Hi, James! I can tell this will be your first trip because --- there's *nothing* between Phoenix and Yuma that resembles a nursery! You might see something along the road that piques your interest, but you'll soon see that you don't want to get out of the car any more than necessary. ;o)

In Phoenix, you might want to visit Bakers on 40th Street and Osborn. Family-owned, it's quite popular with Garden Webbers. Berridges on Camelback just east of 44th Street is very nice. This is not the best time for nurseries; we're all holed up waiting for the blast furnace to cool down and just trying to keep what we planted this spring alive.

With any luck, the weather will give us - and you - a break for your visit.

This might help. It was from a previous thread courtesy of Jim Dennis.

Here is a link that might be useful: AZ Nurseries

Oh my. No one comes to Yuma in Aug. It is life or death Hot here now. If you can't postpone your trip until Nov. please take some precautions. Make sure rental car has good working airconditioner. A white colored car is best. Take water with you. As for nurseries, I can usually find plants that are hard to find at Yuma Nursery(4405 South Ave A). However, they guarantee nothing unless they plant it and take care of it. I have never been out there in the summer so I don't know if they will have a good selection.

Funny thing, I was just thinking today this nursery list needs updating. Anyone care to help? I think Birdlady knows who to upload our changes.

Eeep! I would find a way to get flown to Yuma if you can. I-8 is BORING! I even chose to drive I-10 to San Diego this week, just to avoid I-8. (You can drive south in California in several places, instead of SR-85). Aside from being boring (except for the dunes, but they are only worth it once in the summer), there aren't a lot of places to stop on I-8, so as mentioned above, make sure you have a GOOD car, a couple of reserve gallons of water, *and* a cell phone when driving through the desert.

Thanks much for the nursery suggestions and the suggestions on desert survival. Actually, I have logged more desert time and miles than most people in Arizona or the USA. I have walked from the Colorado River in the southwestern portion of Yuma, Arizona to the intersection of the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument & the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge across expansive dune fields, lava fields, Creosotebush - White Bursage Series communities, through fields of saguaro and cholla, and across lonely mountain peaks along the border. Also I have hiked a good portion of territory in the Coronado National Forest Haven't spent much time in the big cities such as Phoenix and Tucson.

Most times I fly into Phoenix and immediately drive to Ajo, Why, or Yuma. I always get a 4X4 Jeep Grand Cherokee or Rubicon rentals plus lots of ice, water, and drinks in the cooler for my lonley desert travels. Cell phones are typically useless were I explore outside of picking up a Mexican cell company on Cingular Wireless.

Last winter, I visited a nursery in or near Avondale: Moon something nursery. I almost cried as the selection of trees and shrubs were so much better than I have ever seen at other nurseries in the USA. Tons of citrus, plums, apples, figs, cacti, palms, desert plants, etc. Louisiana nurseries are a hundred times smaller than this one I visited. Many of which species would grow in south Louisiana and I have never seen a nursery as great of this one with so much selection. Most all of the stock required a large trailer or flat bed truck or van to get the plants home. Selection could almost make me want to move to Arizona....almost.

Will post to the list if I see anything really cool (plants) at Phoenix/Yuma nurseries in August. At least next week the temps in Yuma should be below 110 degrees. 115 is my max last summer near Lukeville. Thank the plant gods thay yall don't have 90 percent plus humidity combined with the balmy 110 plus heat!!!

Happy gardening and try to stay COOOOL!!!

Here are some...

Here is a link that might be useful: Nurseries

OMgosh Louisiana botanist! You certainly have some intensive experience here. Thank goodness you are desert savvy - so many folks outside this region just don't understand the extremes of our climate and how to stay safe when traveling here. Giving you trip advice was the first instinct I had too when I first read your post. I was relieved to see you already "knew your stuff".

So do you travel to Yuma for work related to plants and then do some fun botanical exploring too? You must have been coming here for a few years to do all that you've noted. AZ is a pretty cool state in terms of the diversity in land forms as well as plants and animals. It's wonderful to hear about others who enjoy it as much as most of us Zonies do. Thanks for sharing with us.

I hope you'll let us know what kind of cool plants you find on these trips and maybe share if you've acquired good plants on your prior trips here. If you are interested in cactus, the Desert Botanical Garden (DBG, very close to the airport) in Phoenix and the Carefree Cactus Garden in North Scottsdale are both good places for viewing and purchasing many different varieties. But if you decide to do the DBG, plan on most of a whole day -- there is SO much to see. I have a plant crazy friend from Corona CA who drives all the way here at least 1x a year JUST to go to the DBG, it's that good. And near Tucson is the Sonoran Desert Museum - not sure if they have plants for sale but it is wonderful place to see desert plants and wildlife in very nice exhibits, plan on another near full day for that place as well.

Not sure how much time/how many miles you can carve out for your explorations but if you haven't see the northern half of the state, that would be something to put on your to-do list for future. The mazanita/grassland habitat of Sedona and ponderosa forest zone of Flagstaff area are both something to behold and such a difference from the rest of our desert.

LOL, I've heard of Saguaro forests before, but never a field of Saguaros.... the picture in my mind is almost as amusing. Not something you'd picture a girl in a white dress running through, barefoot...

I can make a new FAQ list, as I agree with you Jim, ours is in need of updating and correcting. As I was not the "faq-master" for that particular FAQ, I cannot change or update it. But a new one with a clearer name might be helpful. I'll start working on what I know is wrong with the list.

James- I am glad you enjoy and appreciate our desert state. Too many people come and only see 'barren' not Beautiful. Regardless of the time of year, there is always something to appreciate. You should try and come out in the beginning of April, if you haven't been here at that time before, the desert is awesome then.

Susie