Best Trees to Plant in AZ Landscapes

When you think of the Arizona desert, you don’t automatically picture the abundance of trees, but our environment is actually conducive to growing and sustaining many different types of trees. If you desire additional shade for your home and are looking to landscape, the following types of trees with low watering needs make wonderful additions to any design:

• Chilean Mesquite – A fast-growing, native tree, the Chilean mesquite in addition to the velvet mesquite are known for their strong root systems and grow to approximately 30 feet.
• Palo Verdes – Actually, the state tree of Arizona, these trees are recognizable by their characteristic green bark that contributes to glorious yellow blooms in the spring. The two main types include the Foothill Palo Verde and the Blue Palo Verde, both relatively fast growers achieving up to a 40 feet height.
• Desert Willow – A distant relative of the trumpet vine, this colorful tree has deciduous flowers that attract bees and hummingbirds to your space.
• Acadia – Both the cat claw and whitethorn acacias are excellent small native trees that almost feel like shrubs. While not able to produce deep shade, they add a good texture for filtered light and do wonderful in landscape designs where they can be placed next to other cacti.
• Desert Ironwood – Native to the Sonoran region, this evergreen tree is tough and loves the desert soil and climate. With a silvery-bark, this slower growing tree on our list makes for a fun texture and color with its soft lavender blooms in the springtime. At its maturity, each ironwood tree stands at approximately 25 feet.
• Texas Ebony – A beautiful ornamental tree, this xeriscape-friendly tree gives us a mid-sized canopy that can add height, interest, and variety to a well-designed landscape.

If you’d like to learn more about adding trees to your space, give us a call at (480) 777-9305 to learn more.