IronwoodArizona's Native Desert Ironwood Drought Proof Privacy & Shade for Phoenix Desert Ironwood (Olneya tesota) is Arizona's most iconic native tree and one of the Sonoran Desert's most ecologically important plants. This slow growing evergreen reaches 2030 feet tall with a graceful, rounded canopy of blue green foliage that delivers reliable shade and year round privacy screening. Ironwood is virtually indestructible in Phoenix's brutal summers once

Desert Spoon: a low silver-blue rosette that softens the strict vertical lines

Mulch — 1–2 inches of gravel mulch

in a bed with improved drainage through caliche

Cover young vines on hard frost nights

for a 40-foot stretch

may briefly drop after frost Flower Color White with yellow throat

Spacing — 15–20 feet apart for grouped plantings

It's one of the easiest plants to propagate and share

As a Palo Verde hybrid with Sonoran Desert heritage

The off-season blooms make it especially valuable in a garden that might otherwise lack color in winter

Birds nest in its branches

This tropical species is frost-tender: protect young trees below about 30°F