Trees That Please Nursery

             The Shantung Maple ( Acer truncatum ) is also known as the Purple Blow Maple due to the color of its newly emerging leaves which are red-purple (see photo below). These young expanding red-purple leaves change to green as they mature. Leaves are small, about the size of Japanese Red Maple leaves, perhaps 3’-4’ wide at maturity.    The Shantung Maple grows 1′-2′ annually reaching 25″ tall and wide.    This is our tree for all planting situations. This Maple does well in heavy clay, sandy soils, full sun, or part shade. It can be planted in a lawn or next to a hot asphalt street (see photo below). It seemingly is a happy tree enjoying life wherever it is placed.    One place we would not recommend planting this tree is in a rockscape which is just too hot and inhospitable to support this beautiful tree.               A smaller tree, the Shantung Maple can be planted closer to structures. Its fall color is a brilliant golden yellow. The Shantung Maple produces a winged fruit

           Autumn Sage ( Salvia greggii ) is also commonly known as Cherry Sage owing to its flower color.  Autumn Sage is native to the Chihuahuan desert. It is a small, evergreen to semi-evergreen shrub reaching 2’-3’ tall and wide. It blooms repeatedly through summer until frost making it a great addition to the garden or xeric landscape. It has one inch red to pink flowers that are found on spikes up to 10 inches long and are attractive to hummingbirds (see photo below). The red and pink flowered varieties are the most common but Autumn Sage can also be found in white, yellow, and orange flowered types. Autumn Sage is very heat tolerant and best grown in full sun on well-drained soils. It is a low water use plant once established but flowers more regularly with extra water.    Care consists of late winter pruning to remove dead wood and dead tips to encourage lush regrowth (see photo below). Autumn Sage is hardy to USDA zone 6. Autumn Sage makes a colorful addition to the landscape

The Desert Willow ( Chilopsis linearis ) is a small flowering tree grown for its orchid like flowers and tolerance to hot arid landscapes.  The Desert Willow is a New Mexico native tree that normally grows with multi-trunks to about 15′-18’ tall and wide. If pruned into a single-trunk tree it can grow much taller. This trees common name, Desert Willow, is given due to its willow-like leaves (photo). The Desert Willow is not related to other willows like Globe or Weeping. The Desert Willow is well suited for the xeric landscape or to cool down a west or south facing wall. In particularly hot areas, areas with low annual rainfall or where water is limiting the Desert Willow makes a great specimen tree because of its tolerance to these conditions. In hot, dry areas the Desert Willow is sometimes used as the sole landscaping tree (photo). It produces a light dappled shade due to its leaf and canopy structure that is ideal to cool down hot sun facing walls (photo). It produces orchid like f

Silver-Leaf Nightshade ( Solanum elaeagnifolium ) is a perennial plant usually growing 8” to 20” tall. It is easily recognized by its silver green wavy leaves and stem color,   often thorny stems, and violet colored, star shaped flowers with protruding yellow stamens. Other common names for Silver-Leaf Nightshade are Prairie Berry, Silver-Leaf Nettle, and Satan’s Bush. Silver-Leaf Nightshade flowers from late spring into fall and is native to the Southwestern United States and into Mexico. It is considered a noxious weed in many states.  Silver-Leaf Nightshade is poisonous and toxic to livestock. Silver-Leaf Nightshade propagates from both rhizomes and seed found in berries. Green striped berries turn yellow or orange at maturity and then dry to brown.   Silver-Leaf Nightshade has an extensive root system     and can form colonies, which makes it difficult to eradicate.   If you have time and patience, Silver-Leaf Nightshade can be eradicated simply by digging it out, either by hand or

