Tree · Sonoran native
Honey Mesquite
Prosopis glandulosa · Fabaceae
Also called: Texas Honey Mesquite, Glandular Mesquite
Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) is a low-water tree native to the Sonoran Desert region well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It grows to 20-30 ft H x 25-35 ft W in full sun, with a moderate to fast growth rate.
Honey Mesquite at a glance
- Water use
- Low (established)
- Sun
- Full sun
- Mature size
- 20-30 ft H x 25-35 ft W
- Growth rate
- Moderate to fast
- Bloom
- Pale yellow / cream (fragrant catkin-like spikes), Spring (April-May), sometimes reblooming after summer rains.
- Cold hardiness
- Hardy to about 0 F; USDA zones 7-11 (very cold hardy).
- Soil
- Adaptable to poor, sandy, rocky, alkaline, and clay soils; tolerates caliche and some salinity. Deep taproot; needs good drainage.
- Native range
- Native to the southwestern US and northern Mexico, including southeastern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and the Chihuahuan Desert region; more characteristic of the Chihuahuan Desert and grasslands than the core Sonoran Desert but native to Arizona.
- Best used as
- Shade tree, Native/xeric landscape, Wildlife habitat, Erosion control and revegetation
- Wildlife
- Highly valued by wildlife and pollinators: flowers are a prized honeybee and native-bee nectar source (hence 'honey mesquite'); pods feed rodents, birds, javelina, and livestock; provides cover and nesting habitat.
- Toxicity
- Pods and seeds are non-toxic and edible (ground into meal); thorns are the hazard. Pollen is a common Southwest allergen.
How to grow Honey Mesquite in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Very drought tolerant once established via deep taproot; in Tucson, deep, infrequent irrigation (monthly or less in summer) builds a strong root system and wind resistance. Avoid frequent shallow watering, which causes weak, shallow roots and storm breakage.
Fertilizer & nutrients
No fertilizer needed; nitrogen-fixing legume. Fertilizing promotes excessive weak growth and is unnecessary.
Pruning & care
Train young trees to strong scaffold branches and prune in spring/early summer; remove low, dead, and crossing limbs. Has stout thorns (var. glandulosa is notably thorny); avoid topping and over-thinning to reduce monsoon limb breakage.
Notes
Distinguished by smooth, glabrous, bright-green leaves with longer leaflets versus the velvety, gray-green foliage of Velvet Mesquite; typically thornier. Often grown as a single- or multi-trunk shade tree. Var. glandulosa (Texas) and var. torreyana (western) occur; deep roots make it drought-hardy and long-lived. Drops pods and leaflet litter and can sucker.
Sources: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; AMWUA Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert; USDA PLANTS Database