NEVER Remove These Plants from Your Arizona Yard! Here’s Why!

You can tell when someone moves to Arizona from another state. They often try to bring they're home landscaping skills to the desert.

Removing native desert plants in favor of water-thirsty lawns, trees, and other foliage that may grow well in Ohio or California can have disastrous effects on the arid landscape. Not only do they require a great deal of water, they also disrupt our native pollinators.

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Encouraging Desert Pollinators in Arizona

Gardening in the desert Southwest is easy if you adapt your habits to Arizona, rather than trying to adjust your favorite plants to our state's conditions. Clean up your property, plant low-water use, drought-tolerant plants, or better yet, leave the native plants where you find them.

The Best Places to Find Arizona’s Secret Blooms this Spring!

These six desert plants are often mistaken for weeds. Savvy gardeners know that they're actually the unsung heroes of the Arizona-Sonora Desert ecosystem, and they support pollinators like you wouldn't believe.

Desert Broom

Take Desert Broom (Baccharis sarothroides), for example. This hardy plant is a pioneer species. It thrives in disturbed soils and blooms wildly in the fall when nectar in other plants is scarce. This creates vital fuel for our pollinators, such as bees and butterflies.

Desert Globemallow

Desert Globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) isn’t just a splash of orange roadside color. It's a nursery for essential desert pollinators. The Desert Globemallow is a larval host for butterflies and a year-round source of nectar for native bees.

Broom Snakeweed

Broom Snakeweed (Gutierrezia sarothrae) might look scraggly, but it’s a keystone species. This little powerhouse supports over forty species of bees and 15 butterfly species. It has another secret: the broom snakeweed's flowers only release pollen when they're vibrated by visiting bees.

Desert Marigold

Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata) is a constant, reliable pollinator. It blooms almost year-round, and native bees and dainty Sulphur butterflies love it. This cute little flower is also great for erosion control and will thrive in your low-maintenance landscape.

Fairy Duster

Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) adds whimsy to any yard with its pink puffball blooms that attract hummingbirds and bees alike.

This Creature is on the Move Now in Arizona: Know What to Do?

Creostoe Bush

And Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata) is the desert’s signature scent after rain and a nectar source for solitary bees and beetles.

These "weeds" are essential plants that form a resilient, low-water habitat that can keep our pollinators buzzing and help the desert thrive.

Sources: Pollinator Web | Arizona Sonora Desert Museum | USDA | UA Cooperative Extension