Arid Zone Trees

Dedicated to providing quality trees to the Landscape Industry that are appropriate to the Desert Southwest
       

Newest Arid Zone Times

Home

F A Q

Variety AZT

Variety AZT Flash

Propagation/ Production

Multi Verse Single

Arid Zone Times

Illustrations Index

Hold Order Policy

AcaciaBauhiniaCaesalpiniaCeltisCercidiumChilopsisCondaliaDodonaeaErythrinaEysenhardtiaFaidherbiaGeoffroeaGuaiacumHaematoxylumOlneyaPithecellobiumProsopisPsorothamnusSchotiaSophoraTecomaVauquelinia

AZT Garden Tour Flash

Contact Arid Zone Trees

© Copyright

2000-2011

Arid Zone Trees


Trees for High Desert

 The term High Desert is almost synonymous, in a horticultural sense, with regions of potentially severe cold winter temperatures. In these desert locations cold hardiness becomes a critical consideration in tree selection and placement. Complicating this decision making process is the limited amount of data available on the cold hardiness of many desert species. Some of the most valuable information, especially for introduced desert tree species, come from field or real world observations of these species in landscape settings made in a number of varied locations. Such data, while useful, is not scientifically collected and does have serious limitations. Reports that a given species was undamaged at a particular temperature may not take into account microclimates or physical and environmental conditions that may have helped buffer the effects of cold temperature. Further, the reported or official temperature for a community or metropolitan may have been recorded at a significant distance from the observed tree and not really reflect the temperature around the tree. The lack of accurate data in the immediate vicinity of the tree can result in over or under estimating hardiness. Growth conditions, tree age and maintenance practices can further influence hardiness observations. Trees fertilized late into the fall, either directly (fertilizer applied to intentionally stimulate tree growth) or indirectly, (fertilizer applied to under-story shrubs or winter grasses) carry a lot of succulent, frost tender wood into the winter months. Freeze damage to these especially tender tissues does not give a fair appraisal of the trees innate cold hardiness. Tender tissues produced in response to heavy, inappropriate pruning may also be overly sensitive to cold injury. Lastly, while the majority of trees exhibit signs of injury within days of freezing some trees may take weeks or months to express symptoms, leading to false assessments of hardiness. With these limitations in mind, the following list was compiled from reported observations of selected species in varied locations in Arizona and Nevada.*

This tables report data collected through the Spring 1998

 

SPECIES HARDINESS (F)
Acacia aneura 15
A. berlandieri 15
A. caven 10
A. constricta 15
A. coriacea 20
A. cowleana 20
A. craspedocarpa 15(a)
A. eburnea 15
A. erioloba 7
A. gerrardii  15
A. greggii 0
A. jennerae 15
A. karroo (brown trunk) 15
A. karroo (tan trunk)  20(b)
A. microaneura 15
A. notabilis 15
A. occidentalis 15
A. pendula 15
A. rigidula 10-15
A. schaffneri 15
A. smallii 15
A. trachycarpa 25
A. victoriae 15
A. willardiana 20-25
Caesalpinia cacalaco 20
C. gilliesi 10
C. mexicana 20
Celtis reticulata -20
Cercidium floridum 10
Cercidium "hybrid" ND
C. microphyllum 15
C. praecox 20
Chilopsis linearis 10
Eysenhardtia orthocarpa  15
E. texana  15
Faidherbia albida 25
Geoffroea decorticans 15
Olneya tesota 20
Pithecellobium flexicaule  15(c)
P. mexicanum 15
P. pallens 15(d)
Prosopis chilensis 15
P. glandulosa -10
P. pubescens 0
P. velutina 5
Psorothamnus spinosus 15
Sophora secundiflora 0

a) Foliage tip burn at this temperature

(b) damaged at temperatures below 20 Fº

(c) high variability of damage ranging from death to no damage
   likely due to high genetic seed variability between trees observed.

(d) damage tip foliage.

* The information listed is our current knowledge and experience. It is offered without guarantee on the part of Arid Zone Times or its publisher Arid Zone Trees, its employees who disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information.