Shrubs - Hopseed

These are large, evergreen shrubs to small trees for low to mid-desert landscapes. Here in the Sonoran, they occur naturally in narrow upland zones from about 2000 ft. to about 4500 ft., but despite this narrow distribution, these plants are quite at home in low desert urban landscapes. Extra supplemental irrigation when young and during summer months will keep them looking lush and happy. They grow moderately fast and can easily be trained into small, multi-trunk tree form. Like any evergreen, desert shrub, the more water they get the faster they grow, but this can come at a risk of a weak root system. Longer, deep soaks, especially during summer, are most beneficial. Their insignificant waxy yellow-green flowers open in spring and are followed by clusters of delicate-looking papery, winged seeds that are often tinged with red, giving them a unique ornamental appearance.

The cultivar 'Purpurea' has purple foliage during cool weather, but the leaf color can change to mostly green during hot weather.  

Scientific name:  Dodonaea viscosa

Mature size:  up to 10 ft. high x 5-6 ft. wide

Sun:  Full sun