Photo: Rajasekhar1961 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

TreeAdapted

Damas

Conocarpus lancifolius

داماس

A fast, cheap, evergreen screening tree that became a genuine UAE infrastructure problem: its aggressive roots crack walls, choke drains and break pipes, and several emirates now actively remove or restrict it.

Mature size6–15 m tall, 3–6 m spreadGrowthFastSunFull sunWaterLow

Heat: 5 of 5

Salt: 5 of 5

Drought: 3 of 5

Shade: 1 of 5

Ease of care: 5 of 5

Use in a design Get it looked after

Damas was planted across the UAE for years because it is cheap, fast-growing and evergreen, but its aggressive, far-searching root system is now well documented to crack walls, choke drains, invade swimming pools and break underground pipes, pushing up utility bills. Developer Emaar urged whole communities (The Springs, The Lakes, The Meadows, Arabian Ranches) to remove their Damas trees in 2012, Ras Al Khaimah's environment authority banned the sale of Damas seedlings in 2020 after uprooting thousands of them from its own sewage and water networks, and Umm Al Quwain has run a free municipal removal campaign for the same reason. If you already have a mature Damas near a wall, pool or pipe run, have it assessed for removal rather than waiting for damage to appear, and choose a native or better-behaved alternative for any new planting.

Season

Through the Dubai year

How Damas behaves through Dubai's seasons, month by month.

JJan

FFeb

MMar

AApr

MMay

JJun

JJul

AAug

SSep

OOct

NNov

DDec

Avg high °C

24°

26°

29°

34°

38°

40°

42°

40°

36°

31°

27°

Vigorous growth flush in warm weather

Mar – May

Small, greenish flower heads

Mar – May

Hedge and screen trimming

Vigorous growth flush in warm weather: Mar–May
Small, greenish flower heads: Mar–May
Inconspicuous; the tree is planted for fast foliage cover, not for its bloom.
Hedge and screen trimming: Mar–Apr, Oct–Nov
Frequent trimming is typical given how fast it grows; each cut is also a good moment to check nearby walls, paving and drains for early root damage.

Damas stays green and largely unchanging year-round, which is part of what made it so popular and part of why the damage it causes is easy to miss season to season. The main visible activity is a vigorous growth flush through spring (March–May), alongside small, inconspicuous greenish flower heads that most owners never notice. Frequent hedge and screen trimming, typically in autumn and again in spring (October–November and March–April), is the main maintenance task — and, for any existing tree, the best regular opportunity to check nearby walls, paving and drains for the first hairline signs of root damage before they become expensive ones.

Meet the plant

Meet the Damas

Meet Damas — included here not as a recommendation but as a warning, because for two decades it was the plant nearly everyone in the UAE reached for. It grew astonishingly fast, asked for almost nothing, and stayed a dense, glossy green all year, which made it the default choice for anyone who wanted an instant boundary screen without the patience or water a slower native tree demands.

That speed was always the tell. A tree that builds a dense canopy this fast is building an equally aggressive root system underneath, one that doesn't politely stay within a planting bed but hunts for moisture wherever it can find it — which, in a villa compound, usually means a pipe run, a pool shell or a foundation. By the early 2010s the pattern was unmistakable enough that a major developer asked entire communities to remove theirs, and by 2020 an emirate had banned the seedlings outright.

What it leaves behind, in gardens that still have a mature specimen, is a quiet kind of dread rather than a design choice — the knowledge that somewhere out of sight, roots are still spreading toward the nearest pipe or wall. That's not a mood any plant should set, which is exactly why it has no place in new planting here, however tempting the price and the speed still look on a nursery shelf.

Conocarpus lancifolius, known locally as Damas, is native to coastal and riverine areas of Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen. It was planted across the UAE from the 1990s onward as a fast, cheap, drought- and salt-tolerant screening and shade tree, and for a time it seemed to be everywhere: street medians, compound boundaries, villa gardens.

The tree's shallow but far-reaching roots grow aggressively toward any source of moisture, including underground pipes, drains, pool shells and building foundations, and can extend many metres from the trunk. Emaar's 2012 'Say No To Damas' campaign in The Springs, The Lakes, The Meadows and Arabian Ranches warned of broken pipes, inflated DEWA bills, cracked walls and clogged drains, and Ras Al Khaimah's environmental authority banned the sale of Damas seedlings in 2020 after removing thousands of the trees from its own utility networks.

Because of this, Damas is not recommended for a Dubai garden, whatever its low water and maintenance needs might suggest. For the same fast, tough, low-water job of a hedge, screen or windbreak, Sidr, Ghaf, Neem and Sea Jasmine are better-behaved native or well-adapted alternatives that will not put pipes, pools or walls at risk.

