We offer a wide variety of great trees that won’t run up your water bill. Here are five of our favorites:

• Sawleaf Zelkova – Wonderful wide, umbrella-like canopy on this tree which is popular because of its beautiful shape, low water needs when established, and because it drops little other than small leaves in fall.
• Valley oak – Majestic, sculptural branches on this native tree make it a beautiful choice for larger spaces. The native blue oak also needs very little water, but the valley oak is much faster growing and tolerant of a wide variety of landscapes and soils. 
• Chinese flame tree – Bright yellow summer flowers make this medium-sized tree stand out! The flowers are followed by pink, papery, lantern-like little seed pods in the fall. The Chinese flame is also fast growing and resistant to pests and diseases. 
• Chinese fringe tree – Dainty, fragrant, white flowers cover this smaller tree in spring! In the summer, its dark green leaves shade and don’t require a lot of water, and in fall the leaves turn yellow. It’s just beautiful!
• Western redbud – Purple-pink small flowers appear before the round leaves come out in early spring, making this small tree a favorite. A native to the area, this low-water user is sensitive to getting too much water and thrives best in a low-water landscape.

Check out all the other great choices for our area in the Shady 80 online.