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Washington County Plant List

Compiled by Rick Heflebower, Extension Agent
Horticulture & Natural Resources

Large Trees

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Arizona Ash	Fraxinus veluntina	Withstands hot, dry conditions, Lows –10°
Fan-Tex Ash	Fraxinu veluntina ‘Rio Grande'	Foliage resistant to wind burn
Modesto	Fraxinus veluntina ‘Modesto'	Subject to heat scorch, not as hardy as others
Raywood Ash	Fraxinus veluntina ‘Raywood'	Foliage sensitive to high wind
Montebello Ash	Fraxinus veluntina ‘Coracea'	Native of Southern California
Honey Locust	Gleditsia triacanthos inemis ‘Shademaster'	Good street tree
Live Oak	Quercus virginia	Adapted well to low desert areas
Cork Oak	Quercus suber	May see cold injury in less than Zone 5
Holly Oak	Quercus ilex	May be trained or sheared
Idaho Locust	Robinia ambiqua idahoensis	Bright purple showy flowers
Chinese Elm	Ulmus parvifolia	Fast grower, will handle wide range of climates
Chinese Pistache	Pistacia chinesis	Moderate grower, handles alkaline soils
Bloodgood Sycamore	Plantanus acerifolia	Large tree, heavy trunk, large hairy leaves
Italian Alder	Alnus cordata	Handles wide range of zones, needs water

Small Trees

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Common Hackberry	Celtis occidentalis	Upright growth habit, may exceed 40-50 ft.
Netleaf Hackberry	Celtis reticulata	Canyon/wash small tree
Honey Mesquite	Prosopis glandulosa	Good desert tree
Mimosa	Albizia julibrissin	Not long-lived
Glossy Privet	Ligustrum lucidum	May suffer in full sun
Japanese Pagoda	Sophora japonica	Heat tolerant
Photinia	Photinia Fraseri	Sensitive to iron deficiency
Singleleaf Ash	Fraxinum anomala	Native to canyons and stream beds
Hawthorne	Crataegus Sp.	Requires moderate watering
Sweet Gum	Liquidambar styraciflua	Not good in alkaline soils
Tulip Tree (Poplar)	Liriodendron tulipifera	Requires slightly acid soil
Golden Raintree	Koelreuteria paniculata	Well adapted to St. George
Acacia	Acacia sp.	Not adapted to colder areas
Bird of Paradise	Heliconia sp.	Small blooming ornamental
Loquat	Loquat deFlexia	Not good in full sun
Loquat	Loquat japonica	Produces edible fruit

Flowering Trees

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Bradford Pear	Pyrus calleryana	Limbs may become brittle
Indian Bean Tree	Catalpa speciosia	Large pods hang in late summer
Redbud	Cercis occidentalis	Early blooming tree
Desert Willow	Chilopsis linearis	Native desert species
Chitalpa	Chiltalpa tashkentensis ‘Pink Dawn'	Struggles with mid-summer heat
Crape Myrtle	Lagerstroemia indica	Adapted well to St. George
Idaho Locust	Robinia ambiqua idahoensis	May become quite large
Japanese Pagoda (Chinese Scholar Tree)	Sophora japonica	Small yellow flowering tree
Chaste Tree	Vitex agnus-castus	Well adapted to desert, spreading habit

Conifers

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Blue Atlas Cedar	Cedrus atlantica	Nice specimen tree
Deodar Cedar	Decrus deodara	May get spider mites easily
Arizona Cypress	Cupressus arizonica	Adapted to the cooler area of the county
Leyland Cypress	Cupressocyparis leylandii	Good screen tree, shows some wind damage
Mondel Pine	Pinus eldarica	Upright growth habit
Aleppo Pine	Pinus halepenis	Handles poor soil and desert heat
Italian Stone Pine	Pinus pinea	Slow growing, rounded shape
Japanese Black Pine	Pinus thunbergii	Slow growing, irregular shape

