3 Top Desert Friendly Trees for Las Vegas Landscapes

Las Vegas is one of the hottest and driest cities in the world, and the hot and dry weather makes it difficult to grow shade trees which can help cool and protect buildings from the sun. Because of the extreme weather in the summer and winter, choosing the wrong tree to plant in Las Vegas will leave a homeowner with a dead tree in almost no time flat. Choose from these top drought-tolerant or hot-weather friendly trees to add lasting shade to a landscaping layout.

Willow Acacia - drought tolerant shade provider.

The willow acacia is a versatile tree that can take hot, dry weather and give a thick shade cover to the nearby area. Though acacia grows ground branches, making it a useful decorative shrub-like tree, the lower branches can be trimmed up to turn it into a more traditional shade-tree shape. Willow acacia is notably drought tolerant and requires little maintenance and watering to keep it thriving.

Sissoo Tree - thrives and grows quickly to give shade in hot weather.

The Sissoo Tree thrives in hot weather, making it a great tree to grow in Las Vegas. Though it requires a good deal of water, making it less drought tolerant than other trees, it grows a lush bunch of leafy branches that creates a cooling shade cover to protect nearby buildings from the sun. Because this tree grows noticeably fast when it receives proper water and soil nutrients, it is a good tree to plant in areas where you want a shade tree to come up quickly.

Palo Verde - desert friendly decorative flowering trees.

Attractive green-barked flowering trees suited well for dry weather, palo verde trees come in two types: yellow palo verde and blue palo verde. While both trees tolerate hot, dry weather well, the yellow palo verde varieties require less water than blue palo verde trees. Though both have greenish bark, blue palo verde trees have small bluish leaves and a blue tint to the greenish bark toward the ends of the branches. These trees are low-maintenance, drought tolerant and desert-friendly fro Las Vegas yards, but do not provide much shade.

Las Vegas Fruit Trees

Fruit trees do not typically do well outdoors in Las Vegas, and it is not entirely because of the heat. Winters in Las Vegas can get down into the mid-to-lower thirties at night, so plants like orange trees and lemon trees which prefer warmer temperatures must be grown in an indoor container garden if they are to survive. Once the weather warms again, fruit trees can be placed back outside in the higher temperatures of the Las Vegas summer, but must be watered frequently when the air gets dry.

References:

Dalbergia sissoo
Palo Verde Trees for the Urban Landscape
Moon Valley Nurseries - Willow Acacia