A palo verde relative with smooth, lime-green bark and a broad, umbrella-shaped canopy. It covers itself in bright yellow flowers in spring. People choose it for its sculptural trunks and a fuller, greener look than most palo verdes.
Living with it in the Phoenix Valley
Watering
Follow the tree schedule in our Landscape Care guide while it establishes. Spread water out past the trunk so roots reach wide. Once mature it needs very little, and extra water mainly adds size.
Pruning
Its branches tend to grow outward and droop, so it needs regular thinning to keep a clean umbrella shape and clearance underneath. Never top it or shear it into a ball. Avoid removing more than about 30% of the canopy in summer, which can sunburn the bark.
Cold
New growth can be damaged in a hard frost, and young trees are the most vulnerable. Established trees recover from a typical Phoenix winter.
Pests
Generally sturdy. Spider mites can appear in the dusty weeks of May and June, and aphids or psyllids on young growth.
How our designers use it
A sculptural focal point
The green trunks and twisting branch structure make it a centerpiece in a front yard or a gravel courtyard, especially with uplighting at night.
Filtered shade for a desert garden
Its broad canopy shelters cactus and agaves below while still letting light through.
Set back from foot traffic
Because of its spines and low, drooping limbs, we place it where people admire it rather than brush past it.
Good to know
Around the pool
Spring flower drop, fine leaflets and sharp spines are a poor mix with bare feet and pool filters. We keep it well back from the water and the deck.
