At our Arizona place we are like you are in the summer. I had cacti and succulents burning in summer and freezing in winter. We finally made a pergola for them, and they've been happy ever since. Several years we've been down to 18 degrees F there. With the pergola I don't have to cover plants in winter. That was a huge pain.

In NM we have summers up to 103F and we have had winters down to -14F. That one broke a few pipes! Right now the lows are in the 20's and highs in the 40's to 50's. It's hard to find plants that can grow here and not be eaten by the critters. That's the main reason I now have a small greenhouse so I can grow tropicals and a salsa garden with tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro.

I forgot to say that we are also 9b in Arizona and that 7b is for our NM place.

Good Morning!

Ahhh 9B here in AZ so I don't have to 'educate' you on our weather. NM was an education for me weather wise based on what you shared. Minus 14 F Brrrrr! Too cold for my blood!
Your summers sound ideal though. What are your favorites in NM to grow and your favorites in AZ?

Obviously by name, I'm partial to Agaves and Aloes but am looking for those that can take full strong sun. What are you having real good luck with?

Congrats on your salsa manufacturing green house! Most excellent. Do you bottle and send the stuff out?

AG

I don't have too many agaves and aloes in AZ. I've mostly other hardy cacti like opuntias, mesquite and Palo Verde trees, orange bells, cassia, and a few eucalyptus and olive trees. I'm done planting there because we hope to be full time in NM soon. In NM I can't plant much outdoors until we get our deer fencing. They won't eat the wormwoods (artemesia) so I've planted those. I also have pyracantha and they don't eat that. My greenhouse is my main planting area right now.
Ha, no I haven't bottled my salsa yet, but it is yummy!

Hello how is everyone doing today? already at post 104

Cool tree variety! Especially love olive trees. This climate is ideal as I've seen quite a few thrive. We don't live to far from an olive orchard/mill/little restaurant type of thing. Very nice. No deer in the desert just jack rabbits that like to take bites out of prickly pears on occasion! YIKES.

Green house would be nice for winter's here. In the summer I'm afraid everything would be reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes.

I think it's great we're at post #104! Means we're not boring and everyone seems to 'like' us. We get gold stars because we can work and play well together.

Gotta get ready for the day but heard 2 great quotes:
"I have a rock garden. Three of them died." (unattributed)
and "Never go to a doctor whose office plants are dying." (Erma Bombeck).

Have a great day all.
AG

Deer get hungry and do eat my prickly pears and chollas in NM. They even ate a Nerium oleander I planted! It was about 3 feet high, and they ate it down to the ground. I haven't found any dead deer, but I bet some of them aren't feeling well.

Olives do well, but if you ever want one, get the non-fruiting variety. Ours was planted in the 70's and they are a mess unless we spray them off when they're forming. I did process the olives one year back in the 70's. It was quite a process, and my bathtub was full of crocks of olives in brine. They actually were very good but it was a lot of work and I haven't done it since!

Most greenhouses in AZ use a swamp cooler, or evaporative cooler wall made from PVC drip pipes dripping down a wall with a fan on it.

Adam, the thread is moving right along!

AgaveGirl have you tried Agave salmiana yet? It is good down to 5 degrees and loves the blasting sun, at least for me in Texas it has done really well.

Do any of you know this one? I had it for one year. It bloomed beautifully, then deer ate on it, and it died.

Esperanza,
A. salmiana is a beauty!
I'll have to look for one. I just won't tell the husband the thing will get the size of a mini van For some reason he seems to an aversion to plants that get larger than people, automobiles and 2nd story houses. Considering the modest size of our front yard I don't understand why?

Since you've grown this plant yourself how fast does it grow? I'd kind of like something that gets big or somewhat mature in a relatively quick amount of time the way my Octopus Agaves have. Does it pup as bad as all the other Century Plants or is it manageable? For some reason this plant looks considerable shorter than the A. Americana and seems less foreboding in terms of terminal spines and sharp edges. This makes it seem very appealing in terms that it could be de-pupped without so much collateral damage to one's self.

I'm going to have to look for this lovely! Good suggestion. So far I'm liking it.

Plantmanager,
So sorry I can't identify the cute little plant. I feel really bad it got eaten because it was a very pretty specimen.

Most likely Baja or mcvansoest could give a good identification. You may want to ask them. I've learned so much from them in 6 months so I usually bow to them in regards to identification, plant Latin names, growing tips and care.

AG

A. salmiana has been somewhat slow for me but I first plopped them down on bedrock with maybe only two inches of soil on the edge of a cliff. They were small pups the size of my hand two and a half years ago when they were given to me. I have never watered them at that spot. One that I have moved to a more hospitable location has doubled its 12"x12" size in a few months. So I would say it could go either way depending on care and conditions. I have only seen one pup form in that time and it is about a foot and a half away from the mother plant.

Karen, I do not know what that is but the flowers are fabulous.

