Watch the soil pH throughout the year and adjust the soil acidity to meet your trees’ needs. You’ll love the Bismarck palm, which maintains a lower profile than many palms while providing a magnificent display of blue fan leaves and a graceful trunk. The trees grow into impenetrable, bushy green tangles of branches, so plant them in clusters to create a natural and effective privacy screen. Allow the tree to dry out completely in between waterings. Young trees often require more attention than mature, established trees, so give special care to your trees when they’re experiencing their first few years of growth. The Chilean Mesquite is semi-evergreen and will shed its leaves periodically. Pest can be a misery to your trees, so keep an eye out for them and take any required pest-control measures to keep your trees in top shape. Evergreen leaves and peeling bark keep this tree attractive all year, with small white flowers blooming in the spring. The Chaste is a native tree in China, but it grows in many hot and dry environments and is easy to maintain. It is a slow-growing tree and can live for centuries in the right conditions. Keep the roots moist during initial growth, and then only water the tree when the first two to three inches of soil have dried out completely. Its new leaves emerge copper-colored and mature to green. Fertilize your tree from time to time, and water it occasionally. This tree doesn’t tolerate cold temperatures, so if you live in a climate that sees sub-freezing winter weather, leave your tree in a container and bring it indoors during cold snaps. Come shop the best and biggest selections for desert trees from Moon Valley Nursery! Stay vigilant, and always keep track of sunlight, temperature, and water requirements for each tree and other plants in your yard. Once you’ve read our guide to desert trees, you’ll have the know-how and confidence to make your yard a thing of beauty. If your local winter weather regularly drops below 28°F, grow this tree in a container and bring it inside during freezing conditions. It tolerates heat and dryness, adapts to clay, loam or sand and grows equally well in acidic or alkaline soil. The Ironwood thrives in many desert climates, but it prefers somewhat cooler temperatures than other drought resistant desert trees. The tree’s spectacular lilac, pink, and white flowers produce a marvelously sweet fragrance and dark green leaves to add a splash of vibrant color to your garden. Arizona. Male holly plants provide the same ornamental value as female hollies, but don’t bear fruit. If the plant sets fruit, which is unusual, it is yellow or green about one-half inch to 1 and one-half inch in diameter. You won’t find a better tree to use for carving, and its handsome looks will brighten your garden. Useful Tips To Make Your Everyday Life Just A Bit Better. Not all deserts are hot. Do you want to add a palm tree to your yard but are worried about tree height? Elise S. Gornish and Larry D. Howery, Editors PRODUCED BY . Nancy T. Engel is a master gardener with more than 35 years of editorial experience. Trimming may result in the tree having an unnatural appearance. Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) – The King of Desert Trees. The Australian willow (Geijira parviflora) gets its name because of its weeping habit, although it is not a true willow. Thanks for reading our guide to desert trees. The perfect tree matures to a manageable size and won’t heave your sidewalk, burrow into the foundation of your house or deposit a mess. Plant the Mulga tree in full sunlight. This attractive tree stays small and won’t get taller than fifteen feet, and its remarkable patterned and symmetrical branches provide a beautiful winter display after the leaves have fallen. It remains attractive all year and provides shade for your yard. As its name suggests, the Sand palm prefers sandy soil with good drainage. When you do water the Chilean Mesquite, make sure to give the roots a deep soak. al. The Desert Museum has an added party trick, though, and bursts into large, golden yellow flowers every spring that will astound you. You’ll find it in the Sonoran Desert and Mexico, and it will make your yard a beautiful place. You’ll need to provide different amounts of shade and sunlight depending on the tree, so check that your tree has all of its needs met. Bronze loquat grows well in full sun and moist in clay, loam or sandy soil and tolerates highly acidic to highly alkaline soil. Soil moisture gauges let you maintain excellent control over the planting and potting soil, but bear in mind that, like sunlight requirements, trees that grow in the desert require different soil types depending on their ideal growing conditions. Please note that I said "some". Your trees will spread out, so clear away any nearby stumps using a natural tree stump killer such as Epsom salt. When you want a beautiful palm tree that can fit in a small space, you need to look no further than the Sand palm. If you have potted plants or trees that seem unhappy in the yard, consider bringing them inside for a while to remove any possible negative factors and let them recover their health. This attractive, multi-trunked tree is deciduous and reaches about twenty feet at full growth. The Blue Palo Verde gets its name from its blue-green branches, and it adds a soft pastel shade to your home. She wrote five chapters of "The Resourceful Gardeners Guide" and a weekly gardening column. The red tip tree grows to an oval shape, provides dense shade and bears small white flowers in mid- to late spring, but no fruit. Your Blue Palo Verde gets much taller than its green cousin and will top out at around forty feet when fully mature. Several cultivars of olive trees (Olea europaea) provide the evergreen shade of other olive trees, but do not to produce fruit. in journalism from Boston University. Even better, the Palo Verde bursts into gorgeous white and yellow flowers every year and fills your yard with color and life. We hope that you enjoyed our guide to the types of desert trees with pictures that work well in hot and arid conditions. “Majestic Beauty” thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8 through 10, reaching 25 feet tall at maturity and living up to 150 years. Growing in USDA zones 9 through 11, the tree provides moderate shade, reaching 25 to 35 feet tall and 20 feet wide at maturity. You’ll find the Bismarck palm growing in yards across Arizona and California. Shade Trees & Windbreaks for the Desert Southwest Garden. With a minimum of care, these low-maintenance trees can grace your garden for generations. It bears tiny white flowers in the spring or fall and small, dry berries that provide food for birds and animals. When you want a tree that stays small and adds a gentle grace to your yard, you’re sure to like the Desert Willow.