Blue paloverde is a drought-deciduous desert tree or large shrub from the Sonoran Desert, grown for its green bark and bright yellow spring flowers. Its key to growing is full sun and very low water once established.
Family
Fabaceae (Pea & bean family)
Grows as
Tree
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings; it sheds leaves in dry periods.
Soil
Fast-draining sandy or gravelly soil; avoid heavy clay.
Temperature
Tolerates hot desert summers; protect young plants from frost, roughly below -5 °C.
How easy
Easy
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
SE. California to Arizona and N. Mexico
Climate
desert or dry shrubland
About
Parkinsonia florida, the blue palo verde (syn. Cercidium floridum), is a species of palo verde native to the Sonoran Deserts in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Its name means "green tree" in American Spanish, referring to the green foliage, trunk, and branches, that perform photosynthesis
Where it grows
This plant is primarily found in the Sonoran Colorado Desert of southeastern California, and the Sonoran Deserts of southern Arizona and of northwestern Sonora state (Mexico). It is found predominantly in desert washes or bajadas, a result of its need for water, although occasionally it can be found in creosote desert scrub habitat, accessing seeps in desert hills up to 3,600 feet (1,100 m). Also found in the far eastern Mojave Desert of California in the northern Lower Colorado River Valley, and occasionally in the Mojave's mountains.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Parkinsonia florida by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.