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Arizona Gardening Trees garden

Palo Verde pruning help for a CA gardener, please & thank you!!

last year

last modified: last year

Hi Arizona gardeners! I'm in love with your state tree, and it loves the heat of my inland-valley CA home (110 degrees at our highest last year).

But, as you can see in the photos, our Desert Museum is a bit blowsy or sloppy looking. And I have some questions & concerns about pruning. I'm having a hard time finding info online about maintaining a young palo verde.

We planted 4 of them from 15gals in 2020, & now this one is 12 (15?) feet tall. We lost the 3 others to wind after I pruned them and they had a huge mind-blowing growth spurt. For the 3 I pruned, I made sure to cut back to a large branch; I didn't top the tree, but I guess I inadvertently did the "lion tail" thing. So ever since then, I've been too nervous to prune this last one. I don't water it at all, in hopes of slower growth. But we have clay-ish soil that retains water (though water doesn't stand & we get zero rain april through November) so it still grows pretty darn fast. And we are in a windy-ish area. I know that's 2 strikes against us, but we really love this tree.

My #1 concern is the health & longevity of the tree. If zero pruning is the best way to ensure that, I'm fine with its broad and drooping shape. So give me your thoughts! Should I prune now, in the winter? Maybe just a little bit, or none at all? What's the best way to help my tree cope with wind?

Thanks a bunch from California!!

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
all plants can be pruned ... compare here: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=topiary&ia=images&iax=images

you prune to accomplish a goal .. e.g. so it doesnt take over the whole garden ... once you can elucidate a goal;.; then actually doing it is not all that hard ...

what do you want it to be.. how much space you you willing to give it.. do you want to train it up ... like shade trees you walk under... or smaller trees you want to garden under ...

there shouldnt be all that many 'special' rules for any named plant ....

here is one way to look at a lot of the plants you have.. and you should be able to tell which have been taught a lesson.. and which havent ... just keep scrolling until you find one that you really like.. and then go make yours just like it l. pruning an otherwise healthy plant.. never caused problems ... done properly ...

btw.. my cursory review tells me your is LOOKS like a shrub ... and at the link.. most look like trees.. in other words.. you could prune yours into more of a tree form.. if you wish ..

ken
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
It’s beautiful. I wouldn’t touch it.
Katherine Rosa thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
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Katherine Rosa
Original Author
last year
Thanks, Ken. It's just that palo verdes are famous for how fast they grow and that pruning triggers growth spurts of weak branches. In a high wind area, that could result in disaster.

I'm still hoping to hear from gardeners in the southwest who may have first-hand knowledge of palos. If you're out there, Arizona gardeners, let me know your thoughts!
Marco
last year
I hope you got resolution on your question. I live in Tucson, and we have a lot of palo verdes in the wash beside the house. In the wild, they have a natural shrub-shaped form, with lower branches sweeping to the ground. The shady area beneath is habitat for lots of native desert plants that need a little shade (yes there is such a thing!), and serve as "nurse" trees for young saguaros that will outlive the tree that once sheltered it. The area below the trees with all the other growth is also shelter for various desert animals: birds, quail, rabbits, javelina, coyotes, bobcats mice, rats, snakes. These are not entirely desirable next to our house, and we need to allow water to flow freely during our monsoon season. so we "prune the trees up" to a more open and park-like form, and rake out leaf litter that gathers there. The trees do produce small shoots from the trunk after that, so it needs to be done every two or three years to keep the openness we prefer. But there is no reason to go with the route we find preferable. Both forms are beautiful.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
last year
All plants can be pruned......but many do not appreciate pruning and will respond with some unnatural growth patterns that are not attractive. I would include palo verdes in this category :-) This is a tree that needs minimal pruning attention, with just low hanging branches being removed if interfering with clearance. Otherwise, I would leave as-is!

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