March 1st ...Equals the start ...of Spring, 2025

May 8

More " On the road " finds...

Tamarindus indica. Hard to capture while moving but both are flowering.. May check on the 2nd specimen later for developing pods.. Weird how a neighbor's won't flower < that i've ever seen > / set any fruit yet it has been in the ground over 15 years ..but these smaller ones are at least flowering.

1st is in the same neighborhood w/ the other trees mentioned below specimen #2..

2nd is in another neighborhood a couple miles away.. Hard to capture perfectly while moving, but you can see flowers / inflos on the ends of the branches, as well as along some of them ..A tell tale sign there are Tamarinds.

Slightly bronzed from this past winter, but, otherwise fine Cassia fistula ( far left ), a few Plumeria, and Delonix regia..

...And across the street, behind the decent sized Cassia fistula and ..what i originally thought might be Ficus religiosa, but may be Hibiscus tiliaceus. House w/ the Cassia / Royal Poinciana above has the same tree planted. Checking on these again because if Sea Mahoe / Hibiscus ...or whatever you wanna call it, these would be the 1st specimens i've seen -w/ my own eyes- anywhere here in AZ.

P0urple Plum behind it can be put out of it's misery now, lol.

..Another Delonix r., kinda hidden, a few doors down..

Another house w/ numerous Plumeria a few miles away..

Currently dormant, assumed Albizia lebbeck nearby.. Fat trunks behind it are CA Fans.

May 8

NOID Columnar Spiny - armed thing...

Yucca rigida chunkster lurking in a currently overgrown and vacant property..

Ipomoea carnea peeking over a wall elsewhere.. House has several more planted around their yard.

May 11

Up and down Wx pattern over the past few weeks = good enough for some early flowers on Antigonon leptopus

Last of the current flower cycle on the little dude out front.. Bee Fly fam. sp. enjoying it.. Go figure little dude is also full of developing fruit. We'll see if they hang on and fully develop, or abort.

Mandevilla x " Blutopia " showing the " Coral Pink new flowers fading to Blue Violet as they age " tag description of this variety.. Interesting because some of the flowers have opened blue -ish right from the start, rather than going thru the suggested on the tag color change.

Gossypium davidsonii - Guaymas / San Carlos, SON. native.

Gossypium thurberi

Clitoria mariana

Kopsia arborea

Plumeria x JJ Divine = Almost time...

On a special day.. Roses = sent by fam. half in San Jose.. Nymphaea x Colorado, gathered at a local park this morning, after the roses arrived.. 2 contrasting ends of the family spectrum perhaps? ...and yet the colors complement one another.. Flowers are real too...

How 'bout 'dat..

May 15

Echinopsis x Sorceress, caught before the flower completely faded. Foliage in da' shot belongs to Bursera microphylla " Waterman Mtns " form.

Echinocereus rigidissimus var albiflorus

Echinocereus cinerascens

Echinocereus subinermis var. ochoterenae

Bursera silviae flowering nicely this year. Bummer it doesn't have a mate or is a self fertile < Hermaphroditic > specimen.

Year #2 of my Pachycormus discolor flowering..   Wayyy smaller than the possible P. discolor specimen below..

...New found neighborhood Cassia Fistula. Looks like it's top might have been nipped this past Jan ( Another older shot of it looks fuller/ a little taller. Just starting to flower ..Earlier than the ones closest to the house btw, ....and some green on it = shaking off whatever cosmetic damage it might have experienced.

Finally time for an " eyes on it " drive by checking out a arid - themed landscape i'd found on streetview several months ago..

Not exactly sure if it is Pachycormus discolor ...or one of the " common " Bursera you can see planted here... Regardless, an absolute monster. Might?? ( ?? = haven't checked on 'em in some time ) even be larger than the specimen at DBG.

Note the roof line, compared to the top of this thing.. Too cold for these here? ..I think not   ..At all.. Now imagine walking through a grove of them..

Various cacti, and some Ocotillo hiding back there..

BIG Bursera microphylla ..Biggest i've seen yet in a residential setting / landscape here.. Sightings of these ( ..and about a dozen or more other Bursera sps ) in yards / city landscapes should be MUCH more common around the valley..   NOT slow growers, if you know how to get them to move..

Same w/ the Boojum next to it.. ( At least one more hiding below this beast ).

