If you are looking for a pretty
shrub or small tree for a drought tolerant garden with great big
dramatic flowers put Sweet Desert Willow on your planting list. Chilopsis
linearis is known for large, unique flowers which bloom in
shades from pink, purple, yellow or white. If you really want to
stop traffic go for the glowing purple or hot pink shades. The
dramatic, fragrant flowers bloom on long clusters with large,
tubular 2 inch flowers with contrasting stripes. Birds will eat
the seeds and bees and hummingbirds are attracted to the
flowers. These plants put on a dramatic show in the spring when
they are in full bloom.
Sweet Desert Willow are fast growing shrubs, up to 30 feet tall
and up to 20 feet wide. The bushes are pretty even when they are
not in bloom. Their dark green, shiny leaves are thin and up to
5 inches long, giving the plant a traditional willow look. Chilopsis
can be left as a shrub, or trained into a tree with several
trunks. They take well to trimming so they can also be used as
hedges. Chilopsis blooms from spring through fall and gets long
dangling seed pods with cottony down that can measure up to 8
inches long.
These pretty willow-like shrubs
will lose their leaves in the winter. They make a nice
alternative to other pink flowering trees (like cherries) in dry
landscapes. They look dramatic planted in rows, try them along a
driveway or against a back fence in the landscape. Make sure you
can see them from your window and enjoy the flowers.
Chilopsis linearis native to
the Western United States and take full sun in the landscape.
They grow wild in California river washes, where they are
flooded with water in the spring but receive little or no water
for the rest of the year. They are hardy to -3 degrees
Fahrenheit and can survive on as little as 10 inches a year of
rainfall. Too much water will cause them to get root rot, so
allow the soil to dry out completely before watering again, or
amend the planting hole with fast draining soil. They are
adapted to soils with little nutrients, and a soil PH from 7 -
9. Propigation is from seed or cuttings. Seeds do not need
stratification and can sprout up as volunteers in the garden.
Fall is probably the best time
to plant Desert Willow; they have all winter to become
acclimated to their new surroundings and should be able to
withstand their first year of summer heat better. Visit
http://www.theGardenPages.com for photos of pink flowering
Desert Willow. Fall under the spell of Desert Willow and plant a
few this season.
