Festival Landscaping
LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE • IRRIGATION • TREE TRIMMING • STORM CLEANUP
ROCK • FRENCH DRAINS • PAVERS • TURF INSTALL • JUNK REMOVAL
(623)377-0431
Proudly Serving Festival Ranch, SunCity, Verrado and Victory
Sissoo Tree Removal; Installation of Silver Leaf Texas Mountain Laurel and Live Oak
Thank you so much to the Jene Cain for this wonderful video! We truly appreciate all your hard work in documenting this process. We're so glad you love your new trees!
Tree Choices
Choosing a the right tree for your landscape design can seem like a daunting task with so many to choose from. Some considerations when making this decision should be:
- Foliage (Evergreen or Deciduous)
- Litter
- Thorns
- Allergenic
- Cold/Heat Tolerance
- Water Requirements
- Growth: Rate, Size, and Form
The picture below shows the trees shape in this order:
One of the best websites to look at when making this decision is Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert: http://www.amwua.org/trees.html
Below are a few trees that are commonly seen within our community. They have been sorted by their growth rate. The information about each tree has been provided by the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association (Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert). Please refer to the website above for further information on these trees.
This list is by no means all-inclusive, it is simply a few of our favorites!
Growth Rate: Slow to Moderate
Swanhill Fruitless Olive
Mature Size: 25' h x 25' w
Flower Color: Cream (nonshowy)
Sun: full sun, partial sun
Flower Season: spring
Water: low
Foliage Color: gray-green
Growth Rate: slow-moderate
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: rounded crown
Evergreen? evergreen
Hardiness: 11-20° F
Litter: low
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Other Features: Provides a mediterranean look.
Native to: Horticultural Selection
Only pollenless and fruitless selections can be legally purchased for landscape use.
Mexican Bird of Paradise
Mature Size: 10' h x 8'
Flower Color: Yellow spikes
Sun: full sun
Flower Season: spring to fall
Water: moderate
Foliage Color: dark green
Growth Rate: moderate-fast
Foliage Texture: fine
Form: upright, open
Evergreen? evergreen
Hardiness: 11-20° F
Litter: moderate
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Attracts Wildlife: birds, hummingbirds
Other Features: Can be grown as a small tree. Attracts hummingbirds.
Native to: Mexico
Plant Type: tree,shrub
Texas Mountain Laurel
Mature Size: 8' h x 6' w
Flower Color: Purple clusters
Sun: full sun
Flower Season: spring
Water: low
Foliage Color: dark green
Growth Rate: slow
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: upright, dense
Evergreen? evergreen
Hardiness: 1-10° F
Litter: low
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Other Features: Fragrant flowers. Can be grown as a small tree.
Native to: Chihuahuan Desert
Plant Type: tree,shrub
Little-Leaf Ash
Mature Size: 10' h x 8'w
Flower Color: Green (nonshowy)
Sun: full sun, partial sun
Flower Season: spring
Water: moderate
Foliage Color: medium green
Growth Rate: slow
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: rounded
Evergreen? semievergreen
Hardiness: 1-10° F
Litter: low
Allergenic: yes
Thorns: none
Other Features: Graceful shrub or small tree. Attractive gray bark with age.
Native to: Chihuahuan Desert
Plant Type: tree,shrub
Texas Ebony
Mature Size: 20' h x 15' w
Flower Color: Cream to yellow
Sun: full sun
Flower Season: late spring to early summer
Water: very low
Foliage Color: dark green
Growth Rate: slow
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: irregular
Evergreen? evergreen
Hardiness: 11-20° F
Litter: moderate
Allergenic: no
Thorns: medium
Other Features: Rich green foliage color. Bark sunburns if tree is overpruned.
Recently reclassified as Ebenopsis ebano.
Native to: Mexico, south Texas, Texas
Plant Type: tree
Live Oak
Mature Size: 40' h x 50' w
Flower Color: Green (nonshowy)
Sun: full sun
Flower Season: spring
Water: moderate
Foliage Color: dark green
Growth Rate: moderate
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: wide crown
Evergreen? semievergreen
Hardiness: <0° F
Litter: seasonal
Allergenic: yes
Thorns: none
Other Features: Accepts lawn conditions.
Consider mature size.
Native to: southeast U.S.
Plant Type: tree
Growth Rate: Moderate to Fast
Hybrid Palo Verde
Mature Size: 25' h x 25' w
Flower Color: Yellow
Sun: full or reflected sun
Flower Season: spring to summer
Water: very low
Foliage Color: medium green
Growth Rate: fast
Foliage Texture: fine
Form: vase-shaped
Evergreen? semievergreen
Hardiness: 11-20° F
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Other Features: Overwatering may cause limbs to break.
Recently reclassified as Parkinsonia hybrid.
Native to: Horticultural Selection
Look for 'Desert Museum' or other selections.
Sissoo Tree
Mature Size: 40' h x 30' w
Flower Color: Cream (nonshowy)
Sun: full sun
Flower Season: spring
Water: moderate
Foliage Color: bright green
Growth Rate: fast
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: upright
Evergreen? semievergreen
Hardiness: 21-30° F
Litter: low
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Other Features: Large shade tree.
Native to: India
Plant Type: tree
Chinese Pistache
Mature Size: 40' h x 35' w
Flower Color: Green (nonshowy)
Sun: full sun
Flower Season: spring
Water: moderate
Foliage Color: dark green
Growth Rate: moderate
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: rounded crown
Evergreen? deciduous
Litter: seasonal
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Other Features: Dense shade tree. Striking fall color, red fruit on female trees.
Native to: China, Philippines
Plant Type: tree
Chaste Tree
Mature Size: 20' h x 20' w
Flower Color: Lavender spikes
Sun: full sun, partial sun
Flower Season: summer to fall
Water: moderate
Foliage Color: dark green
Growth Rate: moderate
Foliage Texture: medium
Form: shrublike
Evergreen? deciduous
Hardiness: 11-20° F
Litter: moderate
Allergenic: no
Thorns: none
Other Features: Fragrant flowers. Seeds are hazardous on sidewalks.
Native to: southern Europe
Plant Type: tree