Smoke Tree

Form: tree
Seasonality: perennial
Size: 10 - 20 feet tall, 10 - 15 feet wide
Flowers: many fragrant, purple, sweet pea shaped, 1.5 - 2 inches, in clusters in spring
Fruit:
Trunks:
Stems: sparsely foliaged in small, hairy white leaves that drop in early spring revealing an intricate network of silver gray, spiny branches. The leafless plant is said to resemble a cloud of smoke
Range/Origin: USA (Arizona, southern California, Nevada), Mexico (Baja California)
Hardiness: Sunset zones 12, 13; USDA: 9

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• small very unusual tree

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: full sun
  Water: little when established
• Soil: ordinary with good drainage
  
• Propagation: seed in warm weather. The seeds need to be filed (scarified) and soaked in water
• Maintenance: little

NOTES: AKA Dalea spinosa
cut branches (in or out of bloom) are used in arrangements

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Common name	Botanical name	Yuma County	Questions/Comments

This page compiled for the Moody Demonstration Garden by D. Post 18 Jul 2004
References: Desert Tropicals Free Information; http://www.desert-tropicals.com/
Sunset Western Garden Book; Sunset Books Inc.; Menlo Park, CA 94025, 6th ed.
Photo:Brother Alfred Brousseau. Courtesy of St. Mary's College of California. ©St. Mary's College of California.

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