Blue Palo Verde in Flower
When people think of the Sonoran Desert, hillsides studded with Saguaro cactus and cholla often come to mind. But interspersed between the cactus, you will find the beautiful Palo Verde trees. Their unique green trunks are perhaps their most notable feature.
The word "Palo Verde" means "green stick" in Spanish, referring to their green trunk, which is actually a survival mechanism in response to drought. Palo Verde trees are "drought deciduous", which means that they will drop their leaves in response to a drought situation. Their green trunks and branches are able to carry on photosynthesis, even in the absence of leaves.
'Desert Museum' Palo Verde
Palo Verde trees act as a "nurse plant" to young Saguaro cacti by protecting them from the cold in the winter and from the intense sun in the summer. Beautiful, yellow flowers are produced in the spring.
'Desert Museum' Flower Two species of Palo Verde are native to the Desert Southwest; Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia florida), formerly (Cercidium floridum) and Foothill Palo Verde (Parkinsonia microphylla), formerly (Cercidium microphyllum). Two other species of Palo Verde that are prevalent in the landscape are the Palo Brea (Parkinsonia praecox), formerly (Cercidium praecox) and a hybrid known as (Parkinsonia x 'Desert Museum'). Their cold hardiness range is around 15 to 20 degrees F.
Palo Brea
PALO VERDE USES: Palo Verdes serve as wonderful specimen trees where their green trunks, branch structure and flowers are a wonderful focal point. They are drought tolerant, once established. They provide nice filtered shade year-round. When deciding where to place, be sure to take into account that they need a lot of room to grow, mature sizes are listed below. Palo Verdes do not do well when planted in grass and will decline over time. Locate away from swimming pools due to flower litter in the spring.
Because of their larger thorns and branching tendency to point downwards, Palo Breas are not recommended in areas close to foot traffic.
Mature Sizes:
Blue Palo Verde - 30 ft x 30 ft
'Desert Museum' Palo Verde - 30 ft high x 40 ft wide
Palo Brea - 30 ft x 25 ft
Foothills Palo Verde - 20 ft x 20 ft
As with many desert trees, Palo Verde trees have thorns, except for the 'Desert Museum' Palo Verde.
Foothills Palo Verde
PALO VERDE MAINTENANCE: Prune to elevate the canopy and maintain good structure. Avoid hedging and "topping" trees as this stimulates excess, weak growth.
MY FAVORITE: As a landscape manager, horticulturist and arborist, I have grown and maintained all of the Palo Verde species mentioned and I truly enjoy them all. However, at home I have 4 'Desert Museum' Palo Verde trees. In comparison to the other species, their trunks are a deeper green, they produce larger flowers, they are thornless and grow very quickly. In addition, they require little, if any, tree staking when planted.
Palo Brea in Flower
11 comments:
Yes, I think I also would prefer the thornless one! Thanks to you, I will know more Phoenix trees' names when go there to visit my relatives.
Hi Tatyana. Me too! I used to have a Palo Brea and it was very beautiful, but is sure did get some scratches from the thorns when I was not being careful.
Thank you for the comment!
Hello! I came across your page while looking for information on how to care for our Palo Verde tree. You mention that pruning is important. Can you please advise on when the best time of year for pruning would be, and how much we should take off? Any input is greatly appreciated!
Hello Barbara,
Thank you so much for your comment. Palo Verde trees are best pruned in June, once they have finished flowering. As a rule, you should not remove more than 20% of a tree's branches a year. To do so, would put undo stress on the tree, leaving it susceptible to disease and other stresses.
I hope this helps!
Noelle
Hi Noelle! Thanks for replying. I was hoping to do it during the cooler months but we'll just have to get up really early one morning in June and beat the heat. Thank you for the good info!
Best regards and happy holidays!
Barbara
Hi Noelle, thank you for this great site! We planted a Desert Museum Palo Verde 8 mos ago. and it's now approx. 12 ft tall and 9 ft wide. A neighbor recently suggested we consider "topping off" the tree if we'd like it to grow a thicker trunk. What are the pros and cons of topping off a Desert Museum Palo Verde? Thanks, John & Mary
Hello John and Mary,
I am so glad to hear that you have a beautiful Desert Museum Palo Verde. You will enjoy its beauty for years to come. I just love mine:-)
Okay....whatever you do, DO NOT top your Palo Verde tree or any tree for that matter. There are honestly no pros for topping trees. I do have plenty of cons though. First of all, topping DOES NOT lead to a thicker tree trunk. Furthermore, it stresses the tree by removing foliage that it has to work hard to replace, it leaves the upper branches open to sunburn, 'topping' actually causes your tree to grow back faster and the new branches have a weak attachement which can cause them to break off easily...there are many more reasons not to top and you can find them at the following link http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/topping.aspx
I hope this helps :-)
3rd time's the charm!
I have a DMPV in a bed with an almost-native grass meadow, a mix of blue grama & curly mesquite. If it's not irrigated will it be OK together?
Thanks!
Kimberlyn Drew
Hi Kimberlyn,
If your tree is newly planted in that area, it will need irrigation until it becomes established, which can take 1 - 2 years. Thereafter, it should be okay as long as you water it deeply 3 - 4 times during the summer.
Good Luck :-)
Noelle
Thanks Noelle,
I was referring to your comment that PVs will decline if planted with grass. Is my combination OK? Both are pretty well established. The tree is at least 3 years old and doing well, and the area is primarily watered by rainwater runoff from the roof (passive rainwater capture system).
Thanks again,
Kimberlyn
(My first two comments had been more detailed, but it took me three times to get it to stick so I made the final message overly brief.)
Hello Again Kimberlyn,
The problem with Palo Verde trees grown in grass is largely due to the use of sprinklers. The water leaves salt deposits behind on the trunks, which can affect the photosynthesis rate. So, you should be fine since you don't use sprinklers. I think you are in good shape :-)
Noelle
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