Tree of the Month: Desert Willow

John Eisenhower of Integrity SavATree talks about the Tree of the Month, the Desert Willow!

Tree of the Month: #DesertWillow

Learn more about June's Tree of the Month! #Desert Willow 

Scientific: Chilopsis linearis

Common: Desert Willow, Flowering Willow, Willow-leaved Catalpa, Willowleaf Catalpa, Bow Willow, Flor De Mimbre, Mimbre

Family: Bignoniaceae

Origin:  Northern Chicuahua in Mexico , west Texas and Oklahoma to southern Nevada and southwest Utah, Arizona, southern California, and northern Baja California in arid land washes from the low desert to grasslan

Form & Character: Desert willow has a long deciduous habit, often up to 6 to months (November to April). It is an open and airy small tree that is mostly multiple trunk, arid, colorful during the summer, but "sticks and seeds" during the winter.

Seasonality: Semi-evergreen perennial tree

Size: Grows to heights of 15 to 40 feet

Leaves: Pale to bright green foliage, leaves alternate, linear to lanceolate, 2 to 5 inches long, mostly glabrous, sometimes falcate, drops leaves in early fall, bark shaggy, no fall color; medium fine texture.

Flowers/Fruit: Typically trumpet shaped flowers with white corolla and yellow fused anthers, mottled inside, arranged in terminal clusters, petal colors ranging from white to pink to deep lavender, light fragrance, pollinated by carpenter bees; fruits are long, linear, ugly and messy in summer, several 1/3 to 1/2 inch long, light brown, oval seeds are encased within a two-celled, very indehiscent capsule. Seeds have a fringe of soft white hairs at each end which aid in wind dispersal.

Stems/Trunks: The bark of the tree is described as 'Shaggy' or 'Brittle'

Comments: Attracts birds, and looks unsightly during winter. Hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers during the summer. There are many named cultivars that exist locally that are have unique flower and form characteristics

Home Maintenance Calendar Tree of the Month: #DesertWillow

For more info view the full plant specifications from ASU's Dr. Chris Martin: Desert Willow

PODCAST

John Eisenhower of Integrity SavATree details the Tree Of The Month, The Desert Willow. The effects of over watering.  Defines Xerophyte.  Why mistletoe is bad for trees. And the worst pruning mistake called 'lions tailing'.

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