Broadmor Plant Health Resource Center

Customized for your neighborhood by Adaptive Plant Health & Weed Solutions

Updated Fall, 2026

What to know about Broadmor Landscapes

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Broadmor Landscape Care, Season By Season

By Cameron, ISA Certified Arborist, Adaptive Plant Health & Weed Solutions

Broadmor’s 35 to 50 year old landscape is in transition: aging ash trees are declining while younger Chinese elms take over the canopy, backed by palo verde and a mixed shrub layer of Texas sage, Tecoma, and hibiscus. That mix of an aging canopy, an establishing one, and desert-adapted shrubs creates a different set of pressures depending on the time of year, from monsoon storm risk on the ash to structural training on young elms each spring. Here’s what to know and when to act, organized by season.

Heat & Smart Watering Come First

Broadmor’s older trees have less reserve capacity to handle peak summer heat, and drought rules mean every gallon needs to count. Water deep and infrequent, soaking mature trees 24 to 36 inches down rather than running short, shallow daily cycles that keep roots near the hot surface.

Monsoon Storm Prep for Aging Ash

Broadmor’s older ash trees are thinning and dropping branches, which makes them the most likely trees to fail once monsoon winds arrive (June 15 through September 30). Have any declining ash structurally evaluated each spring, before the first storm, rather than waiting to see what comes down.

Aging Ash & Borers

Summer heat accelerates decline in already-stressed ash, and boring insects move in on weakened wood whenever the tree is under pressure, not just in the hottest months. Thinning crowns, dead upper branches, and small exit holes are signs a declining ash needs a professional evaluation rather than another season of waiting.

Chinese Elm: The Bridge Canopy

Chinese elms are generally healthier than Broadmor’s ash and are increasingly carrying the neighborhood’s shade canopy forward as older trees decline. They’re fast growers and handle heat well with consistent deep watering, making them a reliable replacement species as aging ash come out.

Palo Verde Root Borer

These large beetles emerge from the soil during the warmer months, typically May through July, and their grubs feed on palo verde roots underground for years before a tree shows visible decline. Watch for wilting, thinning canopy, or exit holes at the base of the trunk, and have a declining palo verde evaluated rather than assuming it’s ordinary heat stress.

Texas Sage, Tecoma & Hibiscus

Texas sage is a genuine low-water native and declines if overwatered, so let it dry out between cycles year round. Tecoma blooms hardest with deep, regular water through the warm months, while hibiscus needs steadier moisture and some afternoon shade to avoid heat scorch in peak summer.

Winter Dormant-Season Pruning for Aging Ash

Winter dormancy, roughly December through February, is the best window for major structural pruning on declining ash, since the tree is under less stress and pests and disease are less active. Schedule any significant limb removal or canopy reduction for winter rather than mid-summer, when a fresh pruning wound is more likely to attract borers.

Spring Structural Training for Young Chinese Elms

Many of Broadmor’s Chinese elms are younger replacement trees still establishing their permanent branch structure, and late winter or early spring, before the new leaf-out, is the ideal window to correct crossing limbs or weak crotches while the cuts are still small. Structural pruning now saves much larger, more expensive corrective work once the tree matures.

Broadmor Homeowner Action Items

1. Water deep and infrequent through peak summer heat, soaking mature trees 24 to 36 inches down.
2. Have any declining ash structurally evaluated each spring, ahead of monsoon season, since they’re the most likely trees to fail in a storm.
3. Watch palo verde for root borer damage from May through July, and have a suddenly declining tree assessed rather than assuming heat stress.
4. Keep Chinese elms consistently and deeply watered as they take over more of the neighborhood’s shade canopy.
5. Schedule major ash pruning for winter dormancy, December through February, rather than mid-summer.
6. Train young Chinese elms each spring, before leaf-out, and book a seasonal health check to catch storm-risk limbs and pest pressure early.