I was wandering around our yard recently trying to get inspiration for another blog post. The gardens are in a definite transition period and are pretty unattractive right now so getting inspired wasn’t working the way I was hoping. I continued over to the part of the yard I rarely go over to and noticed that our Desert Willow tree was blooming and a hummingbird was enjoying all the flowers. I thought it was weird to have the tree bloom this time of year. In previous years, our tree has always bloomed in the spring and that is it for the year. Curiosity got the best of me and I had to look up why our tree was blooming in October and what I found out was interesting to me and this tree is what inspired this blog post.

Interesting Desert Willow Facts:

Before we dive into all the interesting facts I discovered about the Desert Willow, I want to satisfy your curiosity as to why our tree was blooming in October. From what I read, the Desert Willows will re-bloom if they get water after a period of being dried out completely. This tree is in the part of our yard that will get deep watering once a month. I had not turned the drip irrigation for longer than a month because we were supposed to get rain and we finally did get a good downpour. I have no idea if this is really true on why our tree has re-bloomed but this summer we did get a few good downpours and the tree has been blooming all spring, summer and now fall. This is great news for all the bees, hummingbirds and butterflies that absolutely adore this tree’s orchid-like flowers. I am going to keep an eye on whether I feel it is true that the tree blooms again when it gets water after a period of drying out.

The next interesting fact that I discovered about the Desert Willow is that it is native to North America. The regions that Desert Willows are native to are all of the Southeast, South, Southwest, Northwestern United States and Northern Mexico. The Desert Willow is most prolific along washes and dry river beds. This leads into their next most interesting fact. They can withstand many months of drought but when the rainy season begins and the dry river beds fill-up, they can tolerate growing in standing water for a short period of time. There are not a lot of drought tolerant plants that I can think of that can survive in both super dry and super wet conditions. I find that pretty fascinating.

The Native Americans had many uses for the Desert Willow. Unlike their counterpart (in name only) the Weeping Willow has brittle trunk wood and branches. The Desert Willow is the opposite. It has very strong trunk wood and branches. One of the many uses of the Desert Willow is that the leaves and branches were used for roofing for Native American homes. The trunk wood was used to make bows, fencing and posts for houses. The bark was a material used to weave baskets and the leaves and bark were often used to make poultices and tea for soothing coughs.

I love feeling like I am growing a part of history!

Quick Facts:

Plant Type	Deciduous
Mature Size	20-25′ tall x 15-20′ wide
Sun Exposure	Full Sun
Soil Type	All soil types, including poor soil
Bloom Time	Spring, Summer, Fall
Flower Color	Burgundy, Light Pink, White
Flower Shape	Orchid-like, Showy and Fragrant
Pollinator Friendly	Yes
Cold Hardiness Zones	5b – 9
Drought-Tolerant	Yes
Propagate	Easy, Seeds
Unique Characteristics	Multiple trunks, showy branching, can be grown as a small tree or large shrub

Pros and Cons of the Desert Willow Tree:

• Pros
  • Very drought tolerant, very little water is needed to keep this tree happy.
  • Hummingbirds, bees and butterflies love this tree and its blossoms.
  • It has attractive, orchid-like flowers and beautiful, thin, bright green foliage.
  • The trunk or trunks and branches grow in interesting twists and turns.
  • Does not have thorns. So many drought tolerant plants have some kind of sticker or throne. I don’t blame them, they need some type of defense mechanism to live in the harsh desert environment but as a gardener it is nice not to get poked at.
  • It is very low maintenance. I only trim it in the winter maybe every other year. I trim mine because I like to see the trunk and for ease of cleaning underneath it. Trimming is a personal choice, not a necessity.
• Cons
  • They are slow growing.
  • They are messy. Desert Willows are heavy bloomers so when all those beautiful, showy flowers dry out and die they will be all over the yard. I do not recommend planting cactus around a Desert Willow because the dried flowers really get stuck in the cactus thorns.

How to Propagate a Desert Willow Tree:

As I have mentioned in my article about Mesquite trees, trees that have a ton of easy to gather seed pods make it too tempting to give propagation a try. Desert Willows have very easy seed pods to gather and each pod will have a lot of seeds to try growing. Luckily, I have great luck propagating from these seeds.

Adding one of these trees to your garden will add color, interest and activity to your space. The beautiful flowers, delicate bright green leaves, interesting trunk and branch formations will add character to your garden. The flowers will add fragrance to your garden and attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. The tree itself will provide food and shelter for birds and other animals. It can be grown as a small tree or grown as a large shrub and used as a hedge or wind break. This tree will not disappoint you or your garden and possibilities for its uses in your garden are limitless.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about Desert Willows and consider growing some in your garden. 

Happy desert gardening!

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Joy Simper has a full time job as a home schooling stay at home mom. She is the one that holds the house and yard together and keeps the kids in line. She enjoys gardening, including seed starting and propagating plants.

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