Local Plant Expert and Ecologist Christina Sanchez was the guest on last Friday’s (September 15) Z107.7 Up Close Show. Host Gary Daigneault asked Sanchez about advice for growing Western Joshua Trees, both from a gardening and legal standpoint.
They are easy to grow from seed. With the current state legislation that just passed for the Western Joshua Tree, one of the stipulations is that you cannot be in possession of a Joshua Tree. If you have seeds that occurred before the candidacy period of 2020 when the Western Joshua Tree became a candite for endangered species protection, you can grow those.
Christina Sanchez: “Certainly you want to pay attention to where you’re growing those. The elevation range can go up to 7500 feet. I look at the distribution range, I try to mimic the habitat.
I wouldn’t plant a Joshua Tree in the Coachella Valley. It’s just too hot. And you want to focus on biodiversity, you want to focus on growing plants that naturally occur there. I know there’s people that want to have a Joshua Tree at their home in Orange County. Even though its a native plant to California, it’s not native to that region.”
You can hear the full interview with Sanchez by listening to the Z107.7 Up Close Show as a podcast on Z1077fm.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