Design

Where to use it

Historic fast screen or windbreak (not recommended for new planting)Case study in root-damage risk for owners assessing existing trees

This entry exists to inform a decision not to plant, and to help owners of an existing tree assess the risk rather than to guide new placement. If a mature Damas already stands near a pool, wall, pipe run or foundation, have it assessed by a qualified arborist or landscaper for removal rather than waiting for cracks, leaks or slow drains to appear — by the time damage is visible above ground, the roots have usually been active for years. For any new screen, hedge or windbreak with the same fast, low-water appeal, the alternatives below do the same job without the structural risk.

Sidr

A genuine UAE native that gives a similarly tough, low-water screen or shade tree without Damas' documented root damage.

Ghaf

The UAE's national tree offers the same drought and heat resilience as Damas, with a far better-behaved, deeper root habit.

Sea Jasmine

A fast, dense, low-maintenance hedge and screen alternative that avoids the infrastructure risk Damas carries near pools and pipes.

Care guide

How to grow it in Dubai

Watering: Summer: Very low; part of why it spread so widely across the UAE.
Winter: Minimal to none.
Establishment: Establishes quickly with minimal irrigation.
Soil: Tolerant of almost any soil, including poor, saline and waterlogged ground.
Feeding: Not required.
Pruning: Needs frequent trimming to control its fast growth as a hedge or screen; each trim is a good moment to check nearby walls, paving and drains for early signs of root damage.
Planting: Not recommended for new planting; see advisory above. If removing an existing tree, use a specialist to ensure the root system is fully cleared.
Pests: Generally trouble-free

Avoid these

Common mistakes

Choosing it today simply because it's cheap, fast and still sometimes available at nurseries. The speed and low cost are exactly what made it a problem across the UAE — the same traits that sell it are the ones that damage infrastructure.
Planting any tree without checking its species when a landscaper recommends a 'fast evergreen screen'. Ask directly whether Damas (Conocarpus lancifolius) is being proposed, and request a documented alternative if so.
Assuming a mature Damas is safe simply because no damage is visible yet. Root damage to pipes, pools and foundations typically develops out of sight for years before cracks, leaks or slow drains appear above ground.
Removing an established tree without a specialist ensuring the root system is fully cleared. A partial removal can leave enough root mass behind to keep causing the same problems.
Delaying an assessment because the tree itself still looks healthy. Tree health and infrastructure risk are separate questions with Damas — a thriving canopy is not evidence that the roots below are behaving.

Extra notes

Good to know

Its roots are shallow but aggressively far-reaching, growing toward any available source of moisture — which in a villa compound usually means underground pipes, drains, pool shells and foundations rather than staying within a planting bed.
Emaar's 2012 'Say No to Damas' campaign asked entire communities (The Springs, The Lakes, The Meadows, Arabian Ranches) to remove their trees, and Ras Al Khaimah has banned the sale of Damas seedlings outright since 2020 after clearing thousands from its own utility networks.
It is not known to be toxic — the risk it poses is entirely structural, to pipes, pools, walls and foundations, not to people or pets.
Because it is still occasionally offered under the generic label 'fast-growing shade tree', it is worth confirming the actual species before accepting any landscaper's planting recommendation.

Toxicity: Not known to be toxic. The real risk with Damas is structural, not toxicological — see advisory above.

Pros

Extremely fast growing, quickly forming a dense evergreen screen
Handles Dubai's heat, drought and salty soil with almost no complaint
Evergreen year-round with very low ongoing watering and feeding needs

Cons

Aggressive, far-reaching roots are documented to crack walls, choke drains and break underground pipes
Several emirates now actively remove or restrict it because of this infrastructure damage
Leaf litter can clog pools and drains
Not recommended for new planting: see advisory above

FAQ

Common questions

Why is Damas discouraged in Dubai gardens?

Its roots grow aggressively toward any source of moisture and are documented to crack walls, choke drains, invade pools and break underground pipes. Emaar urged whole communities to remove theirs in 2012, and Ras Al Khaimah has banned the sale of Damas seedlings since 2020.

I already have a Damas tree — what should I do?

Get it assessed by a qualified arborist or landscaper, especially if it stands near a wall, pool, pipe run or foundation. Removal is often the safer long-term choice, even though the tree itself looks healthy.

What can I plant instead of Damas for a quick screen or hedge?

Sidr, Ghaf, Neem and Sea Jasmine all give a tough, low-water hedge, screen or windbreak in Dubai without the root risk Damas carries.

Is Damas banned across the whole UAE?

Not a blanket nationwide ban, but Ras Al Khaimah has banned seedling sales, and Umm Al Quwain and other authorities run active removal campaigns because of the infrastructure damage its roots cause.

How can I tell if Damas roots are already damaging my property?

Watch for cracks in walls or paving near the tree, slower-draining sinks or gutters, unexplained increases in your water bill, or visible root heave in lawns and beds. Because the damage develops underground first, an arborist's assessment is more reliable than waiting for these signs to show.

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