Desert Willow is quite a beautiful desert tree that grows quickly and flowers with orchid-like blossoms in the spring, throughout the summer, and into the fall. Trees can be covered with hundreds of blossoms when there is ample rain the winter before. Chilopsis is its own Genus, with Chilopsis linearis as its only species.
It is a weeping tree with branches arching over in a weeping form. That way, it shows off its wonderful flowers to those standing below. It grows in desert washes, and is winter deciduous (looses all its leaves in winter).
It flowers prolifically with large, showy pink flowers with lavender striations and yellow stamen. Its deciduous character enables it to endure mild winters with a bit of snow, but it does not survive at elevations over 5,400 ft. (1800 m). Typically, at higher elevations it could freeze to the ground and could resprout the following spring, but would not be able to form a good shape or have strong, sturdy branches.
As a garden plant, it is wonderful and showy, but somewhat messy. Its branches are brittle and smaller branches can succumb to the wind. Its weeping character means that it should be kept from growing near telephone or electrical wires! It produces hundreds if not thousands of flowers over a season that fall to the ground in a blanket of blossoms. Its long, narrow leaves also fall later in the year.
It self seeds if given the right conditions.