Desert Willow Tree Care in Las Vegas: Pruning and Planting
The desert willow tree is one of the few flowering shade trees that is actually native to our part of the desert. It isn't a true willow; it's related to catalpa, and it gets the name from its long, narrow leaves. In late spring and summer it carries trumpet-shaped flowers that hummingbirds visit. Here is how to plant one well and prune it into a tree instead of a shrub.
Quick answer: The Southern Nevada Regional Plant List rates desert willow 4 of 5 stars and marks it as a Mojave native. It grows to about 25 ft tall and 20 ft wide and drops its leaves in winter. Prune it while it is young to pick one or a few main trunks, and plant it on drip irrigation.
Desert willow at a glance
| Detail | From the June 2026 Regional Plant List |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Chilopsis linearis |
| Rating | 4★ (3 stars and up are recommended) |
| Mature size | About 25 ft tall × 20 ft wide |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Listed canopy value | 236 sq ft |
| Notes | Mojave native; many cultivars; overplanted |
“Overplanted” means a lot of them already grow in the valley, so planting a mix of species protects your yard if a pest problem ever hits desert willows. It's a caution about variety, not a reason to skip the tree.
Avoid confusing it with chitalpa, a desert willow and catalpa hybrid that looks similar in nurseries. The same plant list rates chitalpa just 1 star.
Pruning a desert willow
Left alone, a desert willow grows as a big, many-stemmed shrub. To get a shade tree, you shape it while it's young:
- Pick the trunks early. Choose one strong trunk or three to five well-spaced trunks and remove the rest while they are still small.
- Raise the canopy gradually. Remove a few low branches each year rather than stripping the lower trunk all at once.
- Clear dead and crossing wood and thin crowded growth so wind passes through.
- Seed pods are optional. The long, thin pods are harmless; trimming them off is about looks and litter.
- Never top it. Topping leads to weak, crowded regrowth, as the International Society of Arboriculture explains.
Desert willow, mesquite and palo verde recover from pruning well in summer because they grow quickly, according to the University of Arizona Pima County Cooperative Extension.
Planting a desert willow
- Give it room. Plan for a 20 ft spread, away from walls, pools and the house.
- Dig wide and deal with caliche. Hard layers under the planting hole trap water around the roots.
- Use drip irrigation and move emitters out as the tree grows.
- Plant in mild weather. We plant in fall or early spring so roots establish before peak heat.
The SNWA tree rebate
If you are converting grass through the Southern Nevada Water Authority's Water Smart Landscapes program, the Tree Canopy Enhancement Program pays $100 per new tree, up to 100% canopy coverage of the converted area. Conditions include:
- You must be a current Water Smart Landscapes participant.
- Each tree must come from SNWA's list of qualifying trees and have a minimum canopy value of 236 sq ft (at least a 20 ft canopy at maturity).
- Trees must be at least a 15-gallon container size and at least 5 ft tall.
Desert willow's listed canopy value is 236 sq ft, right at that minimum. Check SNWA's current qualifying list before you buy.
Our tree planting service handles species choice, caliche, drip setup and the planting itself. We also prune established desert willows, including the mature trees common in Boulder City. For pruning, see tree trimming.
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