Green Things

So you're itching to buy some tropical plants?  You live in Tucson, yet you don't know where to go for tropical plants.  Or you're looking for a specific tropical that Lowe's or Home Depot doesn't have? Well Southern Arizonans, fret no more!  This month we will be visiting some great places to visit for landscaping ideas as well as several nurseries that offer a unique sampling of plants.  Since our topic this week has been about tropicals, I thought it would be fun to go to a nursery that has the BEST selection of tropicals in Tucson.   Green Things is a lot of fun to visit and if you haven't been there, you need to go and check out their huge selection.

They have a greenhouse that is quite large and contains an extensive collection of tropicals.  If you are looking for Swedish Ivys to Caladiums, they have it. Just look at the pics above and below.

The staff is extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the plants both in and out of the greenhouse.

I have to admit that it's hard to leave the place without spending LOTS of money.  Prices are reasonable and the product is strong.  Remember that most of these plants are great for pots or planters.  However some of you may be interested in more than just tropicals.  Don't worry.  They also have a lot of outdoors plants as well including beautiful pottery.

 

It's always strange at first to go up to someone and ask if you can snap pics of their business, but the staff was extremely friendly offering me the opportunity to snap shots of the other greenhouses around their nursery.

There are other plants for your outdoor landscaping needs.  Below is a picture of a pavillion with desert friendly plants that are not all necessarily tropical.

There is a lot to see.  They have animals on the property so you may hear an occassional baahhh:)

They have a fantastic cacti display, for sale, outside of the greenhouse.

So how do you get there??  Here is the information.

http://www.greenthingsaz.com/

Green Things

Monday - Friday: 7:00am - 5:00pm

Saturday: 8:30am - 5:00pm

Sunday: 9:00am - 5:00pm

3235 E. Allen Rd., Tucson AZ 85718

At the Binghampton Historic District

just north of Brandi Fenton Park.

Tel: (520) 299-9471

Fax: (520) 577-0099

"Green Things has been serving Tucson since 1970.  Traditionally a large wholesale nursery growing and brokering house plants, poinsettias and annuals, Green Things has expanded in numerous ways.  We continue to work hard supporting our existing wholesale customers with high quality foliage and beautiful poinsettias during the holidays.  Our retail store has grown significantly in variety and scope.  We provide trees and cacti in common native and native-adapted varieties as well as exotic and unusual species that withstand our harsh desert conditions.  Our inventory includes shrubs and perennials, palms, grasses, ground-covers and vines.  Our Garden Art and outdoor living displays will tickle your fancy.  Our bird baths and fountains will soothe and relax.  We carry soil and fertilizer specific to the plants we sell, and garden tools to help you get the job done!  Want to grow your own?  See our seed selection and cultivate your own private sanctuary!  Our retail and wholesale customers are important to us!  We strive to provide products, service, reliability and punctuality.  Our staff is friendly and professional.  Located on the banks of the Rillito River, Green Things can now be accessed from the River Walk. See our greenhouses as you walk or ride between the Racquet Club Bridge and Brandi Fenton Park. Watch for our sign at the end of Allen Road where it meets the Rillito River. Head in through the parking area. Relax and meander through the myriad of trees, shrubs, cactus, palms in our outdoor shopping area. Enjoy the rows of fountains, garden art and pottery. Enter the Indoor Retail Greenhouse or the Large Tropical House and feel yourself immersed in a tropical rain forest or jungle."

The Rillito River Walk Access!

Green Things can now be accessed via the Rillito River Walk. We are located between the Brandi Fenton Park and the Tucson Racquet Club bridge. Watch for our sign about half way between these landmarks. We are horse and bike-friendly. Secure your ride in the shade to our fence or trees and cool down or warm up in our greenhouses and shade structures.

From River & Campbell:

- Turn right onto E River Rd

- Continue SE on E River Rd

- Turn right on E Allen Rd

From Swan & River:

- Turn left onto E River Rd

- Continue W on E River Rd

- Make a slight right to stay on E River Rd

- Make a U-turn

- Turn right on E Allen Rd

From Alvernon & Ft. Lowell:

- Head N on N Alvernon Way

- When E River Rd forks, keep left

- Turn right on E Allen Rd

It was a lot of fun snapping pictures of the place PLUS it was a great reason for me to go plant shopping. Well any excuse to go plant shopping:)  Until next time.......

Plan B

A planter fixed up with amended soil and plants that were in pots and protected from our hard freeze

What happens when you suffer a devastating freeze and all your heavy pots with plants in them die?  This was the big question that had to be answered after our severe freeze several weeks ago.  I had a tropical theme going in two large planters for 3 years and they looked wonderful until Jack Frost killed them all.  Thankfully, I had a Plan B.  My focus for this blog, and tomorrows, is on pots and their purposes.  Tragedy hit all places at the El Presidio Garden which included the cactus garden that is contained in the newly installed whisky barrel project.  A lot of cacti were lost in the city and it is a terribly sad sight to see.  Cacti pads are solid and full of water.  Several nights of freezing weather will make them into cacti popsicles.  They become too heavy and just collapse all over the ground creating a mess.  I couldn't even replant the pads that fell off because once the pads unthawed, they were all dead from inside.  Thankfully, I had Plan B.  The citrus fried up causing the green stems to freeze and turn brown which means that the frost killed the plant.  Leaves shrivel up on citrus but as long as the stems are green, the tree/bush will be okay.  Not this time.  Jack Frost blew his evil breathe upon these trees and killed them.  I even had all the plants covered with blankets.  Didn't matter.  All dead.  But thankfully, I had Plan B.