Shrubs

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Creosote Bush	Larrea divaricata salve	Low desert large shrub
Fremont Indigobush	Dalea fremontii	Low desert large shrub
Sand Sagebrush	Artemisia filifolia	Sand desert large shrub
Fourwing Saltbush	Atriplex canescens	Sand desert large shrub
Squawbush Sumac	Rhus aromatica	Canyon/wash large shrub
Apache Plume	Fallugia paradoxa	Canyon/wash large shrub
Fremont Barberry	Berberis fremontii	Canyon/wash large shrub
Big Sagebrush	Artemisia tridentata	Rock/outcrops medium shrub
Brittlebush	Enceila frutescens	Medium shrub, yellow flowering
Green Mormon Tea	Ephedra viridis	Medium shrub, has small flowers and leaves
Datil Yucca	Yucca baccata	Medium shrub, 3' high x 5' wide
Utah Century Plant	Agave utahensis	Rock/outcrops succulent
Joshua Tree	Hucca brevifolia	Spiny simple branched, slow growth
Prickly Pear	Cactacea sp.	Native to desert, flowers in spring
Barrel Cactus	Cactacea sp.	Slow growth, needs little water
Ocotillo	Fouquieria splendens	Whip-like stems, thorny, orange flowers
Oleander	Nerium sp.	Tolerant of heat, blooms most of the summer
Nandina	Nandina domestica	Small shrubs, bamboo-type plant
Mock Orange	Choisya ternata	Luscious green leaves, doesn't like alkaline soil
Trailing Rosemary	Rosemarinus officinalis	Evergreen feathery shrub, fragrant
Spanish Broom	Spartium junceum	Handles poor soil, yellow blooms, 6-10 ft. high
Firethorn	Pyracantha sp.	Evergreen shrub with bright orange berries
Cottoneaster	Cottoneaster sp.	Low-growing shrub, orange berries
Rose of Sharon	Hibiscus syriacus	Deciduous shrub, upright growth habit
Texas Ranger	Leucophyllum sp.	Green-grey foliage shrubs with colorful blooms
Mountain Mahogany	Cercocarpus sp.	Evergreen shrub/tree suited to dry rock slopes
Junipers	Juniperus sp.	Many forms of this evergreen shrub
Oregon Grape	Magonia aquifolium	Bushy plants having glossy green leaves with blue berries, 6 ft. high

Perennials

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Mojave Globemallow	Sphaeralcea ambigua	Low desert perennial, orange flowers
Desert Marigold	Baileya multiradiata	Low desert perennial, yellow flowers
Palmer Penstemon	Penstemon palmeri	Sand desert perennial, light pink flowers
Hopi Blanketflower	Gaillardia pinnatifida	Sand desert perennial, orange flowers
Pale Evening Primrose	Oenothera pallida	Sand desert perennial herb
Prince's Plume	Stanleya pinnata	Rock/outcrops perennial herb, yellow plumelike flowers
Utah Penstemon	Penstemon utahensis	Rock/outcrops perennial herb, red tubular flowers
Firecracker Penstemon	Penstemon eatonii	Rock/outcrops perennial herb, red tubular flowers
Desert Larkspur	Delphinium scaposum	Rock/outcrops perennial herb, purple flowers
Indian Paintbrush	Castilleja chromosa	Rock/outcrops perennial, red flowers
Sundrops	Calylophus hartwegii	Yellow flowering, does well in sunny, hot areas
Chocolate Flower	Berlandiera lyrata	Fragrant yellow blooms
Coneflower	Echinacea purpurea	Purple flowers, blooms most of summer
Columbine	Aquilegia sp.	Likes well-drained soil
Verbena	Verbena sp.	Available in many colors
Lantana	Lantana sp.	Low growing, evergreen shrubs
Ice Plant	(Various genera)	Low growing, succulent groundcover
Autumn Sage	Salvia greggii	Small shrub, blooms summer and fall
Salvia	Salvia sp.	Many types of this perennial
Coreopsis	Coreopsis sp.	Yellow flowering, about 1-2 ft. tall
Yarrow	Achillea sp.	Tall erect growth habit, most are yellow
Lavender	Lavendula sp.	Fragrant purple flowers
Lirope	Liriope muscari	Green grass-like leaves in clumps-purple bloom
Four O'Clock	Mirabilus multiflora	Magenta colored flowers in clumps
Phlox	Phlox sp.	Many perennial types, most are yellow or white
Russian Sage	Perovskia atriplicifolia	Wood shrub, mass of purple flowers
Red Hot Poker	Kniphofia sp.	Dense foliage producing yellow-orange flowers

Grasses

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Indian Ricegrass	Oryzopsis hymenoides	Sand desert bunchgrass
Red Grama	Bouteloua hirsuta	Rock/outcrops small bunchgrass
Blue Fescue	Festuca glauca	Clumped ornamental type, 12" high
Pampas Grass	Cortaderia selloana	Tall ornamental grass, white plumes 8-12' high
Desert Needle Grass	Stipa speciosa	Native clump grass, very drought tolerant
Buffalo Grass	Buchloe dactyloides	Slow growing, low maintenance grass, uses little water once established
Blue Grama	Bouteloua sp.	Native of dry climate, area, heat resistant

Vines and Ground Covers

Common Name	Botanical Name	Description
Lady Banks Rose	Rosa banksiae	Evergreen climbing rose, yellow or white
Trumpet vine	Campsis grandiflora	Fast-growing vine to 40 ft., orange bell-shaped flowers
Trumpet vine	Campsis radicans	Less vigorous, reddish-colored flowers
Virginia Creeper	Parthenosis inserta	Vigorous vine with beautiful foliage