.
Roses That Hold Up in Arizona
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Protecting Hydrangeas Through a Arizona Winter
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When to Prune Roses in Arizona
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Hedge Plants for Arizona: What Holds, and What Only Looks Hardy
Ask which hedge plants work in Arizona and the honest answer is: it depends on which Arizona you mean.
Which Hydrangeas Survive a Arizona Winter
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Rose Diseases in Arizona: What the Climate Here Actually Brings
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Why Hydrangeas Are Pink in Arizona, and How to Turn Them Blue
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