Landscape design and installation in Phoenix means planning around heat, caliche and drip irrigation. A good plan groups plants by water need, uses desert-adapted plants such as those on the state's Phoenix AMA low-water-use list, and handles monsoon runoff. Fall is generally the best time to plant most trees and shrubs in the low desert.
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A landscape plan in the Phoenix metro has to start with water and heat. Before anything goes in the ground, a designer or installer should look at how much afternoon sun each area takes, where monsoon runoff goes, whether caliche sits under the surface, and how your irrigation is zoned. A design that looks good in March but bakes in July, or needs a lawn's worth of water for shrubs, isn't a good design for the desert.
What a design and installation project usually includes
- Site visit and conversation. Your goals, budget, how much maintenance you want, HOA rules, and problem spots such as dead plants, leaks or washouts.
- Plan or sketch. Anything from a marked-up photo to a scaled drawing with a plant list and irrigation layout. Ask what is included before you agree.
- Removal and grading. Taking out old grass, dead shrubs or gravel, and shaping the ground so storm water moves away from the house and toward any retention area.
- Irrigation first. Drip lines and valves usually go in before plants and rock so they aren't buried or trampled.
- Hardscape and boulders. Walls, paths, pavers and large boulders go in before small plants.
- Planting, then rock or mulch. Plants set at the right depth, then a layer of decomposed granite, rock or organic mulch, depending on the look and the plants.
Plant choices that work in Phoenix
Most of the Phoenix area falls in USDA hardiness zones 9b and 10a. Frost is occasional, but summer heat is the real test. The Arizona Department of Water Resources publishes a Low Water Use and Drought Tolerant Plant List for the Phoenix Active Management Area, and the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association offers a shorter, illustrated guide to plants from that list. Both are good, non-commercial places to check a proposed plant list. Desert trees such as palo verde, mesquite and ironwood, shrubs such as Texas ranger and desert ruellia, and accents like agave and red yucca are widely used. Some cities and many HOAs require plants from the state list in certain areas, so ask your designer to confirm.
Right plant, right place
- Check mature size. Many desert shrubs are planted too close to walks and walls and then sheared into balls.
- Watch west and south exposures. Reflected heat off walls and windows can scorch plants that do fine elsewhere.
- Group plants with similar water needs on the same drip valve.
- Keep spiny plants like agave and prickly pear away from paths, pools and play areas.
- Avoid known invasive grasses such as fountain grass and buffelgrass, which spread into the desert and carry fire.
Timing
In the low desert, fall is generally the best time to plant most trees, shrubs and desert perennials, because roots grow through the mild winter before summer heat returns. Frost-tender plants, such as many tropical-looking shrubs, are usually planted in spring after the frost risk passes. Summer planting is possible but much riskier, and new plants need close watching. Design work can happen any time, so late summer is a good time to plan for a fall install.
Questions to ask a landscape company
- Is design included, or is it a separate fee?
- How will the irrigation be zoned, and will you convert any spray zones to drip?
- Do you guarantee plants, and for how long? What voids the guarantee?
- Will you handle HOA submittals, and is the plan eligible for my city's grass-removal rebate?
- Can you provide a certificate of insurance and your Arizona Registrar of Contractors license number for any hardscape or irrigation work?
Thinking about removing a lawn? Read our guide to converting grass to desert landscaping. When you're ready, request a landscaping company.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a license to do landscaping in Arizona?
Planting and general yard work are handled differently from hardscape and irrigation. The Arizona Registrar of Contractors licenses hardscape and irrigation work under classifications such as R-21 for residential jobs. Ask any company that will build walls, patios or irrigation for its ROC license number and look it up.
What plants are low water in Phoenix?
The Arizona Department of Water Resources publishes a Low Water Use and Drought Tolerant Plant List for the Phoenix AMA, and the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association publishes an illustrated guide drawn from it. Palo verde, mesquite, Texas ranger, desert ruellia and agaves are common examples.
How much does landscape installation cost in Phoenix?
It depends on the size of the area, how much grass or old material must be removed, plant sizes, irrigation changes, rock and boulders, and any hardscape. Get written, itemized estimates from more than one company and compare plant sizes, quantities and guarantees, not just totals.
Sources and further reading
- University of Arizona Cooperative Extension: Turfgrass Maintenance Guide for the Low Elevation Arizona Desert
- Arizona Registrar of Contractors: License Classification Requirements
- Ariz. Admin. Code R4-9-103: Residential Contractor License Classifications
- Arizona Department of Agriculture: Pest Management FAQ
- Arizona Department of Water Resources: Landscaping and Low Water Use Plant Lists
- Water Use It Wisely: Landscape Watering by the Numbers
- AMWUA: Plants for the Arizona Desert
- City of Phoenix Water Services: Residential Grass Removal Program
- Scottsdale Water: Residential Rebates
- City of Scottsdale: Environmentally Sensitive Lands Overlay
- City of Chandler: Residential Water Conservation Rebates
- Arizona 811
- EPA WaterSense
- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map