One of the trees that is highly sought after right now is Desert Willow,
Chilopsis linearis. Native to west Texas and the Edwards Plateau this small deciduous tree looks like a willow, but is not.
Dr. David Creech of the Stephen F Austin Mast Arboretum, lists
20 different Desert Willow cultivars. Discovered by Paul Cox of the
San Antonio Botanical Gardens, 'Bubba' is the one that is making a name in the nursery trade. Propagated from cuttings, 'Bubba' has darker green leaves and large purple bloom. It also tends to have a more upright growth habit. One website also makes the claim that 'Bubba' is deer resistant!
How great is that! Desert Willows propogated from seed may not be true to the characteristics of the mother plant - lots of cross pollination going on . . . And now a few more descriptions: Small tree (20 feet tall x 20 feet wide), likes full sun, very high heat tolerance, low water needs, summer and fall bloomer, deciduous, adaptable to most soils, hardy to zone 7.
You'd think we'd be writing about one of our products - but this one is one we wish we planted five years ago! We hope to get some in the ground this season; we'll keep you posted on what we learn as we grow them here at the nursery.
saw them growing all over San Antonio this spring and have never seen them in the 38 yrs i have traveled there. they are beautiful and i think the flower looks like snapdragons.i picked up a green pod and hope to be able to grow one.no wonder they are so popular if they were discovered in SA!
ReplyDeleteYou can grow them from seed - But 'Bubba' is cloned (grown from cuttings) to guarantee the dark green color and the large purple flower. We have purchased them as small plants so don't know how hard it is to start them from cuttings.
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