Palo Verde (Desert Museum) - Bends Over like Willow - Pruning?

13 years ago

My son lives west of Phoenix and had a Palo Verde planted by a nursery in December. He was expecting a small tree with intersting branches that spread out in odd shapes and make a canopy. (Pretty much like every Palo Verde you see in every yard and landscaped area.) He got a tall, spindly, "willow looking" tree. The tree is about 12 ft tall, skinny and all the limbs are growing straight up. There are only one or two main limbs and just a few smaller limbs. The tree actually bent completely over after a storm earlier this week. He was able to strighten it back up but the question is.......should/can the tree be pruned to produce less likelihood of wind damage and a shape more like he was expecting or should he start with a new tree? (Obviously he should have called the nursery right away but that's a moot point now.)

Featured Answer

grant_in_arizona

13 years ago

Sorry about the damage to your son's tree. Not fun. I have to say, I am not a big fan of 'Desert Museum' palo verde trees. I know they are the "in" and trendy tree right now and are being planted everywhere, in commercial settings especially, but I think they are awfully lanky and gangly and subject to a lot of wind damage. They're popular because they grow very quickly, and low litter and generally thornless, but that quick growth makes their branches shoot up and look boring and weak (to me). I know, I know, a ton of people have them and love them, and I think the best ones are ones that get regular pruning and not too much water. I'm not saying I'd never try one if I ever moved to a new garden, but I would expect to have to prune it a lot to keep it looking nice and to keep it from getting storm damage and honestly, I just don't think a lot of plant sellers are telling people that part.

Your son can prune his to try to create a shape he likes and that's a decent approach. I've seen some very nice ones around town, but again, they're getting regular pruning to thin them out and to make interesting branches. If he replaces it, I'd suggest getting a non-hybrid native Palo Verde if possible.

In any case, he can defitely give it a good haircut and see how it progresses. Thinning out and removing a lot of the thin branches will help its appearance for sure.

Good luck to him. Let's see what our other members say too.

Take care,
Grant

Comments (7)

Joyce Shaw
9 years ago
What makes a tree look nice,they are all diferrent. Planted in my back yard they are excellent sand and wind filters. I prune minimally, water minimally and have no wind damage. My spindly starts are pruned slightly more to keep branches closer to the trunk until the trunk reaches a good thickness. One I did stake for a few months. It is cooler under the intermixed canopy in July and August. It does not look like a city tree but that is not what I was after. In town, the ones pruned and watered fall over and need years of stageing.
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Joyce Shaw
9 years ago
If the main branches are cut back a few inches it will encourage more lateral branching.
MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
9 years ago
Joyce, do you have a diagram? I'm seriously literal.
Joyce Shaw
9 years ago
Am computer illiterate so no diagram. If you take your main trunk and just clip it straight across that will encourage side branching. If the side branches that you like grow out instead of up you can use string rope or... To tie it upwards using your trunk as its support. It will not take long for these branches to start growing in the direction you want.look at established trees to see the look you want. I have mine so the secondary branches come off at about 3 or 4 feet. The wind and sand is terrible here. Before my trees I thought we were having multiple earthquakes it hit the house so hard. Not anymore. The hotter weather keeps the shoots from trimming less numerous. Ii worked slowly, 3 years to make my final trims as even the large branches are easy to saw. Good luck, beautiful trees for me.
Joyce Shaw
9 years ago
After the roots are established cut back on watering. After a few months I went to monthly,watching the leaves, if they dropped I knew it would need more watering (mine didn't). It does not need fertilizer either. Both will make growth you already have explode. May not want that until after you get lateral branches.
jsp7057
6 years ago
Just seeing this now as I am noticing the leaves on my 1.5 yr old DM Palo Verde are getting dry and dropping off, and I came here for help. Looks like I should water more frequently. This tree has grown very fast and I am nervous about pruning it but the suggestions here seem good and maybe I will try cutting back the main branches by a few inches! Thanks for all the good comments.