Karen, I do not know what that is but the flowers are fabulous.[/quote]
They were fabulous, and I'd like to find it and try it again, this time with some metal mesh protection from the deer.

Good morning guys!

Esperanza I'll definitely be on the look out for the A. salmiana. Sounds perfect for my back yard which I have nick named the lake of fire! The only time it is even partially shady is in the winter. Summer it looks like a swimming pool filled with blazing sun.
Did you pick yours up at a certain store or if you just started with pups do you know where the person who gave you the pups purchased the parent plant from originally?

For us here it looks like the 'freezing' temps are over.
I can finally leave the plants uncovered at night from here on out according to the weather forecast. I'll keep my eye peeled but usually at 36 and above the chance for frost is unlikely. Also there's no rain either so the plants will have plenty of time to warm up and dry out from the soaking we had earlier this month.

My husband is thrilled in that I can now empty my 'temporary' (I promised ) sun room and start putting the potted plants out on the patio. End of February I'll plant a couple of them.

Does anyone know much about Dragon Fruit plants? I've been given a small piece of one quite a few months ago. It is still green and looks fine so it isn't dead. It just looks like it hasn't grown at all. I mean not a millimeter. I think they like the intense heat and sun don't they? Please tell me before I fry the little thing. I don't want to do that as I've always wanted this plant and they are hard to find here and quite expensive when you do!

Have a good day,
AG

Karen, that is a nice looking plant. It looks like a mesemb (ice plant, Aizoaceae) but I couldn't tell you more than that.

AgaveGirl1 said:Esperanza,
A. salmiana is a beauty!

Plantmanager,
So sorry I can't identify the cute little plant. I feel really bad it got eaten because it was a very pretty specimen.

Most likely Baja or mcvansoest could give a good identification. You may want to ask them. I've learned so much from them in 6 months so I usually bow to them in regards to identification, plant Latin names, growing tips and care.

AG

@baja_costero and @mcvansoest can you please help us with IDing this plant, if you can?

Oop! It looks like we cross posted. Thanks for your help, Baja.

Baja_Costero said:Karen, that is a nice looking plant. It looks like a mesemb (ice plant, Aizoaceae) but I couldn't tell you more than that.

It does look a bit like a mesemb . I need to keep better plant records. I got it from High Country Gardens about 8 years ago. Maybe I can find a way to email them and ask about it.

Hello AgaveGirl1, I do not grow dragon fruit, but I know it likes hot and humid conditions. If you can grow Epiphyllums, maybe you can try dragonfruit, but you have to protect it from your very intense sun and be misting it a lot. I know it thrives quite well down in SoCal and to Mexico.

Our weather here is going back to rainy on and off..looking forward it seems we will still get low 30's, so I really have to be patient before I dare bring out my succulents hiding indoors. So tempting to bring them out though, with the 50's as high and the lows at 40's..but the air is rather cool, there is snow in the upper elevations here, so we get the very cool air in the valley.

AgaveGirl1 said:Good morning guys!

Esperanza I'll definitely be on the look out for the A. salmiana. Sounds perfect for my back yard which I have nick named the lake of fire! The only time it is even partially shady is in the winter. Summer it looks like a swimming pool filled with blazing sun.
Did you pick yours up at a certain store or if you just started with pups do you know where the person who gave you the pups purchased the parent plant from originally?
AG

I will take a picture of the little pup for you. If you are interested it is yours. My friend got it from a man in Texas that has a private exotic animal ranch and had a thing for agaves as well. In full sun all day they are more grey/blue and the ones a little protected are a deep emerald green. The little pup is in the full sun in two inches or less of poor soil.

Esperanza.......How nice of you!!! I sure would appreciate the pup, hopefully I can make it thrive in some good soil in a pot as a patio plant the first year and next put it in the ground. It is quite a beautiful plant.

I'd have to make sure to give some shade or at least some shade tenting so it can keep its pretty green color! As for the heat, I think it would be happy and so would I...a plant that won't fry or die in it!

Please let me know if there's a something I have that you like or want or that I can find for you. I'll be happy to send it.

Tarev...Thanks for the info on the Dragon Fruit. Humid I don't have but heat I do. Again I think I might be able to keep it on my patio until it gets bigger and then have some place in the yard I can find appropriate for it. It doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get out of its pot anytime soon and has room to grow there.

Your weather sounds like it is colder than ours. Tonight is 34 degrees and I may cover only a few select plants rather than all. Tomorrow though and from the extended forecast in January it is going to be 36 to 42 at night. Our days are still in the mid 50s and low 60s which is a bit below norm for us. Rain has pretty much gone away and I haven't seen any forecasted.

As I said in another week or two my indoor plants are going to be going out on the patio and soon there after some of into the ground for a nice spring and getting prepped for our summer. Hopefully you guys will dry out soon and you can get back to putting your succulents out.