Atriplex canescens (Four-Wing Saltbush)

Long-lived, Atriplex canescens (Four-Wing Saltbush) is a semi-evergreen shrub of upright, mounding habit with stout, branched stems clothed with alternate, narrowly oblong leaves, up to 2 in. long (5 cm), covered with fine silvery-white hairs. Four-Wing Saltbush is mostly dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Blooming from mid-spring to mid-fall, the male flowers are red to yellow and form dense spikes at the ends of the branches. The female flowers are axillary and inconspicuous, but they are followed by showy clusters of gold-tan, four-winged fruits, that may remain attached to the plant throughout winter. This desert shrub has an extensive root system that can go as deep as 20 ft. (6 m), making it useful for stabilizing soil. Drought and salt tolerant, Four-Wing Saltbush typically spreads via seed distribution. An important native shrub on rangelands in the western United States, including the Intermountain, Great Basin, and Great Plains regions, Four-Wing Saltbush provides excellent season-long browse for deer and is a good browse plant for bighorn sheep, antelope, and elk in fall and winter. It is also a food source and excellent cover for sharptail grouse, gray partridge, sage grouse, and other upland birds, rabbits, songbirds, and small mammals.

• Grows up to 3-6 ft. tall (90-180 cm) and 4-8 ft. wide (120-240 cm).
• Thrives in deep, well-drained soils in full sun. It is adapted to most soils, including loamy to sandy to gravely soils. Once established it will want little or no irrigation in the summer. Extremely drought tolerant, it is also very tolerant of saline soil conditions.
• Great for banks and slopes thanks to its extensive root system that provides excellent erosion control. It also makes excellent screens, hedges, and barriers.
• No serious pest or disease issues.
• Severe pruning produces better-looking specimens.
• Propagate by seed sown in spring or softwood cuttings taken from late spring to early fall.
• Native to the western United States and Canada from the Pacific Coast to the Missouri River, and from Mexico to southern Alberta.