 The Desert Marigold grows abundantly in dry sandy or gravelly soils, high heat and full sun, with only the moisture that Mother Nature provides. The Desert Marigold is a small plant about 8" – 12” tall and 12” – 24” in width. Its foliage, both stems and leaves, are a hairy or woolly silver gray. The Desert Marigold produces abundant, showy, yellow daisy like flowers from spring until frost. Flowers contain both ray (outer ring with yellow petals) and disc (inner section without petals) flowers. After flower petals whither and the seed heads begin to dry, seeds can be harvested. Seeds mature from late summer through fall. Seeds are maturing now (October) and can be collected. Sow seeds immediately into your xeric landscape. The Desert Marigold makes a great addition to your xeric landscape or cactus garden due to its minimal water needs. The Desert Marigold is best grown in full sun, on dry mesas, sandy or gravelly soils, with low to no irrigation water. The Desert Marigold is har

Sand Bur ( Cenchrus longispinus ) is native to North America. It has other names like  sand spur, long-spined sand bur, hedgehog grass, and bur grass . Sand Bur is an annual grass usually growing with a prostrate growth form. It is similar in appearance to other grasses prior to seed formation. Individual plants may be 3’ in diameter, sometimes larger.  Sand Bur is a common weed of sandy soils but also grows well elsewhere. Sand Bur will often root at stem nodes that are touching the ground. The root system of Sand Bur is shallow and fibrous making them easily pulled (when immature). Sand Bur produces a flowering spike. As seeds begin to form Sand Bur is easily recognized by its numerous sharp or burred seeds or long spines. As the burred seeds mature they are easily separated from the mother plant and their sharp spines stick to virtually anything. Sand Bur can disseminate its seeds long distances because its sharp spines will hitch a ride on skin, animal hides, shoes, and clothing. S

There are two commonly grown species of Crepe Myrtle, the Common Crepe Myrtle also spelled Crape Myrtle ( Lagerstroemia indica ) and the Japanese Crepe Myrtle  (Lagerstroemia fauriei ). Crepe Myrtle is native to Asia, India, and Australia. Crepe Myrtles are small to large shrubs or small trees grown mostly for their showy summer flowers. Many varieties are typically multi-trunked unless pruned into single trunk. Some varieties also produce great fall color and have an exfoliating bark characteristic (similar to Sycamore trees) that provides winter interest.    The common name of this plant is  Crepe   Myrtle because the flowers have crinkly petals that resemble the crepe paper. The smaller varieties are ideal for planting close to the house or near walls or in borders. Crepe Myrtles are available in a variety of colors including purple,  white, pink, and red. Crepe Myrtles are best grown in full sun and well drained soils with regular water. Flowering may be reduced if planted in areas

Here's a great story about the planting of the highly sensitive   Palo Verde submitted by one of our distributors. I planted this tree in May of 2013 and as you can see the tree   went into severe shock, dying back from the ends of all of the   branches.  The tree was boxed and did not have a very good   root system, probably from being recently transplanted into a   24 inch box from a 15 gallon bucket by the local nursery to   improve their profit. Well the root ball  fell apart from no   structure   and I thought I was going to have to replace it.    At planting I   had included;   EndoMaxima mycorrhiza ,    TerraPro  and   Protein Crumblies  into the planting protocol.     With the planting problem I extended the treatment protocol   to include an application of EA, EN, and B1 every week for 4 weeks.   Well the tree survived very well and you can see the resu

Unless you have a lot of space, stay away from trees like Cottonwoods, Mulberry, Ash, or Willows. These need a minimum of 25’ – 30’ distance from your home, sidewalks, or block walls. Why? These trees have vigorous surface roots that can crack foundations, heave sidewalks, and knock over walls. Plus if their large branches overhang your home or office, they can cause considerable damage if they break and fall. Trees That Please Nursery propagates many shade trees ideally suited for home or business owners with limited space. These trees include those with deep root systems (tap roots) and / or those with smaller canopies. Some of the shade trees for small spaces that we propagate include: Texas and Chisos Red Oaks Fast growth (1’-4’ per year) Canopy 35’ – 40’ tall, 20’ – 25’ wide, makes acorns, Chisos Red Oak slightly smaller Tap root Fall Color- Gorgeous Red- Maroon Zone 5-9 Shantung Maple Fast growth (1’-3’ per year) Canopy 25’ tall and wide Deep roots Fall Color- Yellow-Gold Zone 4-