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Q : We’ve just moved to the northern Arizona desert . It ’s very wry and windy , with freezing night in the winter . We could really use some hedgerow , but I ’m not sure what to plant.—Clara Soto , Page , Ariz.
A : strong nothingness , scant rainfall , and harsh sunlight are your giving challenge — not the cold . If you could ply trickle irrigation to counter the dry out burden of these elements , there are lots of plants to play with . Steer clear-cut of the old standbys — photinia , Nipponese Turkish boxwood , firethorn , and privet — that landscape gardener in your area routinely recommend despite their need for regular pruning and unremitting watering . Instead , adjudicate some of the more adventurous options that your comparatively mild winters let ( you ’re in USDA cold - hardiness zona 8) . Use plants that have naturally adapted to survive long periods in wry land .
For a strikingly tall , formal hedging , set the true and narrow-minded Italian cypress , Cupressus sempervirens‘Stricta ’ or blue - light-green Glauca ’ ( USDA zone 7–9 ) , or Rocky Mountain juniper , Juniperus scopulorum‘Skyrocket , ’ ‘ Gray Gleam , ’ or ‘ Blue Haven ’ ( zone 3–7 ) . All these trees stay dense and columnar without shearing , though they will finally overshoot the 6- or 8 - foot top that most of us have in judgment when we conceive hedgerow . A wise pick for an informal hedging that ’s prosperous to restrict to the 6- or 8 - foundation limit is cliff rose , Cowania mexicana(zones 4–7 ) . fleece its sides once a class , and thin out honest-to-goodness Mrs. Henry Wood as needed to restore the plant and control its height . Cliff rose never lose all of its diminished gray - green leaves , and it is boneheaded with fragrant yellow prime in spring , followed by sparser yet stiff blooms all summer ( when it ’s school as a hedge , this native shrub really blooms more profusely than it does in the wild ) . The flower then become attractive plumes . A closelipped relative , Apache - plume , Fallugia paradoxa(zones 3–10 ) , has white-hot flowers and even lush plumes , though its ripe tiptop is about 4 foot .
If you have room for a larger , looser planting — more of a hedge than a hedge — Arizona cypress , Cupressus arizonica(zones 6–9 ) , may be just the slate . This cypress is fairly short for a tree , at last about 18 feet across at the base and 25 to 30 feet tall , and it forms a sturdy screen and shelterbelt . Pinyon pine , Pinus edulis(zones 5–8 ) , which eventually progress to a top of roughly 20 groundwork , is a ok alternative . Growth is dim : less than 6 inches a yr without watering .
During their first 6 months in the ground , all the plants I ’ve recommended should be irrigated on a regular basis with a drip mold course to facilitate them adjudicate in . From then on they will thrive with little auxiliary irrigation . Cliff arise and Apache - plume are happiest subsisting on rain alone , but the rest of these plant will grow faster with every extra drop you give them .
