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Small Trees
Looking for the Perfect Tree
If you're in the market for a tree to fit your small patio you'd better put on your walking shoes and plan on spending a few hours browsing a couple of the nurseries. Tree shopping is a lot like buying a car but a whole lot cheaper and the nurseries don't take trade-ins. And like buying a car you need to find a salesperson you can trust.

Okay, you think The Tucson Gardener has been out in the hot summer sun a bit too long. Maybe I have, but I did it for some of The Tucson Gardener readers who are looking for small patio tree information. Now, before you start gushing your appreciation let me say "you're welcome" and we'll let it go at that. I did what you'll have to do to find that perfect tree -- visit one or two quality nurseries and kick a few tires.

What does that mean? Well unless you know exactly what you want you need to go look, touch, smell and compare a few trees. The first nursery I stopped at I said, "I'm looking for a small patio tree. What do you recommend?"

The nursery person asked, "One trunk, two, three or more? You want that with or without flowers? Evergreen or deciduous? Thorns or thornless? Drought tolerant? Big leaves or small? Fruiting or fruitless? Native or imported? Fast or slow growing? Common or uncommon? Upright or spreading growth?" And the questions went on until the scientific names started to roll off the nursery person's tongue like the foreign language it is. I suddenly had a craving for air-conditioned comfort and an ice-cream sandwich.

Once I regained my composure (believe me I was sweating bullets and it wasn't from the hot summer sun) I asked, "Can we see some of the trees?"

The next thing I knew I was out in the nursery walking down rows of container plants. There was a Cordia boissieri native to Mexico and Texas with the common name of Texas olive. I could pronounce Texas olive.

Next came a Eucalyptus native to Australia and I protested. "Hey I'm talking small patio. All the Eucalyptus I've seen are at least thirty feet tall and messy."

Not so I was told. Eucalyptus spathulata or Narrow-leafed gimlet (could I have that with lots of ice) is a small, erect thin leafed tree that can tolerate Tucson's poor soils. (I might take one if I could get it with a Koala bear.)

Then there were the Acacias. All I could think of were the two Acacias I had in my back yard that were infested with mistletoe and stabbed me with their thorns every time I tried to prune them.

"Whoa, hold your horses Tucson Gardener. There are lots of different Acacias. Acacia aneura makes a good easy care evergreen patio tree with a gray color. Acacia pendula or Weeping Acacia is a good slow growing tree with an interesting form."

"But what if I want something I can eat?" I asked wishing ice-cream sandwiches grew on trees. 

"Fortunella."

"Fortune teller?" I asked. "Never heard of it."

"Kumquats," came the common name.  "Or any of the dwarf variety of citrus for that matter," my tree salesperson suggested.

"So what you're telling me is there are lots of choices."

"Life's full of choices."

Let's not get philosophical and lets not continue this story. There's a tree out there perfect for every garden. It's just a matter of finding the right one.  It's your yard, your garden and your choice. You wouldn't want me to choose your new car for you although I have to admit I like the looks of the new Chrysler PT Cruiser. Of course I wouldn't buy one without seeing it and taking it for a test drive. You know, rub the bark, smell the foliage sort of thing.

Nursery Staff Suggestions
If you're still not convinced you have to go test drive your trees, here's a list of a few of the trees nursery staff suggested while in search of the perfect tree. There was some repetition in suggestions but I only list the tree once. I visited Rillito Nursery and the now defunct Growers Nursery on the Northwest side of Tucson and emailed Magic Garden Nursery on east 22nd street.

Nursery personnel agree there are many variables to selecting a small tree for your garden or patio. You need to know what you want from your tree, where it's going to be planted, and how willing you are to care for it. Then share that information with staff from the nursery so they can suggest the right tree to fit your needs.

Lysiloma thornberi - feather bush (give it lots of water it becomes a tree)
Ligustrum japonicum - waxleaf or Japanese privet
Ligustrum lucidum - glossy or Chinese privet
Nerium oleander - oleander trained as a tree
Prunus persica -peach tree
Thevetia peruviana - yellow oleander
Ulmus parvifolia - Chinese elm
Vitex agnus-castus- monk's pepper tree

Acacia aneura - mulga
Acacia pendula - weeping acacia
Cordia boissieri - Texas olive
Dwarf citrus
Eucalyptus spathulata - narrow-leafed gimlet
Fortunella margarita - kumquat
Olea europaea - 'Swan Hill', 'Wilsoni' olive (Non fruiting with little to no pollen.)
Pistache lentiscus - Mastic

Albizia julibrissin - mimosa or silk tree
Callistemon citrinus - bottlebrush tree
Callistemon viminalis - weeping bottlebrush
Feijoa sellowiana - pineapple guava
Lagerstroemia indica - crape myrtle
Laurus nobilis - sweet bay
Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea' - purple leaf plum
Prunus cerasifera 'Purple Pony' - dwarf purple leaf plum
Sophora secundiflora - Texas mountain laurel

Pretty Pictures & More Information
If you'd like to look at a variety of small and big trees suitable for our arid climate you might want to browse through the pictures at Arid Zone Trees - Trees for the arid zone climate of the southwest. Maybe you'll see something you like and can ask about it when you visit your favorite nursery.

If you're headed to your local library or bookstore for more tree research, then you might want to consider looking at Plants for Dry Climates - How to Select, Grow & Enjoy by Mary Rose Duffield & Warren Jones; published by Fisher Books, 1998. ($17.95) (There's a newer version in the bookstores.) To make your job easier the book has a plant selection guide which lists over 40 small trees and another 25 medium sized trees. All of the trees have an accompanying photograph to show you what the tree can look like in the landscape.

The other book to consider is Sunset Western Garden Book by the Editors of Sunset Magazine and Books; Published by the Sunset Publishing Corporation. ($29.95)
This has been a gardener's bible for many years and is still one of the best books to reach for when you need information.

Another interesting way to help you look for small tree information is by using the Water Resources Research Center, College Of Agriculture at the University of Arizona Desert Landscaping - Plants for a Water-Scarce Environment CD-ROM  plant selector. Using the software you can select the type of plant you're looking for and then mark specific requirements such as height, flower color, evergreen or deciduous. A list of suggestions with photographs will come up on your screen. You can click on the picture for further information. The $25 CD-ROM is a great desert gardener resource. It can be found at Tucson bookstores and some Tucson nurseries. (2000)