Goes to show there's much, much more to know about gardening. I thought moving to the desert means growing cacti and nothing else. Found out that Phoenix is in USDA zone 9-10, not that different from Silicon Valley, just much drier.When we were here 15 years ago, we had 4 kinds of citrus and two kinds of palms in the yard that were doing just great so I know they are good in this climate. And I had planted a Jamium Nitidum (Angel Wing Jasmine) by my front door that was doing great. It's really fragrant.
There's a great nursery here for RARE and EXOTIC tropical fruits and plants:
Tropica Mango
They have guavas. I nursed a guava cutting for 2 years on my windowsill in California. It got to be about 2 feet tall. Had to give it to a friend because there was no room in the car to bring it, but NOW, I can buy a TREE that lives outside!!!!!!
The little house we're renting now has a palm that's making dates. Great!
All I have to do now is to buy a house with room for a garden, and learn how to manage drip systems. Spraying water in 100 degree temperature is wasteful and not effective. Half of it evaporates and only increases the humidity by a bit. With the zillions of pools here, you'd think the overall humidity would increase.
Stay tuned. I hope to buy a house (with a garden) in the next months.
