Pool-Friendly Landscaping in Arizona

Trees

• Small palm trees that don't need much maintenance add to a pool's tropical ambiance. Choices include the windmill palm (Trachycarpus fortunei), Mexican blue palm (Brahea armata) and European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis). All of those palms withstand occasional freezing temperatures. Windmill palm and Mexican blue palm are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, and European fan palm is hardy in USDA zones 8b through 11. Another tree option is an evergreen with minimal litter, the weeping acacia (Acacia pendula). It has a graceful form, gray leaves and yellow puffball flowers in spring. Hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11, weeping acacia grows slowly to 25 to 40 feet tall.

Shrubs

• Long-flowering evergreen shrubs that don't shed leaves and flowers also can be grown near a pool. Examples include red fairy duster (Calliandra californica), which has showy, brilliant-red flowers most of the year, and Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), which has tubular orange blooms spring through fall and bright-green leaves. Both shrubs are medium-sized, attract hummingbirds and are hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11. Another shrub, lantana (Lantana camara), comes in a variety of flower colors and blooms continuously through warm months. Butterflies flock to the plant's abundant flower clusters. The shrub's size ranges from dwarf forms to bushes 3 to 4 feet tall. Lantana is hardy in USDA zones 10 through 11, but its roots are hardy in USDA zone 9, where the plant regrows each spring.

Cacti and Succulents

• Most cacti and succulents are low-maintenance plants that produce little debris and can give dramatic landscaping effects. Locate plants with sharp spines or leaves away from paths to prevent injuries to people using the paths. Aloes (Aloe spp.) provide bright spring color and attract hummingbirds and orioles. Tiger aloe (Aloe variegata), for example, has banded leaves and coral flowers; it grows 12 inches tall and eventually forms clusters. Tiger aloe is hardy in USDA zones 9 through 11. Grow golden barrel cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) for its year-round appearance, a globular stem covered with yellow spines. It is hardy in USDA zones 9 through 10. Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) produces red flowers from spring into fall on plant clusters that reach 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. Red yucca is hardy in USDA zones 5 through 11.

Ground-Covers

• Several ground-covers are additional options to plant near a pool. Among them is trailing lantana (Lantana montevidensis). Flowering all year, it bears abundant lavender blooms that attract butterflies, and its evergreen leaves can turn somewhat purple in winter. Hardy in USDA zones 8 through 10, the shrub grows 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall. The Arizona native desert marigold (Baileya multiradiata) blooms year-round when given supplemental water. Its bright-yellow, daisylike flowers rise 12 to 20 inches above gray-white leaf rosettes. The plant is perennial in USDA zones 9 and 10. "Katie" ruellia (Ruellia brittoniana "Katie") is a heat- and drought-tolerant dwarf perennial that grows 6 to 8 inches tall. It has mounding, dark-green foliage and tubular lavender or pink flowers. "Katie" ruellia is hardy in USDA zones 8 through 11.