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Ironwood Tree (Olneya tesota)
Ironwood trees are one of the longest living plants in our Southwest deserts. These trees can live as long as 1,500 years!
Ironwood trees have been exploited for many years, due to the long burning wood. (Ironwood is well known as one of the world's most dense woods) Trees are now legally protected on public lands so that future generations may enjoy them.
Ironwood grows from sea level to about 2500 feet and is found only in the Sonoran Desert. Trees may have a single or a branched trunk, and can grow to 45 feet high.
Ironwoods bloom with beautiful lavendar flowers during May, and sometimes into June if temperatures stay cool.
Birds and other desert animals relish the seeds, and the canopy created by such a large tree provides shelter for young plants, nesting and perching sites for birds, and food.
5 seeds:
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Cove's Cassia (Senna covesii)
Cove's Cassia (also known as Desert Senna) is a perennial shrub native to our Southwestern deserts.
A member of the pea family, Desert Senna grows most often in sandy and gravelly washes and open mesas below 3000 feet. It blooms with nearly flourescent yellow flowers from April into May. This is a fantastic plant for xeriscaping, and is often used after wildfires, and as native roadside revegetation.
Shrubs may reach 6 feet if cared for properly. Packet of 25 seeds.
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White Sage AKA Sacred, Grandmother Sage (Salvia apiana)
White sage is a gorgeous, heat tolerant shrub that looks stunning in any garden.
This a the same sage that is used in Native American ceremonies, (smudging, blessings) and has been in use by native peoples for thousands of years.
This is a native California species, and normally grows from 3200 to 5600 feet.
It requires fast draining soils. If growing in low desert conditions, it will require afternoon shade!
Per Packet (25 seeds)
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Smoke Tree (Dalea spinosa / Psorothamnus spinosus)
The desert Smoke Tree is a very interesting tree, and makes quite a statement in the garden.
It's crooked trunk and snarled, numerous dense branches makes it stand out whenever seen.
This tree is a member of the pea family and can grow either as a tree or a shrub to a height of 20 feet. It most often grows near washes, and requires more water than the average desert tree. Smoke Trees are found from sea level to 1500 feet.
During the spring and early summer months, leaves briefly appear, then disappear, replaced with beautiful purple flowers.
Packet of 10 seeds:
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Deer Grass -- Muhlenbergia rigens
Deer Grass is a perennial, desert native bunch grass. If left to grow, it may reach a height of five feet and is a stunning addition to any tortoise enclosure or garden.
Deer grass needs well drained soil and full sun. Regular watering will help this grass to really take-off. The clumping mounds provide both a valuable food source and shelter for tortoises. Planting this grass is also beneficial to your garden, as ladybugs choose this grass to overwinter in, and some species of butterflies also utilize this plant for food.
Tortoises enjoy the young growth most.
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Blue Sage AKA Mojave Sage, Purple Desert Sage, Gray Ball Sage (Salvia dorrii)
The desert is full of some of the most beautiful species of sage anywhere. Mojave Sage is no exception.
Desert sage grows as a shrub, and attains a height of 1 to 2 feet. It is extremely drought tolerant, and survives temperatures to zero degrees once well established.
Desert sage is found in the Mojave desert from elevations of 2500 to 8500 feet.
This is a wonderful shrub for any garden or tortoise enclosure. Requires full sun and well drained soil.
Packet of 25 seeds:
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Spiny Hop-Sage
Looking for a drought tolerant native desert shrub that really makes a statement? If so, then Spiny Hop-Sage is for you!
In the springtime months after a winter of sufficient rainfall, this is one of the brightest shrubs in the Mojave.
Female and male shrubs are "separate."
Female plants give this brilliant spring and early summer display of beautiful bright pink to red flowers.
Drought tolerant once established. Likes gritty well drained soil and full sun.
Perfect in any tortoise enclosure!
Per pack of 25 seeds:
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Apache Plume - Fallugia paradoxa
This is a fantastic enclosure shrub!
Drought tolerant Apache Plume is a hardy perennial shrub native to the Southwestern desert. It is a member of the Rose family. It grows at elevations between 3,000 and 8,000 feet, prefers full sun, and is hardy to 30 degrees BELOW zero once established!
This can be planted in fall or spring, or even in summer if you can provide it with well-drained soil and keep it moist during the summer months. Starting in a 1 gallon pot, and then transferring to your garden or enclosure the following spring also works well.
Apache Plume is named so because it looks like Apache war bonnets. Native Americans used the stems of Apache Plumes to make brooms and arrow shafts.
