You might have better luck with tall shrubs which can act as a screen. Suggestions would be Orange Bells, Yellow Bells, Arizona Rosewood, Hop Bush, or even Cape Honeysuckle. Keep in mind that plants don't muffle noise as effectively as a solid barrier like a fence, although they are more attractive. The Desert Museum is a great tree, but because it doesn't have a dense canopy it may not block as much as the Sissoo (Indian Rosewood) or even a mesquite.

Ditto on Mesquite. I had a Castor bean in San Jose. I dug it up by the side of the road in San Diego, didn't know what it was at the time. I saw the thread here too where it was mentioned and it's on my wish list now too. Apparently there are many varieties.

Hi Chris Well, thanks for the kind words! I do have to say, in an act of full disclosure, there are a few other kind souls who post here too, who have a much different view on pushing somewhat cold-sensitive / less hardy, or non-native plants and trees in Albuquerque. And I can, while respectfully disagreeing, see where they are coming from, and to be honest, they likely are (as is nearly everyone who posts here!) far more experienced and knowledgeable than a layman like myself. However, having said that, there are several others who post here (or just who live around Albuquerque Metro) who seem to share my enthusiasm for pushing items like palms and cacti, and more than not, at least in my experiences, these plants seem to do pretty darn well (given the proper care, attention, etc.). A very knowledgeable, great poster here who shares most of my viewpoints is cactus_dude. He knows a lot about items like palms and cacti growing around townif you see his posts, youll enjoy them too, like I have. I have learned a lot from them! If you get down to Albuquerque at some point from the Capitol City, offhand I could direct you to at LEAST 50 different locations where palms generally T. Fortuneis (Windmill Palm), Washingtonia Robusta and Filiferas (Mexican Fans and California Fans) are growing in yards or businesses and doing great! Robustas and Filiferas here WILL have their fronds die off and burn in the winters here it is just a fact of life if you want to grow them. However, this does not seem to hurt the trees in our climate permanently, as by March, they are very rapidly starting to sprout off new green fronds like crazy again. With Windmill Palms, they actually depend largely on where they are growing and how big they are. Many, many here (generally bigger and more established ones) actually have no frond damage or burning / browning through the winters at all. In fact, for example, I know of two that are northeast facing (pretty much the worst exposure for palms in our city you could have), freestanding (eg: no walls to protect them) in a yard in the Far Northeast Heights (well east of the "Banana Line" of Eubank west), that never suffer an iota of burning to their fronds in winter, as they have been there for decades and are really well established. Many will say as conventional wisdom "palms are impossible to grow around Albuquerque"however, just going for walks through neighborhoods would indicate that just simply isnt the case. There are just too many large palms around town (admittedly, you do have to look for them) that have been in their yards for a few years (or more) that show that they do actually grow here. You just have to realize, again, that their fronds will burn off for a few months. And, you this is my opinion have to give them some protection in winter. As for your question regarding any fruit the Washingtonias would produce, that is a great question, and one for which I have no answer. I know mine does not, but mine is still very young. The fronds grow like gangbusters in the spring, summer, and fall, but no fruit. I would guess but this is simply a guess that perhaps youd need to go to a warmer place like El Paso to see that from a Washingtonia. But truly, I have no knowledge there unfortunately. But as it relates to your situation in Santa Fe, I think you and I share a very similar attitude! I wouldnt try to grow a palm there, however, for within what is conventional (overly conservative?) plant wisdom in SF, I see no reason not to push up there with care and consideration plants that otherwise might be more suited to a high 6 or a low 7 climate zone! As you have observed, some folks would be amazed at what items are able to grow and do well in the very high desert climate of SF! I keep using Albuquerque examples (sorry), but conventional wisdom would state that there is no way a saguaro would ever make it through even one Albuquerque winter. However, folks on this forum directed me to a very tall saguaro in the South Valley of Albuquerque that has been there for years. So again, when it comes to pushingwhy not try it? You enjoy the rest of your winter tooin the Santa Fe / Albuquerque corridor the last few weeks, with temps in the 60s and even 70s, it sure feels like spring is here (knock on wood)! Let us know how things continue to go for you up there!

WOW! what a post!!! pj, in the fall, after there is some moisture, we will be uprooting about 25 acres of mesquite. I can see if a small one can be salvaged. The roots do run deeply. ALSO, I don't see mention of desert willow. A neat tree that blooms, has a similar willowy leaf as mesquite .....just so happens I have some in gal. pots. E=mail me about the wholesaler you might want a tree from. As to roots in sewer lines. Many older lines were clay, joined together with cement. After untold years, the cement breaks down and even the pipe cracks, thus an open door for a tiny feeder root. Then it's just like mice, once ya got one, ya got a million. Also, the drain field in septic systems once used perforated pipe over a gravel trench. Weldon