Perfect Plants for Zone 9

The Sonoran Desert is a unique environment that receives high temps in the summer and colder nights in the winter.   Normally a desert is a very dry place, but because Tucson is situated in the monsoon belt, it receives higher than average rainfall putting our climate into the subtropical category.  On top of that, the Sonoran Desert is one the most "green" and biodiverse of the deserts on this Earth.

In this next series, I will explore some plants that came out on top during our extreme freeze plus endure the hellish heat of summer.  I am placing this series of garden notes ahead of the rest because there is one particular plant that everyone notices this time of year.  I won't give away the surprise and some of the native residents already know this plant.  We are gearing up for spring in just a couple of weeks and getting our grounds ready for some new trees and bushes.  The garden centers seem to only sell certain plants when they are in bloom so I'd like to give everyone a head's up before the blooms start showing  and you start asking, "What is this plant?"

Again this list contains just a few of the favorites here in Tucson and focuses on plants that survived not only the extreme cold but that also love our heat.  If you have several others that survived your winter frost, please make sure you include them in the comments section below. Spring is approaching. PS.  These plants did not receive any covering during our frost and look incredible today. This series is about those few perfect Zone 9 plants that will survive no matter what the condition.