All dead.  The day after shows that perhaps some of it will live, but by day 2, the planter is a total loss.  All leaves and roots have turned black and soft. Nothing at this point is salvageable. Or is it?

Plan B utilizes pots that are specifically grown for emergencies like our hard frost. These pots are filled with the transplants from the primary planters and heavy pots around the property that cannot be lifted.  The pots that carry these transplants must be movable and able to be transported to a shed or place where they will not freeze. To continue a plant species, one needs to save its' clones or transplants.  I had all of them in different pots around the property so that when the freeze came, I could put their clones into our shed.  This past weekend was brutal as I cleaned out the two large planters and reworked them both over again.  It actually looks better now than it had when I put them together for the first time.  However the planters were lush and full of beautiful tropical plants that made it through some tough winters, but unfortuneatly, this winter was too much for them and the entire colonies collapsed. 

Back to the basics as I create a mini jungle of effects....caladiams were also placed in the planter to add contrast in spring.  Featured in this planter is a datura, spider plant, philodendron, grecian urn plant, and caladiam bulbs with red coloring.

My Plan B utilizes a system that keeps an active colony of common plants around the property like cactus, spider plants, schefflera, philodendron, ice plants, citrus, succulents and fatsia plants.  These plants are currently being transferred to their new homes where they'll be able to grow even larger.  Should I be doing this now?  Probably not, but I can't stand looking at empty planters that have feral cats using them for the bathroom.  I also have this feeling that our severe frosts are over for this year. We have some cold nights coming, but they won't be like it was several weeks ago.  The benefit of Plan B is that you don't have to spend a whole lot of money to replace a huge amount of plants that were killed off.  Instead, you have a reserve of clones waiting to replace the original mother plant.  I have several citrus in pots and a cactus garden that I will be waiting to transplant until March.  However, I have started with the tropicals in our courtyard planters and I can't wait to see the "Thriller, Filler, Spiller" idea come to life in Spring.  More on that idea tomorrow. 

I also put Mondo grass in this planter....more on this surprisingly tough plant coming up in the next several days.....

It's always a great idea to invest in pots.  When you have extra plants, like for example from the spider plant, you should take the "babies" off the mother plants and place them in pots or around your property.  I have also done this with the agave pups and cacti segments.  While this freeze was devastating for a lot of us, I was prepared for it.  The only part that I wasn't ready for was the Jacaranda attack. I didn't have any clones of that tree and so to this day, I still worry about that situation as they aren't cheap to replace. 

Fatsia.  An example of an emergency pot.

The Dancy Tangerine may replace a lemon tree gone sour.

Spider, caladiam, and scheflerra make a perfect tropical combination.

Stay tuned for "Thriller, Filler, Spiller" Part 2 of pots and their purposes.

Whiskey Barrels

Projects. Projects. Projects.  Here is one that I am loving right now.  It's called the Whiskey Barrel project and it is the 3rd and final Spring Project.  This is a great posting on how to start your own cacti garden.  Here are some things I've learned from over the years to keep you from scratching yourself up and how to have a cool cacti garden without it costing a million dollars.  If you live in the desert, it's really easy to do. 

From the picture above, you can see that's I've taken segments of cactus off the mother plant.  Cactus/succulents are very easy to begin, but you need some time to prep them before planting them into a pot or ground.   You could certainly buy them at your home gardening center, but why?  Most of us have friends who have all kinds of cactus in our yards.  So here's what I do.  Several of my friends in Tucson LOVE cacti and euphorbs and all succulents. We get together and take cuttings from each other's yards.  When you take the cuttings from the various cacti, etc, you must do so at the segmented part of the plant.  For example, if you have a prickly pear and want to start another plant, you take a pad or pads carefully off the plant.  Use gloves and metal tongs to grab segmented pieces off the ground so that you don't stick yourself.  Put the pieces in a box.  Let them sit outside or in your garage for a week or two so that the segments can scale over before planting them into the ground.  I've let these sit out for a week and have planted them into several of the whiskey barrels seen below. 

Once you've collected your cacti specimens, you prep your areas for plantings.  I purchased ten whiskey barrels that you'll see me place outside next week.  I mix our poor soil with cactus potting soil and let it settle.  A couple things about putting your cactus into pots or the ground. 

1. Keep your new transplants out of the direct sun for the first year to prevent burn. Weird but true.
2. The larger the segment of cactus/succulent; the longer it may take for it to become established. Smaller/average sized segments have a better chance of succeeding.

I'll show you everything when I'm done.  I have stickers in my hands from doing this but I'm slowly getting one barrel done a day.  I'm on barrel number 5 as of tomorrow. I need to get some more prickly pear pads of the purple nature.  I'm trying to create a purple green contrast with tall and short mixed together.  Several aloe vera and smaller agaves have been planted as well.  We'll see how it all works out:)