Per packet:
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Winterfat-Mojave Native-Eurotia lanata
Winterfat is a shrubby perennial commonly called "white sage." It is not a true sage, but is closely related to the saltbushes and belongs to the goosefoot family. It is an erect half-shrub, from 1 to 3 feet tall.
Winterfat has a deep taproot, It is evergreen with alternate, densely-hairy, light green leaves.
Winterfat does best in well-drained sandy or loamy soil with lime content.
This is another gorgeous native enclosure bush, withstanding both heat and cold once established. Winterfat is extremely drought tolerant.
Per Packet:
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Ocotillo
Ocotillo is a drought-deciduous shrub with 6 to 100 long branches
that arise from the root crown. Stems are 8 to 30 feet tall!
Leaves grow to about 2 inches
long and are thick.
Ocotillo loses it's leaves
during times of drought so at times it may appear leafless. It quickly
grows new leaves after rain.
Ocotillo occurs from sea level to approximately 5,200 feet.
Ocotillo is often used in arid areas to literally produce an impenetrable living fence.
Native Americans had many uses for the Ocotillo. Fruits and flowers were eaten by Cahuilla
Indians. Roots were powdered by Apache Indians and used to treat wounds
and painful swellings. They also bathed in an ocotillo root mixture to
relieve fatigue. A beverage made from ocotillo flowers was
used for cough medicine.
Quantities of this seed are very limited.
Per Packet of 5 seeds:
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Creosote Bush
The creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) is the hallmark perennial of the warm deserts of North America.
This medium-to-large evergreen shrub has numerous flexible gray stems with black rings projecting at an angle from its base. It is usually less than 4 feet high, but can grow to 12-foot heights with abundant water. Its small pointed, yellow-green leaves have adapted to conserve water and dissipate heat extremely well. The bush may lose some of these waxy, resinous leaves during extreme drought, but never loses them all. It can be found in areas with well-drained slopes and on plains, especially those with a layer of caliche, up to 4,000 feet.
Creosote makes a FANTASTIC outdoor tortoise enclosure plant! Wild tortoise burrows are often found beneath Creosote bushes.
The Creosote sends out underground runners, which grow into clones. Clones are plants that are exactly like their parents. So the creosote bush forms rings around itself, and the rings just keep spreading out. So even though the bushes in the outside rings are newer than the ones in the center, they're really all the same bush.
In one area of the Mojave Desert grows a creosote bush called "King Clone." it's "ring" of offspring, thought to be the oldest living plant in the world, dates back some 11,700 years!
Once a year, the crosote bush goes to flower. One Inch-wide twisted, yellow petals bloom from February thgh July.
Complete growing instructions are included.
Per Packet:
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Mormon Tea
Mormon Tea (Ephedra nevadensis) is a broom-like perennial shrub which attains a height of 1 to 4 feet. It is called Mormon Tea because of early settlers making tea from it's leaves. Native Americans also used it for medicinal purposes.
The branches are nearly at right angles, and each node has two leaves. This shrub is found from elevations of sea level to 4500 feet, in both the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.
It prefers sandy, dry soil in direct sunlight, it cannot grow in the shade. It makes an excellent ground cover on rocky slopes.
A cold stratification period of at least three months is required for germination (and can be done in the refrigerator) Complete instructions are included. Availability of this seed is limited!
Per packet of 5 seeds:
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Paper Bag Bush (Bladder Sage)
Bladder Sage is a member of the mint family, and attains a height of up to 3 feet.
It is commonly called Paper Bag Bush because of the showy appearance of the the white/violet flowers followed by "inflated" fruit which makes the shrub appear as if it has small paper bags covering it.
The normal flowering season is from March to June.
Bladder Sage occurs below 5,000 feet in both the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.
This seed available only in limited quantity.
Per Packet of 10 seeds:
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White Mulberry Tree-Seeds
Morus alba, also known as White Mulberry, Silkworm Mulberry, Russian Mulberry, or Silkworm Tree is an excellent, nutritious food source for tortoises.
Mulberry trees grow very quickly if properly cared for. They can attain a height of 35 feet, and in addition to providing a valuable food source, are a wonderful source of shade!
Mulberry trees are best left to grow in a container until large enough to tolerate tortoises near them, or you may plant outside of an enclosure.
Per packet of 10 seeds:
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Yellow Bird of Paradise
Yellow Bird of Paradise will grow as a mounding shrub to a height of 6' to 10' tall and equally as wide.
