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Color Blast
White Birch, European White Birch
Shrimp Pink Aloe
Rock Purslane
Pindo or Jelly Palm, Yatay
Pygmy Date Palm, Roebelin Palm
Fox Tail Agave, Velvet Agave
Amazing Red Flax
Smooth-edged Agave
Kangaroo Paws, Red
Sticks on Fire Pencil Tree
Parasol Aeonium
White Birch, European White Birch

Common name:White Birch, European White Birch
Botanical name:Betula pendula

This medium-size weeping tree will grow to about 40' tall and has a whitish/brown bark with deciduous green leaves. This is one tree that can be planted in a lawn area but is not recommended for drought tolerant designs.

Shrimp Pink Aloe

Common name:Shrimp Pink Aloe
Botanical name:Aloe maculata

This succulent plant will grow about 2' high and has large, greenish/white leaves with orange, pink, and red flowers that bloom in spring and fall.

Rock Purslane

Common name:Rock Purslane
Botanical name:Cistanthe grandiflora 'Jazz Time'

This perennial will grow 12"-36" and produces large blue-green rosettes that last for a long season. It produces large, silky, lavender pink flowers that have lime-green, purple spotted calyces.

Pindo or Jelly Palm, Yatay

Common name:Pindo or Jelly Palm, Yatay
Botanical name:Butia capitata

This slow-growing tree has leaves that vary from bluish gray to green and has round, yellow to orange fruit that is edible and delicious. Arching leaves spread 10'-15' wide; palm can reach 20' tall.

Pygmy Date Palm, Roebelin Palm

Common name:Pygmy Date Palm, Roebelin Palm
Botanical name:Phoenix roebelenii

This tree will grow to about 10' tall and has dark green, spiny petiole foliage. It does well in full sun to heavy shade; it likes moderate to heavy irrigation, but can take periods of dryness.

Fox Tail Agave, Velvet Agave

Common name:Fox Tail Agave, Velvet Agave
Botanical name:Agave attenuata

This Agave has a dramatic tropical form. Even light frost can damage its succulent leaves. It is great for containers. In the low desert, partial sun will be best. If it becomes top heavy, simply cut and stick in the ground to root. It is not a fast grower and has light green foliage. It will also die after flowering but pups around the mother will survive. Distinctive with its large rosette of leaves perched on a long curving trunk, it is a native from Mexico.

Amazing Red Flax

Common name:Amazing Red Flax
Botanical name:Phormium 'Amazing Red'

Phormium 'Amazing Red' is an evergreen perennial. It is a 2' tall, dramatic plant composed of many swordlike, stiffly vertical leaves in a fan pattern. Leaves are dark reddish brown in color.

Smooth-edged Agave

Common name:Smooth-edged Agave
Botanical name:Agave weberi

This is a striking medium-sized Agave that can grow to 5' tall by 6'-10' wide. This agave has very fine marginal teeth and is sometimes spineless. Supplemental summer watering can prevent yellowing from heat stress in the summer. These plants are also moderately cold hardy and tolerant of temperatures down to 12 degrees F. It is more refined looking than americana. It is native in central Eastern Mexico. It is one of the largest of the Agaves.

Kangaroo Paws, Red

Common name:Kangaroo Paws, Red
Botanical name:Anigozanthos hybrids

This tender perennial is a clump-forming evergreen that produces fuzzy, yellow green flowers that bloom in spring and last for over 2 months. Many sizes and varieties are available including yellow and pink flowers.

Sticks on Fire Pencil Tree

Common name:Sticks on Fire Pencil Tree
Botanical name:Euphorbia tirucalli 'Sticks on Fire'

In frost free areas, Euphorbia can become a 30' tree but in colder areas, it is often knocked back by frost. It can be single or multiple trunked. It has green cylindrical branches that are about the diameter of a pencil. Leaves are not usually present. Some people are allergic to the sap. It is tolerant of salt, full sun, part shade and quite drought resistant. It is a great accent plant for a container. This form has yellow or orange branches if in full sun.

Parasol Aeonium

Common name:Parasol Aeonium
Botanical name:Aeonium arboreum

Parasol Aeonium is an upright succulent with rosette leaf clusters. It forms a mound and can be easily propagated by cuttings.

Designer: Laura Dalton

Color Blast

Photographer: GardenSoft

Soils and Compost:

Practice grass-cycling by leaving short grass clippings on lawns after mowing, so that nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil.

Water Saving Tip:

Irrigate in the early morning to minimize evaporation.

Integrated Pest Management:

Develop healthy soil for plants that are vigorous and naturally pest-resistant.