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.
Common name:Century Plant, Maguey
Botanical name:Agave americana
This plant is fast growing to about 6'-10' tall and 8'-13' wide. Wide gray leaves have stiff terminal spines and recurved teeth on margins. It prefers full sun and well-drained situations. After blooming, which could take several years, it will die but will send up new pups from around the base. Some people are allergic to the sap. Removal is difficult if unwanted.
Common name:Rocky Point Ice Plant
Botanical name:Malephora lutea
Succulent, bright green leaves provide a lush backdrop for yellow daisy flowers. It blooms off and on nearly all year with short breaks in winter and summer. It grows to about 10" tall and 3'-4' wide. It can burn back in very hot summer but regrows quickly.
Common name:Jade Plant
Botanical name:Crassula ovata
Crassula ovata is an evergreen shrub that grows to 2' to10' tall and 3' to 6' wide with light green leaves. It like full sun, low watering, and will live in any type of well drained soil.
Photographer: GardenSoft
Practice grass-cycling by leaving short grass clippings on lawns after mowing, so that nutrients and organic matter are returned to the soil.
Check your irrigation controller once a month, and adjust as necessary.
Most plants require only one-third as much water in winter as they do in summer.
Attract, or buy beneficial insects such as ladybugs and lacewings to control pest outbreaks in your garden.
