Xtremehorticulture

Acacia longifolia Tolerance to Cold in the Mojave Desert

Q. Would Acacia longifolia do okay in the Las Vegas area? A. San Marcos Growers reports cold hardiness down to 20F so it will take temperatures similar to Myers lemon, a fairly cold hardy citrus. Click for A. longifolia at San Marcos Growers  It is possible it might have dieback during some extremely cold winters but it should re-sprout easily from its base once it has established for one season. Like any Acacia I worry a little bit about allergies from its pollen. It is a rather large plant usually grown as a shrub but I think you could train it into a small tree fairly easily. It should handle our soils with little problems just make sure that you amend the soil at the time of planting with compost. Anyone with experience with this plant?

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Avocados High Risk in Las Vegas Area But If You HAVE to Plant One….

Q. Do you have recommendations/suggestions for new avocado and lime tree plantings for Las Vegas? I currently have a Meyer lemon tree which is doing great. A. I don’t like to recommend lime or avocado for this climate, particularly avocado, unless you have a very warm spot in the landscape that can give off a lot of winter warmth and protection from winter winds.             These plants are very tender during the winter here and the chances of losing them due to winter cold is extremely high. That being said, if you decide to move ahead with a lime then any of the limes would be a good choice depending on your preference. Rangpur and red limes, although cold hardy, are not limes at all but could be used as a substitute. To my knowledge there is little difference in the true limes abilities to make it through the cold here so that would not be a consideration.             As far as the avocado goes, I would select a smaller selection to give it a better chance of surviving. Make sure the rootstock is also cold tolerant or you could lose the roots while the top did not freeze. Here are some recommended cold hardy varieties from a Texas website: http://toptropicals.com/html/toptropicals/articles/fruit/varieties_avocado.htm Cold hardy varieties: Brazos Belle: Produces medium-large, purple-black long fruit. Season: October-November. Fantastic: Produces green, paper thin skin, supposedly the most most cold hardy of all. The fruit has a creamy texture. Joey: Selected by Joey Ricers in Uvalde, Texas (just outside of San-Antonio). Produces medium size, egg shaped purple-black fruit. It has excellent flavor. Heavy bearer. Season: September-October. Lila: Produces medium size, green fruit. Season: September-October. Don’t confuse this variety with Lula, which is popular Florida variety and commonly used for rootstock. (Lula is cold hardy to 25F) Poncho: Produces medium to large green fruit. Cold hardy to 15F

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