Spadefoot Nursery

Spadefoot Nursery Our mission is more than just selling plants. We aim to help you create a safe space in your own cor

We must resist the militarization of the border not only for the sake of human life on the border, but all living creatu...
05/31/2026

We must resist the militarization of the border not only for the sake of human life on the border, but all living creatures on the border.

05/30/2026

Lichens are a matrix of 2-3 different kingdoms of organisms. A fungus provides the structure, and basically houses algae which it is essentially farming for food. Yeast is also present in most lichens, though their role is not entirely understood, and it’s only in recent years that scientists realized their consistent presence.

Lichens are almost everywhere on planet earth—from the tropics to the tundra, even in parts of Antarctica. They’re in wet forests and our dry deserts. They are pretty much everywhere except in the oceans.

Sweetbush (Bebbia juncea) is unassuming in a container but is a great wildlife plant, particularly for butterflies. A fa...
05/30/2026

Sweetbush (Bebbia juncea) is unassuming in a container but is a great wildlife plant, particularly for butterflies. A favorite nectar plant for monarchs! This is an herbaceous broom or rush-like shrub with aromatic foliage, growing up to 3-4’. Yellow to orange flowers can bloom almost any time of year.

Full to part sun, moderate water when established, provide good drainage. Cold hardiness untested but it is native to 4000’ in elevation, so probably hardy at least into the teens °F.

The flowers that are very nectar-rich and along with the resinous foliageg, attracts a large number of insects. Larval host for the Wright’s Calephelis (Calephelis wrighti). Birds enjoy the seeds and insects that reside on this plant.

Bebbia is named for Michael Schuck Bebb (1833-1895), an amateur systematic botanist who did extensive work on the genus Salix; juncea means rush-like, which refers to the leafless stems.

Native to low elevation habitats; dry slopes and washes, rocky hillsides, sandy gravelly areas such as desert washes, canyons, scrub habitats, up to 4000’ in elevation. Sweetbush is found in the southwestern United States; AZ, CA, NM, NV, TX, UT. A second variety is also native throughout Baja California and northwest Mexico, though sometimes that plant is treated as a separate species, Bebbia atriplicifolia. The largest concentrations of this species are found throughout most of Arizona, southeast California and southeast Nevada.

Burrowweed (Isocoma tenuisecta) is beneficial for people and wildlife. These are shrubs, usually about 2-3’ tall, with v...
05/30/2026

Burrowweed (Isocoma tenuisecta) is beneficial for people and wildlife. These are shrubs, usually about 2-3’ tall, with very nectar rich, golden flowers occurring in fall. Flowers are followed by floofy material with seeds. Though the plants can look unruly when not flowering, they are fantastic when in bloom and an important wildlife plant.

Plant in full to part sun, low water when established. Most species hardy to at least 10°F.

This is an important fall blooming nectar source for numerous butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. Larval host for the Gumweed Plume Moth (Dejongia californicus), the snout moth Diastictis sperryorum, the American Sunflower Moth (Homoeosoma electella), and the Snakeweed Borer Moth (Pelochrista ridingsana). Birds use the floofy seed stuff to build nests.

Important medicinal plant (used internally and externally) where the genus occurs.

Isocoma tenuisecta is the most common species found around Tucson and Phoenix. Naturally found on dry slopes, mesas, and alluvial plains from 2,000-5,500’.

The undervalued four wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) may not have the prettiest flowers. But it’s a dependable plant ...
05/30/2026

The undervalued four wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens) may not have the prettiest flowers. But it’s a dependable plant that wildlife values. Evergreen (grey) shrub to about 5’ high x 6’ wide. Full to part sun, can live on low water even rainfall when established. Hardy to a very cold -30˚F (yes NEGATIVE thirty degrees or 30° below zero).
Saltbushes are halophytes and can handle very salty soils. This is a good habitat plant for small and terrestrial birds (like quail). Seeds consumed by granivorous birds and animals. We’ve also noticed birds eating the leaves of saltbushes in the summer, probably gaining not only moisture from the leaves but the accumulated salts too (animals need electrolytes too).
Saltbushes are larval hosts for the following butterflies:

Western Pygmy-Blue (Brephidium exilis)

Mojave Sootywing (Hesperopsis libya)

Saltbush Sootywing (Hesperopsis alpheus).

This is a pioneer species (species of plant that comes into disturbed soils and begins the long process of succession), and nursery plant for many cacti and other plants. This plant can grow in the worst soils, and because of its bushy nature, it holds organic debris to the ground and harbors small insects and microbes beneath a its shade which begins the long process of soil improvement. Salt bushes (plants in the genus Atriplex) are tolerant of saline soils.
Naturally found on sandy or gravelly and disturbed soils, from desert scrub to pinon-juniper communities from 300-6,500 ft. in most of western North America from Alberta south to California and east to Texas (disjunct in Nova Scotia); south to southern Mexico.
We have one gallon plants now.

The grass with the eyelash flowers is blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and it should be planted a whole lot more often. T...
05/30/2026

The grass with the eyelash flowers is blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and it should be planted a whole lot more often. Tufted perennial, semi-sod to 2’ tall. Found on open rocky slopes, forest openings, grasslands; 4,000-8,000 ft. Many selected varieties. Full to part sun, looks best on irrigation, though it can reseed and exist in areas where water naturally collects. Larval host to skippers and moths, used by birds for nesting material, used by some species of native bees for capping their nesting holes, and great for tortoises.

Few plants are as rewarding as the Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani). These herbaceous perennials emerge in ...
05/30/2026

Few plants are as rewarding as the Maximilian sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani). These herbaceous perennials emerge in spring from tuberous roots growing to as much as 15’ tall (most often about 6-8’ in the low desert). Yellow flowers appear in late summer into fall. Plant in full sun for the best look, but avoid reflected heat. When established they take moderate to regular water, and they’re hardy to at least -20°F. Nectar-rich flowers provide for butterflies, bees, etc. Finches and other granivorous birds eat the seeds. Larval food plant for the painted lady (Vanessa cardui), Milbert’s tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti), California patch (Chlosyne californica), bordered patch (Chlosyne lacinia), alfalfa looper moth (Autographa californica), armyworm moth (Mythimna unipuncta), and others. Maximilian sunflower is native to the Great Plains and adjacent areas. It is found from Saskatchewan and Manitoba south to Missouri and Texas, and west to New Mexico and a few places in Arizona.

Pineleaf milkweed (Asclepias linaria) is unusual for a milkweed. It resembles a shrubby pine and is evergreen. Hardy to ...
05/30/2026

Pineleaf milkweed (Asclepias linaria) is unusual for a milkweed. It resembles a shrubby pine and is evergreen. Hardy to 15°F it grows from desert (1000’ elevation) to pinkie/oak/juniper woodlands (6000’). Usually found in rocky slopes and canyons, sometimes growing out of cracks in a rock. This species is easy to grow as long as it has good drainage, but good drainage is essential. Moderate to low water, full to part sun. Like all milkweeds, it’s a larval food plant for queens and monarchs, and the flowers feed multitudes of pollinators. And like all milkweeds, aphids reside on these plants and are best left alone, where they attract many, many predator insects to your yard. And no, the aphids won’t spread to other plants. Photo by Frankie Coburn, SEINET

Address

2831 E Broadway Boulevard
Tucson, AZ
85716

Opening Hours

Friday 10am - 5pm
Saturday 10am - 5pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+15209093619

Website

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