Arid Planet Botanicals

06/29/2025

It’s rough out here in Las Vegas landscapes! ☠️😝

04/15/2025

Don’t you love it when people offer free wood or free trees that are 50 feet tall, but you have to remove them and haul all the trash away? 🤝

04/07/2025

This weekend! Downtown Las Vegas neighborhood yard sale. Don’t miss it!

03/26/2025

Cactus N Coffee Buenos días!

03/23/2025

At the Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Cal State Fullerton. This place is incredible! I have too many pictures and videos for one post.
# Beaucarnearecurvata

03/21/2025

If you walk outside and it smells like ass crack, it could be your upper lip, or it could be a Bradford pear tree.

03/21/2025

This is worth a read. The terrible mismanagement of trees in Las Vegas needs to stop

The Myth of Tree Topping:
"It’s like a haircut – sometimes it’s necessary and a tree can always grow out of a bad one"

The Myth
Since plant scientists and arborists unanimously agree that tree topping is an unjustifiable tree management practice, I assumed that the word had trickled down to practitioners and their customers. Yet this summer, like every year before, brought a new crop of buzz-cut trees. It also brought a new crop of excuses (culled
from the internet):
• “I want to trim the top branches off a 75' tall maple because it’s causing excess shade in my yard.
I want the tree to live, but just be smaller.”
• “I wouldn't make the sweeping generalization that all tree topping is bad…Locals here whack their weeping willows every few years and those trees seem to relish the opportunity to fill out again.”
• “It is necessary for the electric company to top trees that grow into the power lines.”
• “The trees look like hell for a while but seem to get used to the treatment.”

The Bottom Line
• Tree topping is never a justifiable pruning practice; it increases tree health problems and is aesthetically unappealing
• A topped tree will require constant maintenance and has an increased potential to become hazardous
• Hazardous trees are a liability and ultimately the property owner is responsible for any damage
hazard trees cause
• Certified arborists and other legitimate landscape professionals do not practice tree topping
• There are acceptable pruning techniques designed to keep trees away from power lines and other structures
• If problems caused by a tree cannot be solved through acceptable management practices, the tree should be removed and replaced with plant material more appropriate for the site
• Think about the mature size of a tree and where it will grow relative to power lines and other structures before you plant it
https://wpcdn.web.wsu.edu/wp-puyallup/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/tree-topping.pdf
via Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor,
Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University
Image via nfs.unl.edu

03/18/2025

This is a beautiful free green space in the town center of Carefree, Arizona. It has wide, accessible walkways, lots of trees, and beautiful cactus specimens of all kinds! Whenever I see public spaces like this, I can’t help but think about how far behind downtown Las Vegas is. We hardly have any safe, walkable areas that don’t require you to spend money to be there. Yes, I’m jealous of Carefree, Arizona. Look at how gorgeous it is!

Do you think we have enough pedestrian friendly green spaces in Downtown Las Vegas?

03/17/2025

You can find all my links here:

03/14/2025

Click the link to find out if your address is eligible for free trees. Help increase the urban canopy in our city. 🌳

Community Canopy and Energy-Saving Trees are program partnership opportunities that combine trees with an interactive web experience to help homeowners & communities save energy and money by strategically planting trees to maximize their environmental benefits.

03/12/2025

Cat Claw Acacia. Wait-A-Minute Bush. Senegalia greggii, formerly Acacia greggii. It’s amazing that I was able to see this plant out and about in the city since it isn’s most people’s first choice in landscape plants. This guy was is thriving in a parking lot with no irrigation. Some people may think there’s nothing special about this plant, or that it isn’t particularly beautiful, but I disagree. It is native to our region and an important source of food for local wildlife.

With a maximum height of 10-15 feet and a max width of 15-20 feet, this would be a great tree for a small area so long as it is far enough away from where humans and animals pass by. The thorns are like cat claws. They are sharp and will snag your clothes or rip your skin open. Believe me I know!

You can leave it shrubby or prune it to look more like a tree. I love this thing! Under rated, bullet proof plant!

Do you like this tree/ shrub?