Remove Mesquite While its Young and Replace it With Something Smarter

Q. A couple years ago our builder planted a multi-trunk Chilean Mesquite tree in our side yard which borders a street. The tree is planted 12 feet from the house but is only 5 feet from a block wall. I am concerned this tree will become huge and its root system may disrupt the wall since there are several irrigated shrubs on the other side. I am thinking of removing it while it’s still young and replacing it with a “tamer” tree.

A young mesquite tree in good landscape form and enough space to grow. It can get 50 feet tall with irrigation and fertilizer.

A. That’s a good call and very forward thinking on your part. This tree will grow quickly to about 50 feet with an equal spread. If you are going to replace a tree, this fall would be the right time to do it. Remember, planting smaller sized trees will overtake planting larger trees in one or two seasons of growth. No reason to buy larger trees unless you need immediate impact from them.

Texas or Mexican olive (Cordia boissieri) with irrigation. A smaller tree for smaller areas than mesquite.

            If your home is a single-story home, consider two small desert trees to replace a single big Chilean Mesquite. Plant them a distance apart equal to their mature height and about half their mature height from the home. If this tree area is on the south or west side of the home, make them winter deciduous for winter heat gain. All you want are trees large enough to shade the walls and windows during the summer.

Little leaf cordia (Cordia parvifolia) as a very small street tree in Las Vegas. Another landscape tree much smaller than mesquite and native. Use two of these small trees instead of one mesquite for shading exterior walls.

            Tree roots follow the water. Roots will grow wherever you apply water, or they find wet soil. Keep applied water 3 foot from the foundation of the home and the wall. It might not be a bad idea to install a root barrier between the trees and the home’s foundation and block wall. But watering lengthwise and parallel to the home will encourage the roots of the newly planted trees to grow in that direction as well. Tree roots do not have to grow in a circle under the tree.