If you're looking for a great accent tree for the street, lawn or patio, check out the Chinese Pistachio (Pistacia chinensis). You may have seen small ones at the nursery and discarded the idea of taking one home because it looked scrawny. Take a chance! This rapid-growing medium-size tree quickly develops a dense and shapely coverage of dark green, feather-like leaves that turn to a breathtaking scarlet, crimson, orange and yellow in the fall. In the spring, the female pistachio tree produces small berry-like fruit, which matures to a dark blue.
Fran Cooper, Smith County Master Gardener
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