Sophora, Texas Mountain Laurel 'Silver Peso'

Is there a nursery in Phoenix, AZ that sells Silver Peso trees? I have seen them in the northern burbs and they are beautiful but none of...Read More the major nurseries seem to have it. Any assistance would be helpful. Thanks

Central Phoenix -- My Sophora secundiflora (aka Calia secundiflora) grows in a less than ideal location, under the shade of a pecan tree....Read More However, it does get several hours of afternoon summer sun and it seems happy, although a bit lanky. It receives every-other-week water in summer and none in winter. The purple blooms look really great against the gray-green foliage.

Rating it neutral as newly planted in my garden (Feb 2013). I am most excited about its silver foliage. Looks exactly like the regular ...Read MoreTxML, but with velvety leaves. I plan to grow it as a standard.

APRIL 2014. Changing rating to positive as it is doing well in full sun and dryish area of my garden. Towards Fall 2013, most of the foliage turned green and I was afraid it had reverted; however, in Spring 2014 all new foliage is that lovely, silvery, velvety color.

MAR 2018: spring foliage appears as silver but changes to green in summer. If you think regular TML is slow, you haven’t met Silver Peso. Survived the excessive moisture of 2017. Very low maintenance plant.

A beautiful cultivar of the classic Texas Mountain Laurel. Silver Peso generally does not grow as big as the Texas Mountain Laurel, and b...Read Moreecause of this, is preferred by some who are wishing to use it for Xeriscaping. The leaves of Silver Peso also have a silvery-tinge to them, kind of like Texas Sage. I have found that the flowers are a little deeper purple, and a bit more "floral" in scent than the Texas Mountain Laurel (however, the grape-koolaid smell is still quite apparent). A man at a local nursery said that it is more open to pruning into a tree-shape than the Texas Mountain Laurel. As with the Texas Mountain Laurel, the seeds contain Cytisine, and are extremely toxic, so ensure that they stay away from any kids or critters you may have around the plant! Otherwise, it's a beauty for any garden that it can handle.