Not everyone in Tucson can boast a near-tropical climate. Some of our surrounding areas are at higher elevations, or may be situated near washes that originate in the mountains. These areas will experience lower than average temperatures, which can mean that your yard experiences frost events that people who live in the center of town do not.
If you live in cooler areas, you may have lost some plants to the cold. While you may not be able to grow limes or lemons, you can still have plenty of beautiful native plants that are also colorful and great for wildlife. Here is a selection of 10 of my favorites.
Whitethorn acacia (Vachellia constricta): A small, shrub-like native tree that grows to 15 feet and has lovely yellow puffball flowers. It’s a great habitat tree for birds. It does have thorns, so plant it in areas where those won’t be an issue. It’s hardy to 5 F.
Anacacho orchid tree (Bauhinia lunarioides): Another small shrubby tree; native to the Chihuahuan desert. Has beautiful white or pink tropical flowers that grow in clusters. Hardy to 15 F.
Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis): One of my favorites, this native tree has beautiful tropical orchid-like flowers that hummingbirds love. It’s a small tree and is hardy to 0 F.
Flame honeysuckle (Anisacanthus quadrifidus var. wrightii): Also called desert honeysuckle, this lovely shrub grows about 4 feet tall and has coral orange tubular flowers that hummingbirds love. It’s native to the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts and is hardy to 5 F.
Bush dalea (Dalea pulchra): A large shrub that grows moderately fast up to 5 feet tall, the bush dalea (also known as indigo bush) has lots of deep purple flowers that are well-loved by bees and other pollinators. It’s hardy to 10 F.
Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora): Another Chihuahuan desert native, this large shrub can be trimmed to grow as a small tree. It’s grape-soda scented purple flowers are spectacular, while its rounded lush green leaves are beautiful year-round. The beans are poisonous. It’s hardy to 5 F.
Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana): This little shrub grows only a few inches tall and makes a beautiful native groundcover with its small bright yellow flowers and delicate deep green foliage. It’s hardy to 0 F.
Globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua): Another one of my favorites, this beautiful native perennial flowering shrub has a deep rusty orange color. Bees and other pollinators flock to it — it even has its own tiny globemallow bee, which sometimes sleeps in the flowers! It’s hardy to 5 F.
Canyon penstemon (Penstemon pseudospectabilis): Also called desert penstemon, this plant has hot pink flowers and is hardy to 0 F. It’s another pollinator favorite and will reseed itself readily in your yard.
Banana yucca (Yucca baccata): This yucca grows in clumps of 5-foot-tall plants. It’s hardy to 0 F. The banana-colored fruits are edible to humans. Wildlife eat the fruits as well, and the spiky leaves provide great habitat for smaller animals.
