PHOENIX — With summer right around the corner, the City of Chandler wants to make sure your yard is ready to take on the high heat.
Even our native desert plants have been struggling lately. Tiffany Yand, a member of the City of Chandler Water Conservation Team, explained many desert plants experience heat stress more now than ever before.
Summers like 2020 and 2023 combined with the urban heat island effect don't help the cause. Temperatures aren't cooling at night as they should, so even our desert adaptive plants are heavily impacted.
Yand said signs of plant heat stress include sunburns, yellow or brown spots, wilting plants, and discolored or dropping leaves. At home, you want to choose heat-resistant, drought-tolerant plants in your landscape so they have the best survival chance.
She suggests seeing what plants are doing well and incorporating those plants into your landscape.
Our native Palo Blanco and many shrubs do well in the high heat.
There are a lot of plant options that don't require a lot of water and can handle the summer temperatures. The City of Chandler has a list of all the plants for the Arizona desert.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.
12News on YouTube
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.