A query for Gail from Sandi in Ft. Worth
re: a column she had written for the Fort Worth Star Telegram on September 2.

She had mentioned a tree called "Desert Willow" (Chilopsis linearis). I would like to put 2 in my yard to replace a larger tree I lost this year.

My questions are, "Where may I find these for sale?" and "About how much should they cost?". Also, are there any specific planting instructions for this tree? Preferred planting times?

I realize this query was for Gail, but allow me a bit of input.

About 10 years ago, I planted a small Chitalpa, which is a cross between the Desert Willow and the Catalpa. This was in west Fort Worth, where we had about a foot of rock hard clay on top of solid rock.

It has the leaves and tree structure of the Desert Willow, but the much prettier bloom of the Catalpa. I would choose it over the Desert Willow, just on the superior bloom. It bloomed all summer. It is a water hog like all willows, but was very easy, and I was pleased with it.

Here are a couple of links for the Chitalpa, with the second one showing a pic of a full-grown tree.

http://www.smgrowers.com/chitalpa.htm
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/8964/chit.jpg

Sandi, The Catalpa and Desert Willow both have beautiful blooms. My Desert Willow was planted last spring and it is already 10 feet tall. I bought a 1 gallon at Mike's Nursery. But Weston Gardens and Redenta's also carry them. If you are in the Dallas area, I suggest North Haven Gardens but take a couple of hours to enjoy it!

No special instructions other than soak the root ball for an hour or two in a fish or seaweed mixture. Then water the hole in the ground that you have dug and let it drain out well. Then plant and keep watered for about 3 weeks if it doesn't rain. It should be off and running with a great start since the weather is cooling off. Enjoy!

Here's my take and observations on the above ‘willows’ Sandi.
I have noticed that the Desert Willow you asked about, tends to develop with a shrub formation rather than tree-like when left to grow without grooming into a single trunk-ed tree.

My Ft. Worth experience with the hybrid Chitalpas varies from Caro’s above link, in that mine have not suckered from below ground, although young plants do tend to put out shoots from the entire length of the main trunk. I chose to pinch them off to generate a single-trunked tree that we could walk under instead of navigating around. After the first two years, they no longer developed the side shoots. Mine only required careful watering for the first year or so, as any new planting will and the matured trees do not appear to be water greedy. All-day sun is necessary for them to grow straight and full, otherwise they bend to towards the strongest light source. Iron supplements seem to be necessary in extreme alkaline soils and very good drainage is required to avoid root rot.

I do think the Desert Willow is a wonderful landscape choice, but I must admit that the Chitalpa is our favorite blooming garden tree. Ours grow in the lawn below the round steps as seen in the Seasons pics. I was going to add a link to a past Come Stroll article that covered my experience with them and had a nice close up of the bloom, but it has scrolled off into archives. So I guess I've re-written it here instead!

Aha! this link will take you to the past page. Be sure to use the search engine on the top of our home page. It will even suss out the archived Come Strolls that are no longer linked on the current years buttons.
Come Strudel May 99
just scroll down to the May 14 entry.

Also, Caro, the bouquet for that month has a leaf of the 'Tropicana' canna. Is that the same as the one you referred to in your mystery vine thread?

Looks like it. What's the story on 'Tropicana?'

There is no site article on cannas as yet. It might take me years to Come Stroll EVERY plant in this garden! The monthly bouquets adjunct what is blooming here at the time, to assist in border color scheme planning.

In a nutshell, the Trop canna requires same culture as most others, except in this climate it will burn in full sun. They are in their glory here in spring, but even with summer-growth shade, the foliage darkens too deep. The summer thru fall blooms are sensational tho.