Leafy trees for cooling shade

Leafy Trees for Cooling Shade

The FanTex Ash 'Rio Grande' gives shade in the summer, golden color in the Fall and allows sunlight onto your home in the winter. See it in early Spring, below.

Whether you select a Mediterranean classic, the Olive tree (Olea europea), or a large, fast-growing Fantex Arizona Ash (Fraxinus) for your xeriscape garden, you will be creating the cooling shade that we all welcome in the summer. Trees planted on the south and west sides of your home will, obviously, help reduce your summer cooling costs.

While we can't introduce you to all the trees that you can find in the local nurseries, here are a few small scale trees that we especially like for the smaller walled gardens so common in the desert. Plus two more majestic trees for a hot, dry climate.

You can find information about nut trees as well as fruit trees that thrive in the desert on the HotGardens website. For fast growing trees, click here.

IMPORTANT: All these trees are best planted in very early Spring or, better yet, in the Fall. (Plant palms in warm months.)

	Mimosa (Albizia Julibrissin 'Rosea') - also known commonly as the Silk Tree. A fast growing umbrella shaped tree--ideal to cast shade on patios. A bit messy when the fluffy pink blooms drop. Can grow to 40 feet if it is watered regularly. Remains smaller when watered less.
	California Pepper Tree (Schinus molle) - this Peruvian native grows fast to 25 or 40 feet. Branches droop gracefully and leaves remain bright spring green all summer. Despite its name, the "pepper seeds" are not edible. Low water usage but during drought conditions the branches hollow out and may snap off during heavy winds.
	Palo Verde (Cercidium) - Its name translates to "green stick" and with one glance you can see the green color on its trunk and leafless branches. While it is not good for shade in early Spring it bursts into bloom with bright yellow blossoms and for a short while has tiny leaves. Good screening tree. Very drought tolerant so plant in a dry area.

	Flowering Crabapple - (Malus) - the masses of pink spring blooms and orange-red leaves in the fall, not to mention the abundance of crabapples, make this a lovely tree in a lawn. Most of the over 200 cultivars do not grow particularly tall, perhaps to 15 feet, but spread to 20 feet or more wide. Needs regular watering.
	Crape Myrtle - (Lagerstroemia indica) - will slowly grow only to a height of 15 to 20 feet in a desert climate. This colorful addition to a summer garden prefers acid soil--instead of the typical alkaline desert soil--so be sure to add organic mulch before you plant it. In addition to hot pink, there are varieties that bloom pale pink and white.

For a more majestic tree: an Ash or Chinese elm

Ash (Fraxinus) - whether you select an Arizona Ash, Modesto Ash or Fan-Tex Ash tree, you will have shade in your garden rapidly. The FanTex Ash 'Rio Grande' is especially good because it thrives in hot climates with alkaline soil. As you can see by the photo at the top of this page, the leaves turn a lovely golden yellow in Fall. All ash trees need regular watering. Not all ash trees turn golden in Fall, so be sure to plant the 'Rio Grande' variety.

Chinese Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) a fast grower to 40 to 60 feet, this graceful tree has a "weeping" shape as it matures. It can, in fact, reach a height of 30 feet in 5 years! Some varieties are evergreen, some deciduous. The good news is that it is a low water usage plant once established. It can tolerate regular watering, too, so you can plant it in your lawn to enjoy dappled shade.

For more trees for hot, dry climates go here.