If you're in 8a: several acacia, desert willow Chilopsis linearis, chitalpa x Chitalpa tashkentensis, maybe African sumac Rhus lancea off the top of my head. Surely your County Extension has more, including the suitability of Gleditsia, Pistacia.

Dan

Hello Devilpup.

My favorite part of visiting Phoenix was that desert botanical garden. Seemed informative. Mentioned all the different deserts this or that plant grew in. Neat stuff for a midwestern boy like me and it might give you a few ideas.

How high(elevation) are you? What is approximate rainfall?
How much additional watering are you willing to do? Do you have lots of high winds?
Afghan Pines do well in areas below 24" annual rainfall, not sure how low they can go. They are faster growing than Pinyon Pine. (not native)
Arizona Cypress are native, grow moderately fast, look great, but need around 15" of rain at elevations of around 5,000 ft. More if lower. They grow wild over much of Ariz. in the mountains.
Alligator Juniper is native, slower growing but more drought resistant than Arizona Cypress.
Pinyon Pines are great but slowww growing, native of course.

We are at about 4500' of elevation, and rainfall seems to have a low average of about 15" per year so it is pretty dry. We sometimes can get kinda windy, usually in the spring but it's never really bad.

We do have a garden run by UofA South that has some varieties, so I may have to check that out. I was more interested in trees than most of the random stuff they have growing, plus I'm not sure they have any honeylocust or pistache trees.

I looked at the AZ cypress but it doesn't seem to be available at the local stores for some reason. If that's all the rain they need though, that might be perfect for what I'm trying to do. I really don't want to have to do any extra watering as I'm planning on planting a couple of fruit trees and want to be able to focus the "care" part of the effort on those :)

Arizona Ash, Common Hackberry, Elderberry, Vitex...

The Italian Stone Pine is a must try for your property, it's native range includes the Sahara desert region, and has delicious pine nuts, though a slow grower it is widely availabe around christmas time, sold as a mini christmas tree.

The Italian Stone Pine actually looks pretty interesting, I wasn't that interested in trees that would get really tall, but the way it develops it's canopy is kind of neat. It would probably end up being a pretty decent shade tree later in life, so I might have to check it out.

I went down to the local college agriculture department where they have a bunch of stuff growing outdoors. So far I'm thinking the mesquite makes the best shade tree while keeping with the low maintenance theme, but the arizona ash is pretty nice too. The chinese pistache looked to be more of an ornamental tree than a shade tree, but that's ok because I would probably use it more decoratively anyway.

I'm trying to come up with things that will provide shade, but won't fall over onto the house in a "worst case scenario" later in life. So with that, I'm also trying to take into account how tall each tree can get and keep it far enough from the house that if it did fall over, it wouldn't do any major damage. Although, I really don't think I'd have to worry about it during my lifetime.

I was trying to come up with something that would work well along the fenceline as a privacy screen but I don't want it to get much over 15-20 feet. I am probably going to have to look more at shrubs than trees for that I suppose. And on that note, there's some weird woody shrub on the property (currently growing about 3-4' tall) that grows wild around here. I'm trying to figure out what it is as some of the wild ones are brown with no real leaves, while some others are green and have leaves that remind me of a juniper. It's in this picture here:

{{gwi:315627}}

As I mentioned, there's a few of these shrubs on the property I was thinking of ripping out. If it is some type of juniper, will it grow into a more tree-like form if I prune it? If so, I'll probably just keep it. Also, if anyone could tell me what it is I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks :)

[Pinus pinea]'s native range includes the Sahara desert region

No it does not, it is native to Mediterranean climates, not desert climates. I doubt it would work in the OP's area. Co Extension plant list can verify, which is the logical starting place.

Dan

After checking around it looks like the plant I was asking about might just be a Desert Broom. And that's too bad about the pine, but not to the point of being heartbreaking. I don't want to plant anything that won't do well on it's own, and I'm at least responsible enough to know how much effort I can promise to the plant :)

Dan, it's prehistoric range included the Sahara region. I get a little leary of the gurus here. It became domesticated by man, moved around by man, altered by man, but the genes are still in there, that's why, planted by man, it grows in a desert.

The next time one of you gurus challenges my material without thorough research, I'm gonna come to your house and secretly plant some kudzu....

Other than that, Dan, you are a saint for what you do here for this forum, you're careful not to make it personal, and so, you get a free pass this time...

Science is really a gentlemanly sport, anyways, until the egg starts questioning the existence of the chicken....

The ag extensions have done a disservice for the non farmer for years. They push chemicals, largely service agriculture, and encouraged planting trash trees all over suburbia throughout the land for years, as can be noted by taking a little drive around any major city.

Hell, just today I learned a domestic chestnut grows in Dallas, ag extension says no way in an alkaline soil...

Screw anyone who is paid by the govt to hold your hand....

Dan, you do know that I am a biologist who does his own research, brother. Empiricism is my game, life is full of false prophets....

Another possibility is Prairie Flameleaf Sumac. My 4 yo has not been watered all year during record hot weather and drought, 70 days 100F + and 10" rainfall so far and it looks fine. They get up to about 20' or so. They are planted around here mainly for the very dependable red fall leaf color. They are shown as being native to Az.

Most of the trees noted will probably not get much over the 15-20' height you have mentioned due to the heat and low rainfall of your area. Maximum size will occur only at optimum conditions, which you do not have. Good luck with your plantings!

Incense cedar is native in your microclimate conditions. Another must try conifer if you were me. It's prehistoric looking with age, unique. An early planted specimen here in Dallas is a century in age.

Incense cedar is native in your microclimate conditions.

No it is not. Incense-cedar grows in mixed-evergreen forests receiving ~20-40" of precip and few days approaching 100F. It needs likely at least 15" of supplemental water in that place and humidity regime - as soon as the irrigation is shut off, it will decline.

I suggest the OP consult the County recommended plant list, and go to a nearby arboretum or botanical garden with list in hand. Local nurseries can offer some assistance, but go with a Sunset Western Garden Book if you take that route.

Dan

"Precipitation may be as low as 380 mm (15 in) a year for incense-cedar found on the east side of the Cascades and in the Warner Mountains in Oregon and California"

"Incense-cedar grows at elevations between 50 and 2010 m (165 and 6,600 ft)"

USDA Forest Service

Thanks, mackel, I used to live there and formally studied those ecosystems in University. It really doesn't help the OP, especially as the Warners are very unlike Sierra Vista, esp in terms of temp! Thanks!

Dan

Cool, Dan, most of my focus is on extreme climates. San Bernardino county, where incense cedar is native, is probably much closer in climate to the op than the Warner mountains. Receives 16 inches of rain per year, and has a high temperature of 117 recorded. Incense cedar goes pretty dormant in the summer Dan, and requires less than one inch of rain per month during this time.

Incense Cedar; Calocedrus decurrens

"Another San Bernadino County Native. These trees should be planted with much more regularity in the High Desert. Flat dark green sprays of foliage and absolutely beautiful scaly, cinnamon colored bark. As the name implies, these trees are very aromatic and when grown as a large specimen, are impressive. You can find a few around Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree; my friends Sam and Michelle have a couple on their property off Buena Vista that are regal! This little guy is about 4 years old, planted as small seedling. It's about 2' high now. I think it's getting ready to start putting on substantial growth. It is not on irrigation, just what it gets from a hose on occasion (rare occasion..)"

Here is a link that might be useful: HIgh Desert Pines

Kudzu is really easy to get rid of. I hold a seminar on occasion, and I have a few free tickets I can send you, just leave address...

I like my eggs over easy, but the chiken, well done. You are buying since the seminar is free?