From the look on the street view imagery, thought this broad - leaved tree tucked between the more obvious ones might be a regionally native Ficus   ..F. palmeri or petiolaris perhaps..    ..Turns out, ..its the only Pseudobombax ellipticum specimen i've seen planted anywhere, except near the former location of AZ. Cactus Sales, which was much shorter than this thing.

Just starting to awaken, just like mine at the house but, big and looks reasonably happy too.

Gives me hope for mine / any others that might start appearing around town..

Note the really tall Barrel Cactus nearby..

Bursera?, Cyrtocarpa edulis? ..or an uncommon Fouq. sp??.. Not quite sure but looks like it might have been nipped, or suffered some transplant related shock after being moved recently.. ..but should recover just fine otherwise.. May take a closer look at it once monsoon season gets going.

Excellent Senita ( Lophocereus schottii ) specimen across the street.. All that open space behind it needs filled in, IMO.. More Bursera specimens perhaps..

Neighborhood Royal Poinciana starting to spark.. Junior, on the left, probably has another year or two to go. Same w/ the 3rd specimen in this yard ( Roughly the same size and hidden behind Junior ) .

...As the first flower on Divine opens....

Summer, is coming... :greenthumb:

May 16

On 5/15/2025 at 2:27 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Echinopsis x Sorceress, caught before the flower completely faded. Foliage in da' shot belongs to Bursera microphylla " Waterman Mtns " form.

Echinocereus rigidissimus var albiflorus

Echinocereus cinerascens

Echinocereus subinermis var. ochoterenae

Bursera silviae flowering nicely this year. Bummer it doesn't have a mate or is a self fertile < Hermaphroditic > specimen.

Year #2 of my Pachycormus discolor flowering..   Wayyy smaller than the possible P. discolor specimen below..

...New found neighborhood Cassia Fistula. Looks like it's top might have been nipped this past Jan ( Another older shot of it looks fuller/ a little taller. Just starting to flower ..Earlier than the ones closest to the house btw, ....and some green on it = shaking off whatever cosmetic damage it might have experienced.

Finally time for an " eyes on it " drive by checking out a arid - themed landscape i'd found on streetview several months ago..

Not exactly sure if it is Pachycormus discolor ...or one of the " common " Bursera you can see planted here... Regardless, an absolute monster. Might?? ( ?? = haven't checked on 'em in some time ) even be larger than the specimen at DBG.

Note the roof line, compared to the top of this thing.. Too cold for these here? ..I think not   ..At all.. Now imagine walking through a grove of them..

Various cacti, and some Ocotillo hiding back there..

BIG Bursera microphylla ..Biggest i've seen yet in a residential setting / landscape here.. Sightings of these ( ..and about a dozen or more other Bursera sps ) in yards / city landscapes should be MUCH more common around the valley..   NOT slow growers, if you know how to get them to move..

Same w/ the Boojum next to it.. ( At least one more hiding below this beast ).

From the look on the street view imagery, thought this broad - leaved tree tucked between the more obvious ones might be a regionally native Ficus   ..F. palmeri or petiolaris perhaps..    ..Turns out, ..its the only Pseudobombax ellipticum specimen i've seen planted anywhere, except near the former location of AZ. Cactus Sales, which was much shorter than this thing.

Just starting to awaken, just like mine at the house but, big and looks reasonably happy too.

Gives me hope for mine / any others that might start appearing around town..

Note the really tall Barrel Cactus nearby..

Bursera?, Cyrtocarpa edulis? ..or an uncommon Fouq. sp??.. Not quite sure but looks like it might have been nipped, or suffered some transplant related shock after being moved recently.. ..but should recover just fine otherwise.. May take a closer look at it once monsoon season gets going.

Excellent Senita ( Lophocereus schottii ) specimen across the street.. All that open space behind it needs filled in, IMO.. More Bursera specimens perhaps..

Neighborhood Royal Poinciana starting to spark.. Junior, on the left, probably has another year or two to go. Same w/ the 3rd specimen in this yard ( Roughly the same size and hidden behind Junior ) .

...As the first flower on Divine opens....

Summer, is coming...

Great 🤗.

