Trees For Tucson
April 22, 2009
Post Tags: acacia trees , desert willow , mesquite trees , trees for tucson , tucson electric power
Willow Acacia
Summer is almost here and that means our Office at home is about to turn into a solar oven. I sit facing a solid wall, the West wall. There is no window in this wall but the heat of the summer sun doesn’t seem to care. It bores through the stucco raising room temperatures in the summer to more than match the head coming from the computers, monitors, printers and fax machine located inside.
We need a shade barrier. I’ve come up with a few lame ideas (which according to Barbara I should spare you from). Her idea is for ME to plant some trees so they will create shade and block the sunlight from hitting the wall.
Following up on this idea she did a search for trees which do well in Tucson and found the site TreesForTucson.com which provides a lot of good information on what trees thrive here. They also have a grant to provide trees for a very reasonable price for those who are Tucson Electric Power (TEP) Customers.
It just so happened (are you buying this) she had a meeting down at TEP the next day. She downloaded the form and picked her two Willow Acacia trees (she/I hate trees that drop “trash”) and dropped it off at her meeting the following day.
Late yesterday afternoon the doorbell rang and there were our trees. Yes, They deliver them to your house. No, they don’t plant them for you.
The trees are between 6 and 7 feet tall when delivered. (I don’t need to point out to you those are the ones in the photo, right?)
I’ll be watering them for a couple of days on the North side patio. This weekend it is supposed to be back in the 80’s, from the mid 90’s right now. I’ll plant them early one morning this weekend. We won’t get any shade this year, or mayb next year, or maybe the next 5 years. But you have to start some time.
They have:
- Mesquite
- Blue Pal Verde
- Willow Acacia
- Desert Willow
- Red Push Pistache
There is a lot of great information on the Trees For Tucson Website. It isn’t too late to get a tree order in and in the ground before the really hot summer heat arrives. It might take a little more TLC and water but there is still time to get a couple of trees for your yard and start Going Green in a Tree kind of way.
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:55 am
Ahhh, the comfort of shade in the desert. We face the same problems in Phoenix and a few well planted trees can do wonders. Our Mayor, Phil Gordon, has partnered with Salt River Project and Enterprise Rent A Car to plant several hundred trees in our downtown area. The goal is to provide shade and beauty to many of the neighborhoods.
Thanks for reminding all of us how sweet a tree or two can be.
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