Drought Tolerant Fast Growing Flowering Tree
Gardening Question from John:
Hello Pat! I bought a house on the top of a hill in Pasadena that has no trees on the west side of the property. The sun blasts that side of the house in the afternoons and our temperatures can get up to 105 degrees. Can you suggest a fast growing tree we could plant on that side of the house that flowers and that can tolerate drought and also tolerate that kind of heat and sun? We need shade, we need it FAST and we’d like something that is flowery and pretty to look at. Thank you!!!
Photo by tree-species 
Answer from Pat:
Tipu tree or South American rosewood (Tipuana tipu) is a great shade tree, grows quite fast and gives you apricot flowers in late spring, early summer. Jacaranda is spectacular in June bloom and gives the greatest show in a warm location. It hates cold wind. Magnolia gives solid, dark shade, thrives in heat and bears huge, fragrant white flowers over a long season. However, it drips leaves and other debris. There are many species and selections. Be sure to look these up so you know what you are getting and if it is a good choice in your climate zone. Lastly, you might consider Moreton Bay chestnut tree (Catanospermum australe.) This grows well in Pasadena—I have even seen it on a hilltop there. This happens to be one of my all-time favorite flowering trees. Beautiful as a shade tree and spectacular in flower, I would plant one myself if I had a place for it.
I strongly recommend you read the descriptions of each of these trees and their requirements in Sunset Western Garden Book so you can compare them and make sure you and your final choice are compatible. Please be sure you look in an older edition of Sunset Western Garden Book, such as the one with a pink daisy—purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) on the cover. You can purchase this inexpensively on Amazon.com. I do not recommend the new edition of Sunset Western Garden Book, with the orange daisy (Gazania ‘Tiger Eye’) on the cover since, though it has good information in the back, it is less comprehensive than former editions and the encyclopedia section (which has always been the great strength of this book) omits many excellent plants that gardeners need to know about. An old book published in 1982 and called “Flowering Plants for the Landscape” edited by Mildred Matthias, has good photos of all these trees and others. This is also available at Amazon for nearly nothing. It’s a wonderful book, well-worth owning.
Also it would be a good idea to go and look at these trees at the Los Angeles Arboretum, which is not far from where you live.
We need to plant some fast growing trees for privacy. They need to be drought tolerant and grow at least 6-7 feet tall and 3-4 wide. The soil is not good we are on the south east side of soledad mtn road in lajolla. Can you help?
As a general rule, drought-resistant trees and screens are not fast growing and anyway few fast-growing screening trees will grow rapidly to 6 or 7 feet and then stop. I suggest you purchase Strawberry trees (Arbutus unedo) in the tallest size you can find. They work well as screening plants. They are drought resistant once established, they bring birds but don’t have any pests or diseases, and they don’t need much pruning or care. Be sure not to get the kind called “Marina”, which is a hybrid with huge fruit. It grows to be a big ugly blob of a tree, like a giant dark green lollypop on a thick stick, which is the trunk.
Hi Pat. So enjoy your books and website.
I am removing the grass in the front of my new North Hollywood home (Sunset Zone 18), and want to plant a waterwise garden in front of my fence, with a shade tree. The area is 13′ x 8′, full blazing sun, and is the only area of my garden you can see from the street. I am stumped about what mulch to spread around the garden and under the tree, as I have a dog and some areas are quite close to the house. I see warnings about using bark mulch (and I have previously experienced fungus with this), wood chips (termites/fungus & spores), nut shells (dog). I want it to be attractive and would prefer to avoid gravel and rock. And I am not a composter…my urban garden is just too small. Do you have any suggestions? Would one of the above substances be best for Southern California? Many thanks.
The problem with covering areas of your garden with organic mulch when you have a dog is that it gets tracked into the house. A few years ago I decided to redo a path in my garden for the same reason. Instead of gravel, which actually is an excellent option and used extensively in France, I chose small river rock. You can purchase this by the sack but I was lucky to purchase three huge “bales” of what was called “river rock” at a very reasonable price in what was flagged as a “Managers Special”. Personally I think it came from a dredging job and the reason the rock sold for so much less than the bagged type was that the rocks were not all one color. The kind that is most expensive contains rocks that are all uniform blue-gray slate. My path gives the same impression and it looks super but if one looks closely one can see there are many different colors of rocks in it. All the rocks are rounded and all are about the same size. I had it installed over landscape cloth so it does not sink into the ground. This is an important step!
