ospreynn, I was searching for something on the gardenweb and came across your question that you asked last April. Although it was quite a while ago that you presented your question, I thought I might be of some help to you. Some of the responses you got mentioned to try a Mediterranean Maple. Being the Virgo that I am, I'm pretty specific. Technically, the only place in the United States with a Mediterranean climate is in California. A trait that differs from a Mediterranean and the desert or high desert, depending on where in NM you are, is a touch of humidity and a bit more rainfall. So, I would suggest that you look into a maple that evolved in a climate closer to yours such as the Great Basin. Basically, the Great Basin is what is left after the prehistoric Lake Bountiful drained and left a desert and the Great Salt Lake. The area is from the Western slop of the Rockies in Utah west to the Sierra's in Nevada. Then up into Southern Idaho and Southwestern Wyoming all the way down into Arizona and New Mexico. I live in Missouri now. But, I received my undergrad in Ornamental Horticulture at Utah State University. We worked a lot with natives and how much more successful they are in a landscape than those that are introduced. Having said that, I am completely biased toward Bigtooth. We did a lot of work out there with it. Dr Larry Rupp is involved in a project of collecting in nature and propagating at USU these small trees. He is selecting for various fall colors. At the demonstration farm up there he has a row of yellow, one of orange, red and even a vibrant maroon; close to the A. truncatum 'Fire Dragon' that lou_midlothian showed you. It's amazing. But, that variety over the others has an aphid attraction that Larry was trying to weed out. I love the tree for the rootstock especially. It can handle the high pH, salt and low water. Basically, it grows as fast as you water it. The more you water it, the faster it grows. If you decide not to water it, it just slows down its growth. But, it does not thirst. It's amazing. Also, it can be trained as a single trunk or a multi. Personally, I like the multi. It comes out looking a lot like A. ginnala. The single looks like a smaller Sugar, saccharum. I'd suggest ginnala to you over any other tree based on your description of the site. But, it just doesn't like the heat that you get. At Utah State, there are several A. griseum's on the North end of the Geology building. They look amazing! In fact, that's where I fell in love with them. We expect to get married next summer :). On the Northwest side of Old Main there is a hybrid. A. truncatum x platanoides. It has the leaf of platanoides and the seed of truncatum. It thrives as well. However, it is not nearly as beautiful as truncatum alone. So, I'd say both will do well in your area. You also mentioned Silver, A. saccharinum. That's a tough old bird. We have them here in Springfield, Missouri everywhere. I have four in my yard alone. They have prolific volunteers. They will survive about anywhere. Although they don't need a lot of water, they will tap what's there, therefore preventing competitors from getting much. They prefer it a bit acidic like most in the Sugar group. I wouldn't suggest this where you live. There are three strikes right there: weeds, water and pH. The Caddo might be ok for you. But, if OK and KS are anything like their neighbor, Missouri, it's a bit more humid than NM. Therefore, it might not perform as well there as it does out here. Cacu mentioned A. campestre. Utah State also has several of these on the North end of the ROTC building. They are problem and pest-free. Perfect specimens. They will do extremely well in your area. They can handle almost any soil condition from acidic to alkaline; from full sun to shade. They don't like wet feet. But, somehow I doubt that's much of a problem in NM. They like dry, well-drained soil and can handle compacted soil as well. It sounds a lot like the NM soil I witnessed when I took Interstate 40 from Southern California to Missouri. In England, they use these as large hedges; somewhat like we would do with Boxwood. Although they are not really ornamental, they are graceful; extremely graceful. Check this out: the truncatum was very likely what you lived with in Germany. Very likely. They are native to Europe. To sum it up, I would suggest truncatum, 'Fire Dragon' if you can get it. Absolutely campestre. Also, griseum is extremely tolerant of soils and climate. You can't go wrong there. All of these trees are rather medium-sized trees with slow growth rates. The area you mentioned seems rather small. So, these will work for now. Eventually, however, they might outgrow the area. You are pretty limited out there. That's one of the main reasons that I moved to Utah State. I wanted to learn how to be successful in a stressed environment. I figured I'd learn more that way. I look up to you for taking this challenge on. So, it's been about eight months since you posted your question. What did you decide to do? And, how is it performing? I'm very curious. Thanks. EricPaul

The only trees that I've seen survive on their own in the wetter, low elevation areas of the state with 15" of precip are chinese (siberian) elm and russian olive, however these usually take some help to put in a snow fence upwind to leave drifts where the trees are planted and provide additional moisture. They will probably get enough moisture to grow 10-12' high, then lose branches in dry years and generally look about 1/2 dead. However, if you go to an area with ground water, such as near a stream or spring, then you have lots of choices--cottonwoods, other poplars, ash, linden, boxelder, apples, honey locust, black walnut, and others. The key is whether you want to irrigate or have groundwater for the trees to survive on and your elevation. Otherwise, you go with what appear to be half dead bushes or just stick with bushes such as caragana or lilac and some evergreens such as junipers.

Hi Linda Sounds like a very nice idea that you have for your garden. Nearby me, there is a guy who has big paperbarks in his front yard. Lovely trees with sprawling limbs, going down to the ground and lots of roots. Its really lovely and very sculptural. He has renovated the garden to include lots of those succulent plants, like agaves, looks like something from the Mexican dessert. He has planted these plants all around the base of the paperbarks. I think he just plonked in some topsoil before planting. I am not sure that it looks good, but I do have a good look every time I wonder past. Its different to say the least. Of course none of the succulents are natives, but I just thought it was a similar situation to your garden. It would be hard do plant around the roots. The roots would take all the moisture from the smaller shrub, so I guess you would have to look at the drought tolerant, hardy status of the plants you choose. Not much help, I am afraid, I like your idea, cycads would look nice with the paperbark. Popi

I read there are around 250 species of Zanthoxylum worldwide, but I can't get ahold of the complete list. I find it strange that for something with such a thorny, knobby, beat up looking trunk there is no corresponding photo of it on the internet. I considered the thorn knob tree also which is a legume I think. There's the possibility that this particular tree was subjected to cruel and unusual punishment, causing it's twisted, contorted appearance. Perhaps some groundskeeper at Balboa Park knows what it is?