How to prevent frost damage to plants in Arizona
Many people are surprised when they learn it gets cold enough in Phoenix to cause frost! Quite often between December and early into March nighttime temperatures can drop below freezing which can damage plants and trees if you do not take the proper precautions. Below are some general rules and guidelines to follow to help protect your landscape.
1. Understand which plants and trees are sensitive to frost. Some of the most common choice plants for our clients are frost sensitive are Pigmy Date Palms, Hibiscus (all types), Sissoo Trees, Ficus Trees (all types), Cacti (some types) and Bougainvillea (all types). Citrus trees are a popular choice in Arizona and also frost sensitive. If your plants are new or your yard was recently landscaped, you will need to protect your plants.
2. If you choose to have plants that are sensitive to frost as part of your landscape, you should try to plant them in places that would help minimize frost damage. Placing plants on the South or west sides of your property or next to rock or concrete structures that will retain heat from the sun are the best choice for plant placement. Read more…
Happy 4th of July!
Fourth of July is one of the holidays where Unique’s projects and special features are most appreciated by our clients (and their families!). We hope you are all swimming, grilling, entertaining and enjoying the spoils of your Unique custom backyard this weekend!
We wish everyone a very HAPPY and SAFE holiday!
- The Unique Team
Summer Recipes: Blueberry Banana Lemon Muffins
Did reading that make your mouth water? It should! These muffins are SUPER moist, fresh, light with a crunchy topping and make for a delicious summer time morning treat! One of my favorite muffin recipes, courtesy of thedragonskitchen.com.
Summer Recipes: The Perfect Salad Dressing
Summer is always a great time for entertaining friends and family, pool parties and cookouts. Many people like to eat ‘lighter’ with the heat and that means more salads and veggies.
I don’t know about you but I tend to get bored with the common types of salad dressings (Italian, French, etc.)
Have you ever been to a restaurant and ordered salad with “house” dressings that have left your palette craving more? I have. Unfortunately, you never leave with the recipe! This is one of those dressings. Light and tangy, it is unique and the perfect addition to any salad (and great with grilled chicken). Enjoy!
In a bowl (or processor) combine:
1 small white or yellow onion finely grated or chopped
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard (be sure the mustard is not ‘clumpy’ when adding to the liquid or you’ll have a hard time getting it to separate)
salt to taste or no salt (I don’t use salt)
Mix well!
Whisk in 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
How to protect your trees from Monsoon wind damage
The Monsoon Season in Arizona typically spans from about mid June through the end of September. With the Monsoon come heavy rains, violently shifting winds, a spectacular display of thunder and lighting, and high humidity.
The Arizona Monsoon also brings with it dust storms, and damaging “downbursts.” A “down burst” is a strong “vortex ring” of a vertically rotating circle of air. At the base of a downburst are heavy outward bursts of wind near the earth’s surface. It is the wind of the Monsoon that cause the most damage to trees and as a result, property.
The heavy rains of the Monsoon make trees especially susceptible to downing as the soil is over saturated. When the high winds come, even the healthiest tree can easily be uprooted.
How to care for your pool during Monsoon Season in Arizona
In Arizona, we experience what is known as Monsoon, a season that is characterized by high temperatures, high winds, and high moisture, resulting in potentially deadly weather. Serious damage can occur from these high winds, or from debris being tossed by those high winds.
Monsoon season typically starts around June 15 and lasts until September 30th. Here are some tips to help keep your pool properly maintained during this season.
It is essential to check your pool after a Monsoon storm. The following preventative measure should be performed even if you have your pool regularly maintained by a pool service company.
Choosing proper plants for your landscape in Phoenix
Phoenix Arizona’s climate is characterized by low to medium moisture during the wet months and hot dry summers. This type of climate can make it difficult for homeowners to know and choose proper plants for their Phoenix Arizona landscape.
Generally you will want a healthy combination of shade trees, flowery shrubs, ground cover and accent pieces. The following are suggestions from each of these categories to enhance and improve your Phoenix Arizona landscape.
Plants that will thrive in your Phoenix Arizona Landscape
Trees provide the greatest benefits in your Phoenix landscape and will be the largest plants as well.
Phoenix Swimming Pool Maintenance Tips
With temperatures on the rise in Phoenix and swimming season upon us, here are some swimming pool maintenance tips on how to keep your swimming pool clean and its equipment functioning at its best. You can also spare yourself the expense of having to pay a Phoenix pool service company to maintain it for you. These swimming pool maintenance tips will help you to prevent some common problems that most Phoenix homeowners run into when trying maintain their pools.
Spring Landscaping Phoenix: Bermuda Grass
Bermuda grass is a perennial grass that loves the warm sunny climate of Arizona making it the top choice for Phoenix lawn landscaping. Bermuda Grass grows easily from planted seed or sod and its creeping growth pattern provides excellent coverage. Maintenance and mowing of Bermuda grass is moderate adding to the benefits of using this grass for your lawn. Proper transitioning will allow you to spend more time enjoying your lawn and less time maintaining it.
All varieties of Bermuda grass turn straw-colored and become dormant during winter months. Bermuda grass recovers rapidly in the Spring and begins producing shoots when nighttime temperatures remain above 60 degrees for several days and the soil reaches a temperature of 65 degrees at a depth of 4 inches. It generally takes 80+ consistent day highs in temperatures to achieve this level of temperature in the soil.
Ryegrass is typically used in Phoenix landscaping for the winter. To ensure the full and rapid re growth of Spring Bermuda you should accelerate the death of Ryegrass by letting it dry out in early May. Two weeks without watering is usually sufficient to kill the Ryegrass. After the Ryegrass has turned brown, resume watering to encourage the Bermuda out of dormancy.
Phoenix Mist System Maintenance
Before the Summer months temperature arrives in Phoenix, you will want to hook up the your mister lines and test the pump and/or water supply and make sure that your system is working properly. Be sure to examine your mist system lines for any kind of leaks. If you are using stainless steel mister lines, leaks shouldn’t be a problem. Inspect the joints and connectors of your Phoenix mister system for leaks. If your system has plastic lines, you’ll want to inspect all of your mister lines for cracks and breaks. These can occur due to the dry atmosphere and colder temperatures that occur during Phoenix winters.
The next thing to do is to make sure the mister system nozzles aren’t blocked. Many regions in Arizona and the Phoenix area contain hard water which means the Phoenix mister nozzles may possibly be clogged by mineral deposits (such as Lime and Calcium). It might be possible to just clean the debris off of the top of the nozzle but if the deposits are in the mister nozzle hole, you will have to find something small enough to poke through whatever is clogging the mister nozzle. Be careful not to enlarge the original hole! Many times it is easier to just replace all of the mist nozzles as it usually takes less time than attempting to clear out each nozzle. Also, the cost of misting nozzles is reduced when if you decide to purchase them in bulk.
