Desert and Mediterranean climate gardeners will love the wiliwili’s extreme drought, wind, and salt tolerance. It likes and thrives in dry, exposed sites where the sun beats down all day, even when it’s just a sapling. Don’t plant this tree if you garden anywhere lower than USDA Hardiness Zone 10 since that’s the coldest area where this tree is hardy. In other words, if you’re cultivating a xeriscape, wiliwili is the tree for you. Aesthetically, the plant has many redeeming features, not least that the typically bright orange (though sometimes also red, salmon, peach, light green, yellow, or white), pea-flower shaped blooms continue to erupt from branch ends from the start of summer right through to the end of November.

It loses its leaves just before flowering, a clever energy conservation adaptation. Some gardeners see this as a downside, while others like the interest the shapes of the gnarled revealed trunk and branches add to a landscape. The leaves grow back after flowering is finished, making the plant a good shade tree for spring and fall. Since it’s in the pea family, wiliwili is a nitrogen-fixing tree. It takes nitrogen from the air and redistributes it back into the soil, aiding nearby plants. Hummingbirds love the flowers, too, making it one of the best plants for your pollinator garden Oh, and we just have to mention the trunks of this tree boast an alluring orange tone, as do the largest branches.