Q. We Live in the Phoenix, Arizona area and have two 10’x10′ planters made of pavers and want to plant ‘Red Push’ Chinese Pistache in them. I am worried about damage to pavers from the roots. Irrigation would be from drip irrigation system on a timer.
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| One of the planters for a Chinese Pistache tree |
A. ‘Red Push’ Chinese Pistache tree can get 50 to 60 feet tall with irrigation. In my opinion, this tree is too tall for most residential properties. You need a large landscape, a park or city streetscape to accommodate that size.
Read what Chris Martin from ASU has to say about Chinese Pistache in the Phoenix area.
The size of the planters should not be a problem when planting Chinese Pistache if using a soil coarse textured enough for good drainage and not planting shallow rooted flowers in there that require frequent, light irrigation. If planting something else in that planter, select plants that have deep roots or that don’t require frequent irrigation.
I would select a smaller tree. I have the feeling you selected that tree because of its fall color. There are other reasons for tree selection than just one trait. What sizea tree is needed for those planters? 20 feet? 30 feet? Remember, larger trees usually use more water. What shape should it be? Arching? Round? Upright?
The Phoenix area has some pretty good wholesale nurseries that grow plants for the desert including Mountain States Nursery and Arid Zone Trees. Take a look at what they have to offer.
I understood the Red Push Pistache (Pistacia x Red Push) to be a hybrid of Pistacia integerrima x Pistacia atlantica not Pistacia chinesnesis at all. Is this correct? Seems to grow smaller than Chinese Pistache. https://selectree.calpoly.edu/tree-detail/pistacia-%C3%97-red-push
I don't know its lineage. I rely on people in the trade or in the know to tell me and then I tell the public. I would rely on Dr. Chris Martin, Cal Poly that you cited is usually a good source and producers. I think there is still some confusion about whether it is a subspecies of chinese pistache or not. Certainly the producers are marketing a distinction between P, integirrima (or P, chinensis var. integirrima) and P. chinensis. It is certainly smaller than the true chinensis and why it is used as a rootstock (that and improved disease resistance). But I still think the irrigation of the two is the same. Neither are desert species and are considered mesic not xeric. Let the landscape architects and tree people argue it out. certainly looks like an improvement over chinensis. If this tree is propagated by seed, then it makes everything even more complicated but I think it is by cuttings.