Do you want to:

...attract more hummingbirds and butterflies?

...bring colorful, fragrant blooms into your garden spring through summer (rebloomer!)?

...plant a shrub that is low-maintenance, deer-resistant, and drought-tolerant?

...add a new specimen to your landscape that will be a conversation starter and the envy of all your neighbors?

If you answered “Yes!” then let me introduce you to the x Chitalpa - Desert Orchid ‘El Niño!’  

Chitalpas are a rare hybrid between two different native North American trees:  Southern catalpa (Catalpa bignonioides) and desert willow (Chilopsis linearis).  The name “chitalpa” is nothogeneric, or a combination of two parents’ names. The first hybridization of the two took place in the 1960s in Uzbekistan, and the first introduction of Chitalpa in the United States wasn’t until the 1980s. Since then, the Chitalpa has only had a few varieties introduced and remained a rare find. After two decades of research, North Carolina State University’s Mountain Crop Improvement Lab* released ‘El Niño’ in 2023.  ‘El Niño’ was selected for superior performance in drought and heat tolerance, repeat blooming of pink-violet flowers on new growth, and a compact growing habit.  

This showstopper of a shrub grows fast, re-blooms throughout the summer season (it may take a couple years to establish before blooming), and handles both dry and moist soils.  With our fickle weather of warm, wet, dry, hot, etc. it’s comforting to know there’s a plant that can handle it all.  

Desert Orchid ‘El Niño’

x Chitalpa

Family: 

Catalpa and Chilopsis are both in the Bignoniaceae family.  This family is named after Jean-Paul Bignon a French royal librarian from the 17^th century.  Plants in this family are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions and often have large, showy, bell-shaped flowers.  This family is also known as the trumpetvine family.

Native Range:  

Both parent lineages of the Chitalpa are native to North America.  Southern catalpa is found in our Southeastern U.S. region growing along wet areas.  Desert willow is native to the arid regions of Southwestern U.S.  x Chitalpa ‘El Niño’ was developed in Mills River at the Mountain Crop Improvement Lab. 

Fun Fact:  

The orchid-like flowers have a fragrance similar to a mix of vanilla and ripe melon.  The showy blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Growing Conditions:

• Soil: Can tolerate a range of soils, both dry and moist conditions

• Sunlight: Full to part sun

• Height/Width: 10-15’ tall and 8-10 wide

• Zones:  6-9

Available at Painters while we've got 'em! 3G pots for $38.00!

*If you’re not familiar with Mountain Crop Improvement Lab, they’re located nearby in Mills River – you can check out their work here: https://mcilab.cals.ncsu.edu/   We offer many plants that were bred by Mountain Crop Improvement Lab and we will highlight some of the ones we offer here at the greenhouse and why they’re an improvement in a later post.