What trees grow well in Chino Valley?

Trees that tolerate wind, alkaline soil and cold, such as desert willow, New Mexico olive, honey locust and native oaks, planted with good drainage and drip irrigation.

Can you help with drainage around a barn or shop?

Yes. We grade the pad to shed water, add swales or rock channels, and keep runoff away from foundations, doors and driveways.

What is caliche and why does it matter?

Caliche is a hard, cement-like layer of calcium carbonate in the soil. In parts of Chino Valley it sits around two feet down, blocks drainage and roots, and can leave water standing around plant roots after irrigation.

Can you landscape if I'm on a well?

Yes. We design drip zones around your well's flow rate and focus water on the area near the house, so the system doesn't overwork the pump.

Do you landscape whole acreage parcels?

We usually focus design and irrigation near the house, entry and outdoor living areas, and handle the rest with erosion control and native seeding where needed.

What helps with wind?

Windbreak plantings on the prevailing side, properly staked trees, rock mulch in exposed areas and drip irrigation that waters at the roots.

Service area

Landscaping in Chino Valley, AZ

Chino Valley sits north of Prescott along Highway 89, on a broad valley floor between about 4,400 and 4,700 feet. It's lower than Prescott, more rural, and its soil is a different animal. If a tree has ever died in your yard for no obvious reason, the ground below it is the first place we look.

Caliche and perched water

UA Extension's Yavapai County soils bulletin describes Chino Valley soil as averaging about two feet deep over a gray-white, semi-impervious layer of caliche, which can create a perched water table when the area is irrigated (Bulletin #25). In plain terms, water soaks down, hits the hardpan and sits there, and roots drown.

So in Chino Valley we dig planting holes until we find out what's below. Where caliche is close, we break through it, or create a drainage chimney through it, so water can escape. Where that isn't practical, we plant on berms or in raised beds and choose shallower-rooted plants.

Alkaline soil

The same bulletin lists Chino Valley topsoil as sandy loam to clay loam with a pH around 7.0 to 7.8. Combined with caliche, that favors plants adapted to alkaline conditions. We avoid acid-loving shrubs that will yellow and decline.

Cold air and late frost

On a valley floor, cold air settles on still nights, so low spots in Chino Valley can see frost later in spring than Prescott's hillsides. We plant tender material late, put frost-sensitive plants against warm south walls, and favor tough natives in the open.

Wind across open ground

Wide-open lots mean wind. We use windbreak plantings on the prevailing side, stake trees, use rock rather than light mulch in exposed areas, and keep drip emitters under mulch where wind can't evaporate the water.

Wells, acreage and long runs

Many Chino Valley homes are on acreage, and many run on private wells. That makes efficient irrigation a priority: drip zones sized to your well's flow rate, with water focused on the area around the house instead of the whole parcel. On large lots we concentrate design and hardscape near the house, entry and outdoor living areas, and let the rest stay native.

Local rules

For permits on taller walls or structures, we check with the Town of Chino Valley before building.

Common Chino Valley projects

Landscaping around the house on acreage, concentrating water and plantings where you live and leaving the rest native.
Drainage fixes that move monsoon water away from foundations, barns and driveways.
Windbreaks and shade trees planted, staked and watered by drip so they survive the first few windy springs.
Gravel drives, entries and stone walls that hold up to trucks, trailers and livestock.

Planting through caliche

Where a caliche layer sits a couple of feet down, a planting hole can become a bathtub that drowns roots after every watering. We test drainage before planting, break through the layer or create a drainage chimney when it is shallow enough, and choose plants and locations that suit the soil when it is not. That one step decides whether a tree thrives or struggles for years.

Before any digging, we request a free Arizona 811 locate and plan around wells, septic tanks and leach fields.