Jatrophas of Arizona for the Landscape
Here in Arizona a new kind of landscape has been evolving over the past few decades, and is still evolving-just beginning to reach popularity. It isn't enough to poke some native plants into your yard to call yourself a native plant gardener. There is a whole new style that is accompanying the use of native plants.
In these designs are some key plants that let you know whether a person is serious about becoming one of these exceptional gardeners. These are the plants that in the formal landscapes of temperate climates would never find a home because they don't match up with life forms found there. Jatrophas are quite this kind of plant. They demand attention and careful placement and are probably not going to catch the eye of someone who lacks appreciation for our native flora.
Four species of Jatropha occur in Arizona. These are plants that rarely enter cultivation, but have gained some popularity in the past few years. It is conceivable that if growers were to start propagating Jatropha, they would sell the plants. Hobbyist growers of caudiciforms from all over the world have shown interest in Jatropha species for years.
Jatropha cardiophylla (limberbush, sangre de cristo) is one of our toughest species, being hardy to the teens °F. Even if frozen to the ground plants will likely send up new branches quickly in the spring. It also can take very hot and dry temperatures. If drought occurs limberbush will simply drop leaves and rest. They are native to rocky slopes and sandy washes often within other shrubs or sometimes out in the open. They occur from southeastern Arizona where plants are dwarfed by frost and aridity, to southern Sonora where plants reach over 6 feet tall because of availability of water and lack of frost. To the west they are replaced by other species of Jatropha due to lack of summer rain; to the east they have not yet been found on the other side of the Sierra Madre. These plants send out large rhizomes and new plantlets often. They will colonize an area almost of indefinite size if remaining healthy.
Plants do very well if watered plentifully in summer to encourage faster growth, though they can survive on the most minimal of watering regimes. When dormant almost no water is needed. In the nursery they take well to container growing, and propagation is usually by division or cuttings, as seed is often hard to come by. Flowers are small, white and green and sometimes followed by capsular fruits though this is quite rare. Limberbush has a long dormancy period appearing as clusters of turgid, rubbery and brown stems that seem almost lifeless but interesting. Well-watered plants can be quite lush in the growing season. Though dependently deciduous, availability of water can prolong the growing season slightly. Rarely in the trade this species of Jatropha is most applicable for low desert landscapes and deserves to be pushed.
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