Selecting Plants for Shade

Q. What plants can I plant in my front and backyards? I want plants that grow large enough to produce shade.

No shade on this south facing wall of this home. Wow, its hot! Shade the walls of this house to reduce electricity use in the summer. If they are deciduous then the sun can warm this house with sunlight in the winter. Shade the walls and windows. That is all that is needed, Not the roof.

A. Shade only what’s needed. This is usually the West and South windows and walls. A single-story home only needs, at the most, 25 foot-tall trees or shrubs. A two-story home can handle trees to about 35 or 40 feet tall maximum. Selecting trees taller than needed just looks “funny” when they are mature. Big trees need big spaces like parks and malls to look good.

Select Trees by Low Temperature

Winter low temperatures should be the deciding factor for permanent trees and shrubs important to the design of the landscape. There are plants used for “fun”. Fun plants can be selected for any low winter temperature. But expect damage or lose them during cold winters. In the Las Vegas Valley, use a winter temperature around 20°F minimum for the most important trees and shrubs in a landscape.

               To see which plants are available. There are three choices; buying from a local nursery or garden center, taking a road trip to buy plants, or purchasing plants online. Buying online starts around October with shipments beginning in January for spring planting of winter hardy plants. Plants bought online won’t have any soil around the roots so more care at planting time is needed.

            To aid your search for the right plant, use two places online; the plant database from the Southern Nevada water Authority or Arizona State University’s (ASU) plant database by Dr. Chris Martin. To access ASU’s plant database, type in the plants “common name” followed by “ASU”. To access Southern Nevada Water Authority’s database, start by typing in “SNWA” and “searchable database”. Pick 3 to 5 different plants in the case the plant you want is not available.