Grow Native • Trees • Desert Tortoise • Lizards • Connections • Lizard Walk • Bird Habitat • Urban Wildlife

What are Hardiness Zones, Gardening Zones, Growing Zones and Plant Zones?

Hardiness Zones, Gardening Zones, Growing Zones and Plant Zones refer to defined geographic regions that can support specific plants, flowers and trees. The zones define a minimum range of temperatures that a plant or tree can survive safely in that zone. Plant Maps provides the only interactive version of the USDA hardiness zone map available on the internet.

For a detailed interactive zone maps for Arizona, click here.You can search for the distribution of specific plants, like saguaros.

Or by entering your zipcode you can also get first/last freeze, Heat Zones, drought conditions and annual climatology for your area.

Grow Native, Don't Plant a Pest!

Grow Native: Don’t Plant a Pest , a public education campaign, has been a huge success. Since August of 2006 we have distributed over 50,000 brochures in English and Spanish to local governments, home owner’s associations, schools, nurseries, and conservation organizations throughout southern Arizona.

Selecting Plants for Pollinators

This 24-page guide assembled by the Pollinator Partnership includes suggestions for native plants to attract native bees, moths and bats.

Native Plants for Pima County Landscaping

This extensively annotated list (14 pgs) of plants includes trees, shrubs, vines, perennial and annual forbs, wildflowers, and grasses, and cacti and succulents growing in the major watersheds of Pima County. Plant habitats range from hydro- to xeroriparian.  Most of the plants with low or moderate water use can be used successfully in gardens, and many are available at native plant nurseries and botanical gardens.

The list includes plant names, growth forms, and water use and also a wealth of information on natural habitat, phenology and plant and animal associations. It is the product of years of work by a number of Tucson-area naturalists. This version is abstracted from “Regulated Riparian Habitat Mitigation Standards and Implementation Guidelines,” published in Jan. 2010 by the Pima County Regional Flood Control District.

Small Trees for Arizona Landscapes

Trees are usually the largest and most important components of a landscape, so getting the “right trees for the right places” is essential for a design that will function well and look good. Click here for descriptions of small trees (20 feet or smaller) from the western US and northern Mexico that grow well in the desert areas of southern Arizona. The Sonoran Desert Natives are labeled.

Native Plants for Sonoran Desert Tortoise

The Conservation Committee completed a new brochure and demonstration garden of native plants for the Sonoran Desert Tortoise. Because native plants are the best food for this native creature, and because many people adopt tortoises to keep as pets, we worked with numerous experts to develop a list of recommended plants. The Committee raised funds and planted a demonstration garden at the Tucson office of Arizona Department of Game and Fish. AZ Game and Fish have also produced a list of plants for captive tortoises.

Stop by some time and check it out! Download the brochure Native Plants for Desert Tortoises. Please feel free to distribute!

Habitat for Lizards

Creating habitat for lizards in your yard is easy. The AZNPS Conservation Committee wrote and designed a brochure to help you plant a habitat for Tucson's lizards. Click on the link for the brochure A Guide to Creating Backyard Habitat for Tucson's Urban Adapted Lizards.

The Desert Connections Project

In a partnership between the Tucson Botanical Gardens and the Pima County Library, the Desert Connections Project website now offers information about creating home landscapes that support wildlife to make up for lost habitat. This site includes a searchable plant database consisting of over 100 plants that attract birds and butterflies to your Arizona gardens.

University of Arizona Lizard Walk

The School of Landscape Architecture designed a Lizard Walk website with ideas for landscaping your yard to create lizard habitat. Plants with spines create protected hiding places but plants also need to attract insects for food.

University of Arizona Restoring Bird Habitat

The School of Landscape Architecture designed a Bird Habitat website with ideas for landscaping your yard to create habitats to restore native bird populations. Plants lists are provided for native trees, shrubs and grasses.

Go on Tucson's Urban Wildlife Walk

Learn how landscaping with native plants enhances the habitat for native critters. You can create natural habitats in your own yard which will attract wildlife. A charming website!