This deciduous shrub is hardy to 10 degrees F, sometimes even lower! When provided with water whn it is young, it will very quickly.
Shrubs can be pruned strongly when dormant to promote denser growth and maintain shrub form. Flowers are bright yellow with long red stamens. This species has naturalized in some desert locations and can survive on annual rainfall.
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Mojave Aster
Mojave Aster....simply gorgeous!
Many purple-to-lavender flowers grow up to 2 inches in diameter on this perennial shrub. They bloom from March through May, but sometimes it blooms in the fall as well after summer rains.
Mojave/Desert Aster can tolerate temperatures down to 15*F once established.
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Desert Willow-Gorgeous! (AKA Mimbre)
Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) grows wild in the Mojave, Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts at elevations of up to 5,000 feet.
Desert Willow isn't really a member of the willow family, but is named so because of it's similar appearance. It is the only member of the Bigonia family native to California.
In the spring through summer months, it bears beautiful orchid-like flowers with white edges and pink-to-purple throats.
This plant is drought tolerant once estabished, and can be left as a large bush or trained as a tree which can attain a height of 25 feet.
Per Packet:
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Mexican Palo Verde
Mexican Palo Verde is a deciduous shrub or tree. It grows rapidly at first, then slows, eventually reaching 15 to 30 feet. In Spring, it blooms with numerous yellow flowers in long clusters. Sometimes it intermittently blooms throughout the year in warmer climates. It has a bright green trunk!
Mexican Palo Verde is extremely tolerant of alkaline soil, and drought once established. It needs to be staked until large, and trained the way you'd like it to grow. Gorgeous!
Packet: Contains 6 seeds.
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Mimosa-High Desert
Mimosa is a semi-evergreen tree with fern-like leaves and puffy pink flowers. Once established, Mimosa is an excellent drought tolerant shade tree, and does best with a lot of summer heat. Our seed is collected from Mimosa Trees at an elevation of 3,500 feet. These trees have survived temperatures to 10 degrees F.
Per Packet:
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Burro Fat AKA Bladder Pod/Spiderflower-Cleome isomeris
Bladderpod is a very pretty, extremely drought tolerant, and interesting shrub to have in the garden. It is native to California, gows in full sun, and is intolerant of shade. It needs excellent drainage.
Bladderpod will grow to an impressive size if the proper conditions are met, it can attain a size of 4 to 6 feet. Bladderpod survives temeratures to 10F, possibly lower if hardened off. Spiderflower is another excellent enclosure shrub!
Per Packet: (10 seeds)
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Canaigre AKA Wild Rhubarb-Rumex hymenosepalus
Canaigre creates an impressive display of both foliage and flowers. Above the large leaves, reddish colored stems are adorned with numerous pink to red flower clusters.
Canaigre grows throughout the Mojave desert. Please note: This plant has toxic properties and can cause illness in both humans and livestock if enough is eaten. Interesingly, it is also said if the leaves are first boiled, they can be eaten like spinach. (Please don't try this at home!!)
The Navajo indians used to extract dye from this plant for coloring baskets. It is a showy and beautiful addition to any graden.
Per Packet: (Limited quantities)
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Wild California Buckwheat Eriogonum fasciculatum
Wild California Buckwheat,(Eriogonum fasciculatum) also known as "wild buckwheat, or rosemary leaved buckwheat" is a sturdy resident plant of the Mojave Desert.
With it's beautiful white to pink flower clusters atop long thin stems, it is a beautiful, drought tolerant plant with an extended bloom season.
Tortoises vary in their tastes for this plant. Some may like it while it is green and fresh, while others like to wait until it's dried out. Others ignore it. Regardless, it makes a wonderful, hardy addition to any enclosure, provides hiding places, and will re-seed itself.
In mid to late summer the white flower clusters and stems turn to a reddish-brown
This is NOT common commercial cereal "buckwheat."
Our California wild buckwheat is collected and cleaned **by hand** in the Western Mojave Desert, amongst pinyon-juniper and joshua tree woodlands. It is found from sea level to 7,000 feet in elevation.
Complete planting and care instructions are included.
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Fourwing Saltbush Atriplex canescens
Fourwing Saltbush, also called Shadscale, grows in drought tolerant areas, and does well in alkaline or saline, well draining soil.
This is a wonderful native shrub that can attain a height of up to 8 feet.
It tolerates temperatures to 0 degrees F once well established.
This is another important, nearly maintenence free shrub which provides important shade and cover to wildlife.
Per Packet:
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