I came across a video of someone who has several desert willow trees on their hell strip (space between sidewalk and street), surrounded by native perennials. It is absolutely gorgeous and I would love to replicate it.
I'm nervous tho, given that desert willows seem to get pretty wide and may get too gnarly with time. Has anyone planted desert willow on a hell strip? Anything I should consider?
by educatedlentils
7 Comments
I agree, I think Desert Willows tend to sprawl too low and wide for a hellstrip. Notice the ones in the video are still young…but you can already see their naturally-wide habits forming.
So, I’d pick narrower trees like Texas Persimmon, Goldenball Leadtree, Western Soapberry, etc. Texas Redbud would work too, except it has a short lifespan. But plant selections should always best be based on their mature sizes.
If you’re willing to prune it annually, you can prune it for size and shape. (https://theplantnative.com/plant/desert-willow/#elementor-toc__heading-anchor-5) There are also some desert willow cultivars that are shorter than the typical height for desert willows, this may be worth looking into.
I love what she did with her hell strip, it looks sooooo pretty and is great for pollinators.
I planted a desert willow in my he’ll strip last fall, because screw it.
Not a great choice for a hell strip
Chitalpa
Roots would likely cause issues, not ideal for hell strip planting. Illex vomitoria could work.
You do you but for visibility reasons I don’t plant anything in the hell strip that gets taller than 3’. Plant larger stuff on the yard side of the sidewalk where the roots have more space. You can also plant a little further back to minimize conflicts between the structure and pedestrians.