California Native Plants

By Heidi Broadbent

UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County

Published in the 5-24-2023 Mountain Democrat

05.24.23-Natives_lupine_poppies by S brasuel

Do the bright green leaves of buckeye bring stirrings of spring? Do lupine blossoms remind you of hiking your favorite trails? Did you get to see your favorite wildflower during this year’s super bloom? What a unique experience it is to live in California—the state with more plant species than any other state. California is considered a Biodiversity Hotspot which means that many of the animal and plant species found here are not found anywhere else on Earth (conservation.org/priorities/biodiversity-hotspots). California’s native plants offer many benefits to the home gardener.

Benefit #1: Native plants provide a sense of place.

Whether it’s the sound and surprise of California poppy seeds bursting from the pod, the smell of California sagebrush, or the memory of sitting under your favorite blue oak—native plants often provide a sense of place. This sense of place, according to Tim Cresswell, human geographer and poet, “may provide feelings of meaning, purpose, connection, and stewardship.” The home gardener can creatively and deliberately use California native plants to establish their own unique sense of place.

Benefit #2: Native plants are already adapted.

California native plants are adapted to our soils and to the hot dry summers. As we continue to face wildfires, drought conditions, and climate change, California native plants are more likely to have deeper, more substantial root systems that can regenerate; require less water; help with erosion control and do well without the use of fertilizers. You can learn more about this at the Monterey Bay Master Gardeners website (ucanr.edu/sites/MontereyBayMasterGardeners/files/306816.pdf).

Benefit #3: Native plants support native wildlife.

Since California native plants coevolved with native wildlife species, local plants provide nesting materials, shelter, pollen, nectar, and other food sources for wildlife. As the biodiversity in California continues to decline, providing both native plants and resources for native wildlife help stabilize and improve local ecosystems.

Benefit #4: Native plants support native bees and other pollinators.

An important subset of California’s native wildlife species are the native bees and other pollinators. We rely on bees to pollinate crops for our food supply. A UC Cooperative Extension article from 2011 states: “Researchers have found that in addition to the economic benefits of pollination, animal pollinators provide up to 40 percent of some essential vitamins, minerals, and dietary lipids provided by fruits and vegetables.” The home gardener can be deliberate about planting natives that will attract native bees and other pollinators to their garden.

There are several sources for learning more about California native plants including: Calscape which sorts plants into various categories, Calflora which helps you discover and learn more about native plants, and the UC Davis Arboretum All-Star Plant Database which aims to conserve water and benefit native species. You may want to check out:

calscape.org/

calflora.org/

arboretum.ucdavis.edu/plant-database

May you enjoy the benefits of California native plants.

Master Gardener classes are offered monthly throughout the county. You can find our class schedule at: http://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/Public_Education_Classes/?calendar=yes&g=56698, and recorded classes on many gardening topics here: http://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu/Public_Education/Classes/

Have a gardening question? Master Gardeners are working hard to answer your questions. Use the “Ask a Master Gardener” option on our website: mgeldorado.ucanr.edu or leave a message on our office telephone: 530-621-5512. We’ll get back to you! Master Gardeners are also on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

To sign up for notices and newsletters, see http://ucanr.edu/master gardener e-news.

Easy Garden Friendly California Native Plants

By Dolores Morrison

UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County

This article appeared in the February 2024 Village Life

Perhaps you’ve heard of these reasons to use California native plants in your garden: they are low maintenance, use little water, are beneficial to wildlife and pollinators, and are beautiful. Maybe you don’t want redo your whole garden but would like to try a few here and there. Is that possible? Yes!

Here is a list of five plants that do well in garden conditions alongside nonnative plants, especially Mediterranean plants such as lavenders, salvias, and rockrose. These plants are low water and do well in our summer heat. They require little to no soil amendments or fertilizer. Pruning is minimal. The suggestions include plants that serve a variety of roles in the garden. All plants are winter hardy in the El Dorado Hills area and deer resistant.

Howard McMinn manzanita, Arctostaphylos ‘Howard McMinn’, is an evergreen, mounding shrub seven to ten feet tall and wide. It can be pruned to manage size or shaped into a small tree. As it grows, its beautiful red bark will be visible. It produces many small white to pink urn-shaped flowers in late winter to early spring that are popular with native bees and hummingbirds. It accepts clay and sandy soils.

Dwarf Coyote brush, Baccharis 'Pigeon Point’, is an evergreen shrub growing from one to three feet tall, and up to eight feet wide. It can be kept shorter and neater by shearing. It has bright green foliage and small cream white flowers that can appear spring through fall. It prefers full sun to light shade. It is good for bank stabilization or filling in landscapes.

California fuchsia, Epilobium canum, is often still sold as Zauschneria californica. An herbaceous perennial with bright orange-red flowers summer through fall, it will grow one foot by three feet wide. It is pollinated by hummingbirds and is popular with bees and other pollinators. It will spread by rhizomes, which are horizontal underground stems, which can be pulled at any time to contain growth. It thrives when cut to the ground in late fall or early winter. California fuchsia accepts clay, sand, and serpentine soil. It does best in full sun.

Idaho fescue, Festuca idahoensis, is a clumping grass. It grows 12-18 inches tall by about 15 inches wide. While a dark blue green in nature, there are lighter blue-green varieties. It does best in sun or part shade. It accepts various soils but prefers well drained. You can cut it back in early winter to refresh the leaves, but it isn’t necessary.

Desert willow, Chilopsis linearis, is a small deciduous multi-trunked tree that is tolerant of a variety of soils. It is favored by pollinators and hummingbirds with its fragrant white, pink, or purple flowers which bloom May through September.

Other great plants to consider are Valley Violet Ceanothus, Ceanothus maritimus 'Valley Violet'; Ray Hartman California lilac, Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman’; Bee’s Bliss sage, Salvia 'Bees Bliss’; Island Alum Root, Heuchera maxima, Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, and Coyote mint, Monardellla villosa.

The California Native Plant Society’s gardening website, Calscape calscape.com has information on how to grow these plants and much more.

The Sherwood Demonstration Garden is open through winter with limited hours. Please check our website for further information about activities at the Sherwood Demonstration Garden at: https://ucanr.edu/sites/EDC_Master_Gardeners/Demonstration_Garden/

For more information on the UCCE Master Gardeners of El Dorado County, see our website

at http://mgeldorado.ucanr.edu. To sign up for notices and newsletters, see http://ucanr.edu/master gardener e-news.