drought tolerant tree (irrigate, grow, trees, Arizona)

[desert sun]

What would be the best attractive drought tolerant tree for the high desert?

[GraniteStater]

A cottonwood tree could be a good idea if irrigated.

[Tressa]

YUk on the cottonwood tree they shed horribly. You can surf the net for Arbor society and they will have a list of trees that will work wonderfully in your region.

Cottonwood trees are definitely pretty when in bloom, but geeze they are also ver nasty too

[nitram]

Cottonwood trees are not drought tolerant, they use a lot of water plus they have invasive roots.
Google drought tolerant trees and you'll find a good selection that you can choose from.

[metro223]

Cottonwood trees grow in very dry areas but near the rivers usually if I'm not mistaken, usually it's the only lush trees that you will find grouped together in dry areas like the Southwest. And Teresa was right, I've had them in my backyard before and the fluffy seed is literally everywhere. Kind of neat though.

I'll be annoying and recommend a cactus, or a joshua. Personally I would love to have either of the two though.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Tressa

YUk on the cottonwood tree they shed horribly. You can surf the net for Arbor society and they will have a list of trees that will work wonderfully in your region.

Cottonwood trees are definitely pretty when in bloom, but geeze they are also ver nasty too

I forgot about the shedding I have seen a lot of them in semi-arid places in the Great Plains that get around 15 inches of precipitation a year.

[GraniteStater]

OK, here are some better selections:
Honey Mesquite 20-40ft tall at maturity.
Kentucky Coffeetree- greater than 40ft tall at maturity.
Burr Oak- greater than 40ft tall at maturity.
White Oak- greater than 40ft tall at maturity.
This is from a Utah website that is in a mostly semi-arid region.

[KwaK]

I would call your local extension office.
they can recommend trees that would work

[metro223]

Originally Posted by Plains10

OK, here are some better selections:
Honey Mesquite 20-40ft tall at maturity.
Kentucky Coffeetree- greater than 40ft tall at maturity.
Burr Oak- greater than 40ft tall at maturity.
White Oak- greater than 40ft tall at maturity.
This is from a Utah website that is in a mostly semi-arid region.

I love the look of the honey mesquite, good choice there.

[Merlander]

Originally Posted by desert sun

What would be the best attractive drought tolerant tree for the high desert?

Desert sun - the desert willow is a champ here. You can see them on the upper reaches of Academy in the median strip, near Cherry Hills library in the median, and also along parts of Paseo. It gorws very quickly, has great spring/summer flowers, and grow to about 25 ft. The only problem is sometimes they can split or break in a bad storm - not as sturdy as an oak.

If I could plant any tree I would go with some kind of an oak, other than a gambel which is kind of shrubby. Maybe an Ariz. White Oak. You can even grow southern live oak here, believe it or not!

Other trees recommended for this climate are an Arizona/Velvet Ash, and a Chinese Pistache, both of which have BEAUTIFUL fall colors.