The Desert Museum Palo Verde hybrid

The Sweet Acacia is a good choice, and so is the Desert Willow.  A lovely tree for summer flowers, and is native to both the Tucson and Green Valley areas. This large, deciduous tree has pink flowers, although there are hybrids with lavender or burgundy colored flowers. If your goal is shade, this tree has the longest leafless period, so keep this in mind before you plant.The Blue Palo Verde is still the best choice in the Palo Verde species for Green Valley. It is endemic to the area, and you will often see these lovely trees growing along washes in the Green Valley area. Make sure you plan for mature size; about 25 feet tall and wide.View the list »
For the colder desert areas, the Velvet Mesquite is an excellent choice for filtered shade. A mature Velvet Mesquite reaches about 25 feet tall and wide, although very old trees with ample water can be much bigger. Water is important if you want a healthy tree, but if you want your mesquite to grow slower, water deeply but less frequently.

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The Desert Museum Palo Verde is a hybrid species for the Tucson area, but not so much for Green Valley desert landscaping. This is a cross between the Blue, Mexican and Foothills Palo Verde, purportedly exhibiting the best of each of these species.

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The Desert Museum variety is said to have the coloring of the Blue, the fast growing characteristic of the Mexican, and the smaller stature of the Foothills. It also has the shapely form of the Blue Palo Verde, our state tree.

There is no doubt the Desert Museum Palo Verde is an attractive tree, and it is a good thing to add another smaller desert tree to the repertoire of those available. The downside to this tree is that along with picking up the trait of a shorter size from the Foothills species, it also took on less cold tolerance. For this reason, this is a better choice for the Tucson area than for Green Valley, which is cold enough to set this tree back.

View the list
  • For the colder desert areas, the Velvet Mesquite is an excellent choice for filtered shade. A mature Velvet Mesquite reaches about 25 feet tall and wide, although very old trees with ample water can be much bigger. Water is important if you want a healthy tree, but if you want your mesquite to grow slower, water deeply but less frequently.
  • The Blue Palo Verde is still the best choice in the Palo Verde species for Green Valley. It is endemic to the area, and you will often see these lovely trees growing along washes in the Green Valley area. Make sure you plan for mature size; about 25 feet tall and wide.
  • The Sweet Acacia is a good choice, and so is the Desert Willow.  A lovely tree for summer flowers, and is native to both the Tucson and Green Valley areas. This large, deciduous tree has pink flowers, although there are hybrids with lavender or burgundy colored flowers. If your goal is shade, this tree has the longest leafless period, so keep this in mind before you plant.
View the list

, Tucson Gardening Examiner

This author has lived in Arizona since 1972 and has been gardening for more than 28 years. A landscape architect and certified arborist, Linda teaches classes for everyone in desert plant care for Green Valley Recreation, and provides services in landscape design. Contact her at Linda...

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