Desert Landscaping: How to Start and Maintain a Healthy Landscape in the SouthwestGeorge Brookbank has distilled nearly twenty years' experienceÑas an extension agent in urban horticulture with the University of ArizonaÑinto a practical book that tells how to avoid problems with desert landscaping before they occur and how to correct those that do. In the first part, "How to Start and Maintain a Desert Landscape," he provides 28 easy-to-use chapters that address concerns ranging from how to start a wildflower garden to how to cope with Texas root rot. In Part Two, "A Month-By-Month Maintenance Guide," he offers a handy almanac that tells what to do and what to watch out for each month of the year, with cross-references to the chapters in Part One. Homeowners who maintain their own landscape will find in this book ways to make the work more satisfying and productive, while those who hire landscape contractors can make sure the work is done effectively and economically. "You'll find all kinds of books on desert landscape design and materials, irrigation system and design, and landscape installation," says Brookbank. "So far as I know, however, this is the only book that tells you what to do with what you've got and how to keep it growing." CONTENTS Part 1 - How to Start and Maintain a Desert Landscape 1. Desert Conditions: How They Are "Different" 2. Plants Are Like People: They're Not Alike 3. Use Arid-Land Plants to Save Water 4. How to Irrigate in the Desert 5. How to Design and Install a Drip Irrigation System 6. Soils and Their Improvement I: How to Plant in the Desert 7. Soils and Their Improvement II: How to Use Fertilizers 8. What to Do When Things Go Wrong: A Troubleshooter's Guide 9. How to AvoidÑand RepairÑFrost Damage 10. How to Control "Weeds" 11. Palo Verde Borer Beetle: What to Do 12. How to Avoid Texas Root Rot 13. When You Move Into an Empty House 14. What to Do About Roots in Drains 15. How to Dig Up Plants and Move Them 16. How to Have Flower Bed Color All Year 17. Landscape Gardening with Containers 18. Starting Wildflowers 19. Starting a Lawn 20. Making and Keeping a Good Hedge 21. Pruning Trees and Shrubs 22. Palm Tree Care 23. Caring for Saguaros, Ocotillos, Avages, and Prickly Pears 24. Roses in the Desert: Hard Work and Some Disappointments 25. Landscaping with Citrus 26. Swimming Pools: Plants, Play, and Water-Saving 27. Landscape Maintenance While You're Away 28. Condominiums: Common Grounds, Common Problems Part 2 - A Month-by-Month Maintenance Guide |
Contents
How They Are Different | 4 |
Theyre Not Alike 10 | 11 |
Use AridLand Plants to Save Water | 17 |
How to Irrigate in the Desert | 25 |
How to Design and Install a Drip Irrigation System | 33 |
How to Plant in the Desert | 43 |
How to Use Fertilizers | 51 |
A Troubleshooters Guide | 62 |
What to Do About Roots in Drains | 109 |
How to Dig Up Plants and Move Them | 113 |
How to Have Flower Bed Color All Year | 118 |
Landscape Gardening With Containers | 126 |
Starting Wildflowers | 133 |
Starting a Lawn | 137 |
Making and Keeping a Good Hedge | 147 |
Pruning Trees and Shrubs | 155 |
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agave Aleppo pine ammonium phosphate ammonium sulphate aphids apply arid-land plants beetle Bermudagrass branches brown buds caliche cause Chapter chemicals citrus citrus trees cold color container cool damage dead deep desert plants desert soils desert trees Diazinon diseases dormant drain drainage drip irrigation drip system emitters fall fertilizer flower beds foliage freeze frost frost-tender fruit fungus garden give grass green ground growth grubs heat hedge hole inches insects kill lawn leaf leaves look moisture month nitrogen nursery nutrients ocotillo palm tree phosphate prickly pear pruning paint quickly remove roses ryegrass saguaro salts seed shade shoots shrubs soil probe spray spring sprinkler stalks steer manure sure tell temperatures Texas root rot there's things thrips tree's trees and shrubs trimmed trunk tubing twigs warm weather weedkilling weeds week wildflowers wind winter