If you want different, I would suggest going online to High Country Gardens. They have a gazillion different plants, and specialize in xeriscape/drought tolerant plants, with beautiful flowers. They have a wonderful plant search function, where you can narrow by flowering, heat, deer-proof, etc.

Carla in Sac

Here is a link that might be useful: High Country Gardens

It's probably not quite what you're looking for, but Las Pilitas's Escondido campus is within short driving distance of Fallbrook. LP specializes in native Calif. plants, which are usually drought-tolerant and adapted to our Mediterranean climate regime with its dry summers. I believe some of those plants also work well in AZ. Call LP and ask for suggestions. I haven't done business with or visited the numerous other nurseries in the Fallbrook area, though I live nearby (Temecula). Many of the nurseries are wholesale only, since no. San Diego Co. is a major area for commercial nursery growers. If I were you, when in Fallbrook, I'd simply drive up and down Mission Ave. and you'll see nurseries and signs for nurseries, and proceed from there. You might also stop at or call Grangetto's Farm & Garden Supply on Alvarado St. ((760) 728-6127) or L&M Fertilizer on E. Mission Ave. ((760) 728-1400) and ask for suggestions.

Thank you for the information. I will follow up to say how my visit went.

When is your trip?

Fallbrook is, indeed, a wonderland of nurseries.

But do keep in mind that Casa Grande, AZ is SWGB Zone 12 and Fallbrook is SWGB Zone 23. That's CONSIDERABLY different. Just because they MAY have some special plants that take "heat", it's certainly not your kind of heat and most definitely not your kind of winter cold.

Carla mentioned High Country Gardens. They are your kind of nursery. Check out Berridge Nursery in Phoenix, Moon Valley Nursery in Mesa, Australian Outback Plantation in Tonopah, Desert Survivors Native Plant Nursery in Tucson, Plants for the Southwest in Tucson and Arizona Desert Trees in Tucson.

Have fun at the Fallbrook nurseries and enjoy looking at the great plants. But think twice about brining home something that is "heat tolerant" in Fallbrook.

Joe

I will be going next week.

Joe,
Thank you for the information. I looked at that website and liked it very much, especially the key. Good point: most of what they have at those nurseries would not survive. I guess what they consider heat tolerant is not the heat that we experience. I am mainly going for the hibiscus and bougainvillea. Both do well around town. One of the nurseries in Fallbrook has the most amazing colors and assortment, which sparked my interest in going. Something that worried me though. The fuchsia bougainvillea and reddish hibiscus do well out here, but will different colors be a different story? I need to do more research.

Yes, indeed, different colors are a different story with Hibisucs and Bougainvillea.

With Bougainvillea, the "fuchsia"-colored (deep purplish to purplish-red) cultivars tolerate the most winter cold. The other colors have degrees of cold tolerance. Here in Central California, nothing but the fuchsia-colored survive the winters here.

With Hibiscus, we have only 3 or 4 cultivars that do well here. The more exotically-colored ones simply wither away here.

Joe

Sometime in the future, consider these other VERY colorful shrubs for your zone:

Anisacanthus thurberi DESERT HONEYSUCKLE
Beloperone californica CHUPAROSA
Calliandra eriophylla PINK FAIRY DUSTER
Callistemon citrinus ÂJeffersii VIOLET BOTTLEBRUSH
Callistemon viminalis ÂCaptain Cook CAPTAIN COOK BOTTLEBRUSH
Caesalpinia pulcherrima BARBADOS PRIDE, RED BIRD-OF-PARADISE
Cercis reniformis OKLAHOMA REDBUD
Chaenomeles FLOWERING QUINCE
x Chitalpa tashkentensis CHILTALPA
Erythrina flabelliformis CORAL BEAN
Hyptis emoryi DESERT LAVENDER
Nerium oleander ÂAlgiersÂ, ÂCasablancaÂ, ÂMoroccoÂ
MID-SIZE OLEANDERS
Prunus glandulosa DWARF FLOWERING ALMOND
Prunus mume FLOWERING APRICOT
Punica granatum ÂLegrelleiÂ, ÂNochi ShiboriÂ, ÂTanyosho ORNAMENTAL POMEGRANATES
Senna (Cassia) artemisioides FEATHERY CASSIA
Senna wislizenii SHRUBBY SENNA
Sophora secundiflora TEXAS MOUNTAIN LAUREL
Tecoma stans YELLOW BELLS
Vitex agnus-castus CHASTE TREE

Vines:

Bignonia capreolata CROSSVINE
Campsis x tagliabuana TRUMPET CREEPER
Macfadyena unguis-cati CATÂS-CLAW

Joe

Thanks for the list.
The Oklahoma Redbud is amazing. It kind of reminds of the Jacaranda that I see in many places in San Diego. I never noticed the Jacaranda until I moved to Arizona. I visit CA frequently and recently I have started to notice all the things that I guess my eye never noticed before when I lived there.
I also liked the Bignonia. That seems like it would stand out, which is what I am looking for.
Thanks again for the list. I like having options that I know will work.

While you're in Fallbrook come south a little way and check out Buena Creek Gardens in San Marcos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Buena Creek Gardens

There are some great wholesale nurseries in Arizona that would have great selections of low desert appropriate plants for your location, which per the copy of Sunset Western Garden Book is borderline zone 13/12, putting you on the edge of the Phoenix low desert climate. I'd suggest you look at the web site for Mountain States Wholesale Nursery, www.MSWN.com, or look into the web site for Yuccado Nursery in Texas, for more interesting plants that can take your desert heat. You'd be better off taking your cues on plants from a shopping trip to Palm Springs than San Diego, but if you choose wisely and cross check that plants you are interested in do well in Sunset Zones 12/13, you shouldn't have any problems. Also, anything you see doing well in the Las Vegas area should also do well for you. I'd recommend the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, or the Las Vegas Water Conserving Demonstration Garden as good starting points for what grows well in your area, yet is a step above the mundane choices of a Home Depot.