I’ve been a fan for years and use your book regularly! We are in a new house in Altadena near Eton Canyon and are re-doing the front yard. We need a nice shade tree near the front of the house but don’t want a water guzzler or one with extensive root system to disturb pipes nearby. We would prefer a flowering tree but are open to the best option. Preferably evergreen or semievergreen. We like the look of the ACACIA CULTRIFORMIS but are not sure if roots would be a problem and if seed pods are dangerous to our dogs? Our landscape designer recommended chinese flame but we are not sure that is the tree for us. Any suggestions?
thank you!
The first tree I thought of was Koelreuteria bipinnata. This is a virtuous tree. Then I noticed that your landscape designer suggested the same thing. He or she was right! Another recommendation, though more often seen, is Gold medallion tree (Cassia leptophila). It does have seed pods, however, but if you have a gardener, he could clip them off. Have you seen Acacia cultriformis growing? I think of it more as a screen than as a shade tree. I prefer Bailey’s acacia (Acacia baileyana) which stays small and is colorful and has a somewhat formal shape. Acacias do tend to be short-lived. A row of Bailey’s in Rancho Santa Fe that I often admired has now gone. I suppose you think Jacaranda is too messy, but personally, I love spectacular plants. I also love weeping bottle branch because it attracts mocking birds and has waves of bloom year-round.
Thanks for your kind remarks. I wish you happiness in your new home.
I’ve used redwood or cedar chips in the beds around the house to (hopefully!) avoid the termite issue. I haven’t noticed any fungus / spore issues, even after this winter — I’m on the border of Sunset 22 & 24 in LA. I haven’t had issues with my dog, just when the gardeners inevitably dig it in to keep the clay soil from getting rock hard in the warmer months.
Sometimes the available info is conflicting & creates problems for decision making.
I’ve read that anything that keeps moisture in the soil (including rocks, concrete) close to the house can help termites get into the structure. I was thinking of putting a thin strip of concrete or small pavers immediately around the foundation to keep dirt from splashing up & to keep weeds/grass from growing right up to the stucco.
I’ve also read that ants help keep termites in check, but they’re awful for the garden. I’ve had little luck getting rid of them.
I’d love to hear from Pat & others who have more experience with all of this. And thanks for the landscape cloth tip before putting down gravel or rocks!
I cannot find a question in your comment. However, please note that wood mulch covering flowerbeds will not cause termites to enter your house. However, termites can enter the house if wood exterior planks touch the ground or if flowerbeds abut the house closely enough to permit termites to build tubes into a wooden house. Only poured concrete foundations or concrete blocks can safely touch the ground and prevent entry of termites.
I strongly recommend a flashing wall to be built next to low-lying homes. A flashing wall should be built outside the foundations of the house and when finished will be 4 inches higher than the ground. A fishing wall is a barrier between garden soil and your house and it keeps termites from getting into the house from the surrounding soil.. Here is how to build a flashing wall: Dig out the ground to the depth of about 8-inches next to the foundations of your house then built a wooden frame 4 inches wide and and one-foot tall extending 4 inches higher than ground level. Apply concrete glue to the foundations of the house. Then pour concrete into this framework. When the concrete hardens you will have a four-inch wide and one-foot-tall wall of solid concrete that extends 4 inches above ground and 8 inches below griound level protecting your home all the way around from being invaded by termites entering from garden soil.
Secondly, please never allow gardeners to cultivate woody mulch into your flower beds. Wood and sawdust will subtract nitrogen from the soil in order to rot. Mulch must lie on top of the ground. Never dig raw, unrolled mulch into planting holes or flower or vegetable beds. If this has happened despite your best efforts, then add extra nitrogen.