Cercidium microphyllum

Foothill Palo Verde

Tree

This small, tough deciduous tree has yellow-green bark and leaves. Young trees are irregular and craggy in form, with upward pointing branches that make them more vase shaped. Older trees are rounded and somewhat weeping. During a drought the tree will self-prune. It grows slowly to 12 feet, much faster with irrigation.

Temperature

Hardy to 15F.

Water requirements

Tolerates little to none in areas of 12 inches or more annual rainfall, but grows slowly and does not reach its maximum size. New plantings require moderate irrigation for a year or two.

Sun

Full to reflected sun.

Soil

Tolerant. Prefers loose gravelly soil with good drainage. Will grow in caliche.

Maintenance

Periodic grooming or sculpting to reveal sculptural form.

Disadvantages

Litter of flowers, beans and leaves. Roots are sometimes attacked by larvae of the palo verde beetle, which seldom kills the tree but may kill a few branches. Mistletoe infestations. Slow growth and not widely available at nursery.

Bloom

Blooms later in the season than the Blue Palo Verde. Creamy yellow flowers cover the tree in mid-spring for a long period.

Fruit or Seeds

Beans follow bloom.

Uses

Patio tree, dry sites, not in lawns.

Origin

Native of southern Arizona. Member of the Fabaceae (Leguminosae) family.

Themes

Native, Desert Grassland, Desert, Desert Transitional.

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