May 16

On 3/12/2025 at 11:56 PM, Silas_Sancona said:

Sphaeralcea laxa

Beautiful pictures! Some of the flowers are unreal 😍

This one jumped out at me. It looks very similar to a local bush I keep seeing along the freeway here. Is this native to the Mojave desert as well?

May 16

5 hours ago, Jubaea_James760 said:

Beautiful pictures! Some of the flowers are unreal 😍

This one jumped out at me. It looks very similar to a local bush I keep seeing along the freeway here. Is this native to the Mojave desert as well?

Appreciate the :greenthumb:

Species pictured is Caliche Globe Mallow from Southern AZ.

Common Globe Mallow sp. locally is Sphaeralcea ambigua, Desert or Apricot Globe Mallow ( " Apricot " common name is odd -to me at least- because there are several color forms of that species ) Believe it is used by various state Hwy Dept. for reseeding after construction / expansion projects also.

Numerous other Globe Mallow sps as well across the west and some are hard to distinguish from others..

To complicate things, Bush Mallows ( Genus Malacathamnus ) occur out there and look like the pink, white, o rose colored forms of Desert Globemallow, and a couple other Sphaeralcea sps.

Regardless, great plants that are easy to sow ( Fall / Winter ) and require very little extra maintenance once established. Pretty much all i do to mine is give them a haircut once or twice a year.

Caliche G.M. tends to stay shorter than S. ambigua and can rebloom 2 or 3 more times / yr. if conditions are ideal ...or you soak it once or twice between now - October. ..My experiences w/ it at least.

May 18

First of the Mam o' Grahams ( Cochemiea grahamii ) to flower for 2025. C. fraileana is about a day out from it's first flowers opening.

Distimake aureus

Interesting finish for what was a sort of a mystery.. My Thai Purple Jade Adenium had decided to push new growth from just below an assumed graft point. Curious, i allowed the new stuff to continue growing rather than removing..

After -roughly- 1 1/2 years worth of growth, this is the result.. Definitely not Purple Jade but stunning.. Tough to capture just how bright the colors are in it.. Interested to see if the flowers are able to pollinate themselves, or are receptive to pollen from another Adenium specimen.. Yellow flowered specimen is about a day from opening it's first flower for the year. Gonna be fun trying to figure out if it is a named Adenium cultivar or not..

Kopsia arborea with the mass inflo flowering, rather than one or two flowers opening at a time..

May 20

'Hood Delonix flowering ..though not heavily yet. Considering how dry this winter was, would be odd if this weren't a great year for the local trees...

Next largest a few miles away = no flowers yet..

'Hood Cannas..

Cochemiea fraileana.. following in Mam o' Graham's footsteps.

Clitoria mariana.. Really liking the color gradients between newest and oldest aged leaves on these, esp. as the plants themselves get older / larger.. Need to start a few more to fill in this bed with.

Deciding to flowering after you've put out new foliage, instead of right as you do that = ..Well played this year Uncarina peltata..   Well played..

Unkn. cltv. Yellow flowered Adenium..

Late Goodding's Verbena and Desert Marigold..

Conoclinium dissectum < Palmleaf / Gregg's Mistflower > and Bee Fly Genus sp..

One of a couple recently confirmed Tamarindus indica   full of flowers. Now to see if any fruit develops on this specimen over the next few months. Flowers alone = probably start some this summer..   Neighbor's old / much taller Tamarind? Not a flower on it atm..

Another reminder of the constant love / " hate " relationship many of us here have w/ Palo Verde..

Been breezy / windy at times but no storms, yet,   On a perfectly calm afternoon between the last couple windier days, larger section of this Blue P.V. across the street decided to throw in the towel.. No idea why, but... as you can see, ..that ain't a few, smaller branches that came a fallin' down.

Looking at both the remaining section and nekked, tore up stump where a nice green canopy used to be, 8th grade education level tree maintenance is likely the reason for what you see. As a consequence of constant, lazy hacking / lion tailing, rather than occasional trimming to correct any errant growth, that office will no longer have any shade on that side of their building because ..when the landscape guys come out to clean up, entire tree, remaining portion included ( More than likely at least ) will be removed and likely not replaced..

.And yet, the big Blue P.V. just a few feet to the right of this one ..That rarely gets trimmed, ..Yet to see even a twig fall off of it..

Still, wouldn't plant one within 15ft of a house myself.

