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Field guide
Desert willow (Chilopsis linearis)
Stan Shebs · CC BY-SA 3.0

also Flowering willow

Desert willow

Chilopsis linearis

Family:
Bignoniaceae
Elevation:
1,500 ft – 5,500 ft
Bloom:
May – Sep
Region:
Southwest

Not a true willow — a small desert tree with willow-like leaves and orchid-shaped pink-to-burgundy trumpet flowers that hummingbirds work all summer. A signature of washes and low-elevation NM landscapes.

Care · tuned to the Southwest

Water

Deeply drought tolerant but blooms far more with a deep soak every 2–3 weeks in summer. Do not keep it constantly wet — it defoliates and gets leggy.

Sun & exposure

Full sun; anything less and it barely flowers.

Soil

Sandy or gravelly, sharply drained. Naturally found in arroyo bottoms, so it takes occasional flooding but not standing water.

In the Southwest

Deciduous and slow to leaf out — often bare until late April/May, which alarms new growers. Prune in winter to lift into a small multi-trunk tree. Marginal above ~5,500 ft where hard freezes bite back young wood.

Common problems & fixes

  • Aphids and sooty mold — aphids on new growth, then black mold on the honeydew

    Fix — Blast them off with a strong water spray or use insecticidal soap, which also clears the mold.

  • Chlorosis from overwatering — leaves yellow when the soil stays too wet

    Fix — Cut back irrigation and ensure sharp drainage; water deeply but infrequently.

  • Weak, leggy, suckering structure — fast growth makes a floppy multi-stem mess

    Fix — Prune in winter dormancy to build strong scaffold branches and remove basal suckers.

Pets & toxicity

No known toxicity to pets.

Easy to confuse with

  • True willows (Salix) — riparian, no trumpet flowers
  • Chitalpa — hybrid, larger leaves, sterile

Sources

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