I live in a desert too. with a river running through it. there's bee trees everywhere as i assume there are in Tuscon. There's one right out my front door.
I have my bees in northern Sonora, Mexico (right in the Sonoran desert).
Depending on how much water you have there are a few different choices you can go with. A little more information about where you are and the conditions would be nice.
It's been to cold so I didn't want to kill them off. Last few days have been a lot warmer and the rains are gone so I went out a few days ago and prepared them to be transfered into their new home.
It's going to be a nightmare.
I'm actually working on the video of me preparing it right now and will export the video over night (will take about 6 hours) and then I'll upload it in the morning and give you all the link.
Some citrus varieties in my area are in bloom right now. My girls are happy.
Mesquite, citrus, yellow trumpet (not really a good bee tree but they'll take it if there's nothing else and this tree blooms a few times throughout the year), there's a desert sage but it's more like a bush.
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