The cold-hardy Antelope Bush

Many people believe heat is the limiting factor in which plants will grow in the desert. While this is true to a point, the fact is the more limiting factor is cold tolerance. We tend to worry about plants surviving 100 plus summer temperatures, but not about the fact that the Tucson and Green Valley areas both dip below 20 degrees in the winter. It is amazing to see prickly pear and barrel cactus species as high as 10,000 feet in Arizona. These are well-adapted plants to cold, but not all species are created equal. Be wary of buying plants from farmer’s markets and street corners, as not only do you not know the exact species, these specimens may have been illegally harvested from the desert.View the list »
There are so many agave species to choose from, making a selection might prove a tough decision. To narrow down your choices, always check for cold tolerance, and for sun orientation. Not all agaves like full sun. Also make sure you are picking one with a manageable mature size. The Century Plant, for instance, grows up to 8 feet tall and wide.

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The Antelope Bush, Purshia plicata, is related to the Cliff Rose, and native to the Chihuahuan Desert and down into northeast Mexico. While a native to Arizona, it prefers higher elevations than the low desert. If you live above 3500 feet near Tucson or Green Valley, this is a suitable shrub for sun to part shade locations.

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While not a rose bush by any means, the Antelope Bush does produce beautiful rose-pink flowers. This is a very low water use shrub, with the mature size varying anywhere from 3 feet to six feet tall and wide. The leaves are dark green. The fruits following the flowers are feathery and interesting additions to the plant character.

Antelope Bush would make an attractive specimen plant, or use with other high-desert natives such as the Cliff Rose and some of the tough agave species that thrive in colder areas of Arizona. Make sure to give it good drainage. While a low water use plant in the wild, it will need supplemental irrigation to grow in a landscape situation.

Reference: Mountain States Wholesale Nursery and Gregg Starr Nursery Plant Info Sheet, 1999.

View the list
  • There are so many agave species to choose from, making a selection might prove a tough decision. To narrow down your choices, always check for cold tolerance, and for sun orientation. Not all agaves like full sun. Also make sure you are picking one with a manageable mature size. The Century Plant, for instance, grows up to 8 feet tall and wide.
  • It is amazing to see prickly pear and barrel cactus species as high as 10,000 feet in Arizona. These are well-adapted plants to cold, but not all species are created equal. Be wary of buying plants from farmer’s markets and street corners, as not only do you not know the exact species, these specimens may have been illegally harvested from the desert.
  • Many people believe heat is the limiting factor in which plants will grow in the desert. While this is true to a point, the fact is the more limiting factor is cold tolerance. We tend to worry about plants surviving 100 plus summer temperatures, but not about the fact that the Tucson and Green Valley areas both dip below 20 degrees in the winter. 
View the list

, Tucson Gardening Examiner

This author has lived in Arizona since 1972 and has been gardening for more than 28 years. A landscape architect and certified arborist, Linda teaches classes for everyone in desert plant care for Green Valley Recreation, and provides services in landscape design. Contact her at Linda...

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