[Arid_gardener] Re: How to plant and Care for Palo Verde

[Olin Miller]

----- Original Message ----- From: <beverlyroot at mns.com>
> I'm interested in how to plant and take care of a pala verde tree.
====================================================

Palo Verdes are easy to care for.  Once established at a suitable location
the trees practically take care of themselves.  They are a bit messy for
about three weeks after blooming when they drop the seed pods.  If you
haven't already made a selection, you might want to do a little research
first.  Web searches will bring up lots of color photos of the trees in
bloom.  The AZ native trees are the hardiest for Phoenix.

There are about a half-dozen different palo verdes.  One of them, the
Mexican palo verde (Parkinsonia aculeate) is a fast growing, messy, thorny
tree and should be avoided  Its litter includes not only the seed pods but
also the needle like leaves.  It reseeds easily. It grows in vacant lots he
curbs of the streets all around our neighborhood.  It is a rather nice
looking tree from a distance but not suitable for most landscapes.

The "Arid Zone Trees" website at

http://www.aridzonetrees.com/AZT%20Interactive%20Buttons/Tree%20Index/Cercidium.htm

has descriptions not only of our other two AZ natives (Cercidium floridum
and Cercidium microphyllum) but also of the palo brea (C. praecox). Several
thorn-less hybrids are also described - The Desert Museum is probably the
best known of the thornless hybrids. .

Plant the trees following the directions at the Cooperative Extension
website at
http://cals.arizona.edu/pubs/garden/az1022.pdf
"Planting Guidelines:  Container Trees and Shrubs"

Avoid overwatering.  The bark may also sunburn if too much foliage is
removed by trimming.

Olin Miller, Master Gardener Volunteer, Maricopa County AZ