My husband and I have found ourselves living in the desert outside of Las Vegas, in Boulder City, NV. Is it possible to grow fruit trees in a climate like this and if so which ones would be most suitable?

try this, master gardener help is free
http://www.unce.unr.edu/programs/sites/ ... ner/askus/
or
Ann Edmunds
Master Gardener Program
University of Nevada Cooperative Extension
8050 Paradise Road, Suite 100
Las Vegas, NV 89123-1904
Phone: (702) 257-5501

One thinks immediately of pomegranate, palms, lemons, Russian olives, autumn olives, olives, jujube, figs, quince, peach, pinon pine depending on how expensive your water is.
JohNS
PDX OR

John; “One thinks immediately of…” One does?

…I’m impressed, this Willamette Valley boy can only envision a couple of those, and gave up on peaches decades ago… ‘jujube’ … maybe I need to get out & about more

I admit to a certain amount of jealousy of those Eastern/Central Oregon types like Oregon Woodsmoke who can grow peaches, nectarines, and apricots easily. I think apricots are better in the desert than peaches, by the way.

Viron, don't palms, figs, pomegranates, and pinon pines make you think of the desert?
JOhn S
PDX OR

In from a desert friend: “We had fig, pomegranate, apple, and apricot trees. And olives did really well!! Vegas”

I live in Palm Springs, CA. It's the desert if there ever was one.

The most popular and easy to grow trees are the citrus, lemon, orange, lime and grapefruit. We have three of the 4 in our yard and the fruit is fabulous. Our lemon tree produces year round, and the grapefruit isn't far behind. I have also seen very healthy fig trees here.

When I lived inland in San Diego county, the summers were very hot and we had pear, peach, apricot and pomegranate. Look at California's San Joaquin Valley. it gets plenty hot and dry and that is full of just about every fruit and vegetable you can think of.

I think as long as the trees are well watered you can most any fruit tree.

Good Luck!

I don't know if this is helpful, but some years ago I spent time at a government research facility in the Negev desert in Israel. They had a variety of orchards where they successfully grew fruit in desert soil. The research was tissue culture to develop stronger varieties that would grow better in what was apparently very difficult soil. Israel has a lot of advanced technology in that area. They are always looking for ways to expand their agriculture into their large desert areas.

A google search using any of the mentioned keywords I have highlighted should achieve some interesting results for you.

Good luck
Kirsten Plotkin

Try apricots. My grandma used to live near Las Vegas (we always loved to go to grandma's), and she grew the best apricots ever. Never in my life I ate better apricots then hers. So try those, they'll grow excellent.