Trees or Bushes with Purple Flowers for the Valley (buy, garden)

[crystalys]

Try an ornamental purple leaf plum tree or a lilac tree/bush.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/518547344568385276/

[Hawk J]

There are small sized fine succulents which get purple, red, or orange flowers...

https://www.google.com/search?q=smal...w=1536&bih=731

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by crystalys

Try an ornamental purple leaf plum tree or a lilac tree/bush.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/518547344568385276/

^^ I've never seen a lilac bush growing in the valley.

[WilmaWildcat]

I didn't realize certain lilacs could do well in the desert, so thanks for bringing it up. Here's a couple of articles:

Bishop : Two species of lilac can thrive in desert - Tucson Citizen Morgue, Part 1 (2006-2009)

Which lilacs bloom best in the desert

[DougStark]

If your wife likes purple AND an amazing fragrance, buy her a Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow bush. Here's a link:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow - Monrovia - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

I've had one in a pot for 15 years. Since it likes acid soil, growing it in a pot is easier than in our lousy soil here. The blooms change color daily (hence the name) and are very fragrant. Mostly a shade plant for this climate.

[Ponderosa]

Texas sage gets a mass of purple flowers several times during the year after a rain. The color doesn't last long, though. They are a good plant for desert landscapes as they use little/no water once established.

[SluggoF16]

When I lived in AZ we had a jacaranda, mentioned elsewhere, which had a tropical look to the foliage. Out here in SW OK, the summers can be as hot as the Phoenix area, but the winters are considerably colder (not this one, though). I have a purple robe locust tree that is currently putting on a show that lasts a couple months. It may or may not be available in AZ but is worth a look, especially in those "colder Valley locations" the weather people talk about. Pic taken yesterday.

[ajonesaz]

Originally Posted by Bungle

Texas Mountain Laurel is a slow growing tree with purple flowers.

Purple Trailing Lantana is a nice groundcover/shrub with purple flowers.

The Mountain Laurel also smells amazing when it blooms and they don't get very big.

[SluggoF16]

Originally Posted by ajonesaz

The Mountain Laurel also smells amazing when it blooms and they don't get very big.

I have two with a southern exposure and they do get pretty big, requiring winter cutting. They're also susceptible to defoliation by the Genista moth larvae, occasionally I have to remove the caterpillars... they can decimate a plant in days. The fragrance is described as grape Kool-Aid, and it's very strong. Beautiful but poisonous red seeds.

[stevek64]

For a deciduous/low care/low water tree, a desert willow tree has various shades of trumpet flower shaped blooms and one of the flower colors is a real nice deep purple. Just make sure you see the bloom before buying it to know what color the blooms are as they vary.

http://www.gardenguides.com/99478-de...pe-plants.html

For the most reliable/easy care/blooms with a bunch of nice purple flowers everyday from early spring to about November and going dormant for only a few months a year, I'd suggest a Mexican Petunia shrub, ie a ruellia brittoniana. A larger shrub will bloom a few dozen purple flowers every morning, drop them in the day sometime depending how hot it is/how much sun they get, then bloom a new batch of purple flowers the next day. It's crazy how fast it will make so many new blooms.

Ruellia brittoniana 'Purple Showers' | Fine Gardening

I've found it NOT to be invasive in our desert climate.


As some mentioned the lilac vine, Hardenbergia violacea, and a texas sage will bloom purplish flowers and grow well here but they aren't as consistent year round. The lilac vine is a really nice plant though, especially if you give it a bit of filtered shade/shade especially in the afternoon.

Jacaranda trees are very pretty with purplish flowers but you're purple display will last a few weeks at most. And while there are some nice specimens that grow here, frankly the most of the tree looks kind of scraggly/sparse in our parts in my view. Just a little too hot for most of them to be happy based on what I've seen. San Diego area they thrive/bloom all summer and look real nice.

A vitex tree has great purple bloom spikes in the spring but most of the year it's void of flowers.

The Texas Mountain Laurel tree/shrub blooms real nice purple flowers but it's a few weeks bloom than out kind of thing too in regards to blooms. This year with the hot spell we had the blooms lasted even less. The blooms smell like grape bubble gum which smells great/is an addicting smell to me.