May 26

Run to the store = quick check on some things on the way to / from ..the store.. ...as the final days of Spring 2025 tick away..

Tallest Royal Poinciana ...anywhere.... in Phoenix ..At least until someone can locate and post shots of a bigger one anywhere in the valley..

If it stands as the largest local specimen out there presently, nice that it is nearby..

Clock is ticking folks..

Some other goodies tucked in there w/ the Poinciana too    ..And no, i'm not talking about the " Gorgeous " queen on the far right in another yard a house or two away in shot #1..

Queen Palms in the desert... LOL.... Hilarious.

Nearby Plumeria specimens as they're reaching peak bloom ..Not sure on the exact cultivar but may be talking to the homeowner about some cuttings ..Like how thick / full
these specimens are.

Smaller Poinciana a couple houses up from the giant.. Not sure it will have flowers on it this year but has recovered well from the frazzling experienced this past January..

Same w/ another pair o' Poinciana located in a yard closer to the house that also experienced a little winter damage this year.

Cassia fistula ( far left ) dropping foliage as it gets ready to flower .. Better look at the center tree in this yard / identical specimen across the street = ..swinging back to Ficus religiosa as an ID.. Hard to see in the shots but distinct vein pattern in the leaves was easy to see while passing by..    Sea Hibiscus leaves lack the same type of leaf veining, and aren't quite as glossy as these..

Largest Royal Poinciana here ..and the other two nearby = no flowers on them -yet- ..Bigger specimen at least.

'Hood Poinciana ..lighting up a little more..

Just when i thought it might skip a year, possible, early hints ..at least one of the branches on San Pedro Du Lac X may try to throw an inflo. this year..

Note the developing gap in the growth tip on this branch

....Compared to how tight the tip looks on this branch..

...We'll see what happens..

Little Dude mid way thru flower cycle #2..   Bigger specimen out there = just a few flowers on it atm..

May 28

G. coulteri at the old house doing it's thing.. Smaller one here is done, for now..

On a side note, After throwing around a few, random flowers over the last few week while the small one out front has already completed 2 flowering cycles, biggest of the " mother" specimens in containers decided it was about time to join the party. Budding up quickly and should light up within a week. Humid and possibly stormy spell over the weekend could speed that up.

Still no clue what cultivar this offshoot section of my " Purple Jade " Adenium is ..and no worries on whether or not it is named. ..is an absolute stunner. Pictures don't capture just how vivid the color is in person.

May 30

Anemopsis californica

" Red Bird Season, " 2025 off to a fiery start..

..A few of the Mex. Yellow Birds getting in on the season too..

Divine on her next flush.. JJ Xanadu about 24 hours from fully opening it's first flower..

In a nod to plant groups grown in the past, time to trial a few Hibiscus again, stand-outs encountered at least.. We'll see if it handles our heat like oldie cultivars like the president, or is yet another, Hibiscus that just can't handle our heat ..despite what the tag says..

...let alone how it responds to being weened off the chem. fert / growth regulator crap a lot of com. growers like to bathe their Hibiscus in.

Regardless, tough to resist that color.. Sizzles in the sun, glows like bright Red Orange embers in shade..

Hibiscus r/s X " Sunset Blvd. "

May 30

6 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

JJ Xanadu about 24 hours from fully opening it's first flower..

Ok, ..so i didn't have to wait until tomorrow.. Flower decided to open this afternoon.. First takes on this cultivar:

* Scent ..faint, but that could be due to the time of day.. ( rare that fragrance from fragrant things carries much during the hottest part of the day here this time of year ) We'll see if it is stronger in the evening / morning / ..as other flowers open.. Banana Cream -ish, with hints of Coconut and Clove..

* " Hooked " petal edges, overall colors in the flower mirror the description of this cultivar from others..

* Six - Petaled flower is an interesting, right out of the gate start.

Purple Jade portion of Adenium Purple Jade. interesting that this inflo popped out right above the graft point. Branch on the right is ..whatever.. the Adenium is that P.J. was grafted to..

Sun..

Backlit..

Shaded...

NOID Yellow Adenium. Note the White splash in the center of the petals / Pink -ish streak in some of them.

Clitoria mariana w/ multiple flowers open at one time.. strong, Sweet Pea -like scent, if you shove your nose into the flowers..