Jessie Byrd with the Native Plant Nursery in Pima County says it’s mostly due to overwatering. Palo verdes can grow quickly, but these growth spurts lead to weaker bark.
“If people buy a nice palo verde or there's one in their yard they tend to water it a lot to make it grow faster,” Byrd said. “And when that happens the wood becomes really really weak and so it’s not a tough, strong, slow desert tree.”
Byrd also recommends gradually moving irrigation lines farther and farther away from the trunk of the tree.
This allows the roots to grow deeper and out farther, strengthening the base and reducing the likelihood that it will fall in strong winds.
“It's good to try and encourage native plants but part of why they have problems is the way that we treat them, so I always encourage people to use a wild plant but also try and treat it like a wild plant,” she said.
-
Through KJZZ's Q&AZ project, a listener recently asked: How can I support Phoenix’s Safe Outdoor Space through volunteering or donations? -
Through our Q&AZ reporting project, we received a question about a small southern Arizona community with a peculiar name. We applied the 5 W’s to try to find out: Why is Why named Why? -
The 1980 Groundwater Management Act established Arizona’s first four AMAs — Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson and Pinal. -
Despite residents’ best intentions, there remains widespread confusion about the do’s and don’ts in metro Phoenix cities. Here's a look at rules of recycling throughout the Valley. -
Did you know The Gorilla was born by accident? It started with a singing telegram that was supposed to be delivered to a fan at a Phoenix Suns game.
