Prosopis glandulosa (Honey Mesquite)

A graceful southwestern native, Prosopis glandulosa (Honey Mesquite) is a shrub or small deciduous tree with a rounded crown and contorted, drooping branches adorned with feathery, bright-green leaves, up to 8 in. long (20 cm). Twice-compound, the leaves have 8-20 pairs of leaflets. The twigs are armed with straight, sharp thorns up to 2 in. long (5 cm), particularly on young plants. In spring and summer, a profusion of brilliant yellow-green, highly fragrant flowers appear in dense, spike-like racemes. Favored by bees, they are followed by long, flattened brownish pods that ripen in late summer. They are valuable forage for livestock and wildlife. Southwestern Native Americans prepared meals and cakes from the pods. Highly tolerant of heat, this desert shrub or small desert tree is adapted to dry climates thanks to its deep taproot (up to 100 ft.) to reach underground water. An essential plant for the desert wildlife garden, its gnarled, sculptural trunk and wispy, bright green foliage make it a picturesque lawn tree, where it provides a fresh look and creates filtered shade under which almost anything would grow.

• Grows up to 20-30 ft. tall (6-9 m) and 30 ft. wide (9 m).
• A full sun lover, this plant is easily grown in well-drained soils. Needs little to no supplemental water once established in desert landscape gardens. Mesquite needs deep watering to become a tree, but tolerates drought thereafter. Plants are drought-tolerant when young but will remain shrubs if not irrigated. Drought-Tolerant Trees: Top Picks for Low-Water Landscapes
• Virtually pest and disease-free. Deer resistant.
• Prune rigorously when young to train to a standard form with a single trunk. Otherwise, when mature, prune to elevate the canopy base and remove occasional suckers and water sprouts.
• Easily grown from fresh, untreated seed or stored, treated seed. Cuttings from young wood will root. Gather pods as soon as they turn brown. Dry pods and extract their seed. Seeds can be stored in sealed, refrigerated containers for several years.
• Honey Mesquite is considered a weed along the Rio Grande and in other areas in Texas where it will easily invade adjacent land.
• Native to the southwestern United States and Mexico.
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