Saguaros Don't Grow in El Paso
Nor Palm trees. That’s what the El Paso Times editorial board wants you to know. That’s right – they wrote an editorial telling you not to plant Saguaros and Palms. Hah!
Unknown to some here, various species of palms, along with the stately saguaro cactus, cannot withstand extreme cold unless they are very well-protected, especially in the root area. We are the high desert, at about 4,000 feet above sea level. It gets cold here in the winter, and once every decade or two, it gets real cold. We had 1 degree Fahrenheit recently. And look at all the brown palms.
Odd subject for an editorial. I wonder if the editorial board had a meeting to discuss this. Maybe one person on the board came down on the other side of this hot topic, and would rather have recommended that people in El Paso do plant Saguaros anyway.
