Leave shape is key in identifying backyard beauty

Q: We recently had an open house party here at our new home. We had a couple of neighbors, along with our family. Auntie G. says she really liked the desert willow tree that is planted in the backyard. One of the neighbors said she really likes the chitalpa tree, the same tree, that we’ve got growing in the backyard. Are they the same type of tree with lots of different names, or are they different tree types? If they are different tree types, which one do we have? — M.C., Albuquerque

A: Since you didn’t describe the tree to me that auntie and neighbor were admiring, I can teach you ways to tell which tree you have.

First, let’s describe the desert willow (Chilopsis linearis). It’s typically described as a large shrub or small tree that can be trained into a nice small tree. Left to its own devices, it’ll tend to stay more shaggy and shrubby looking. Don’t let the term shrub trick you because it can grow upwards to 20 feet tall and wide.

One of the first things you can look for is that the desert willow develops long, long seed pods after it blooms that are up to 8 inches. The leaves of the desert willow are long and slender, just like its namesake the willow, but they are not related. Actually, the desert willow is in the same family as catalpa trees.

The blooms on the desert willow have always reminded me of orchids gone crazy. They sport frilly-edged, large 2- to 3-inch wide blooms in loose clusters that can come in a variety of different colors ranging from lavender to pink or white. Mostly treated as a xeric plant, the desert willow will and does require some maintenance watering through the growing season to look and grow its best. An unwatered desert willow will not grow or perform well at all.

The tree your neighbor defined as a chitalpa (Chitalpa tashkentensis) is actually a cross hybrid of the big catalpa and the desert willow. I read that it was developed by a gentleman in Uzbekistan and imported here in the states in the late ’70s.

The main way to tell if your tree is a chitalpa will be the leaf shape. The chitalpa leaves are more lance or spear shaped — slender at the top and bottom and wider at mid-section. Certainly not the long continually slender shape the desert willow has.

As to bloom colors, there are usually only a couple, the variety Pink Dawn or Morning Cloud. The Pink Dawn blooms are a delicate white that fades to a pretty blush pink. The Morning Cloud has a white bloom with a smidgen of pink to add to its charm. The blooms are like the desert willow and grow in loose clusters.

One terrific thing about either tree is that hummingbirds and pollinators value them highly. The chitalpa is said to not grow the seed pods famous on the desert willow because they are sterile, so they’ll be a tidier tree in the long run. You will have lots of faded blooms to clean up after with either tree, that’s for sure.

In order to define your tree, it’ll be the leaves that will inform you. Lance or spear shaped? Then you have the Chitalpa tashkentensis. Longish, slender leaves like a willow tree? Then you do have a desert willow, the Chilopsis linearis. That’s pretty much the only way I know to assist you in defining your tree.

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.