Fall is just around the corner, which happens to be the best time of the year for planting landscape plants here in the High Desert.
Are you thinking about ideas of what to plant in your landscape? Are you trying to conserve water? Do you want your landscape to be an aesthetically pleasing fit with the desert surroundings? All of these questions can be answered with the use of California native plants, specifically those that thrive in the heat of summer and the chill of winter.
Native plants can be used for a number of reasons, including establishing a sense of place, wildlife habitat, biodiversity, conservation of natural resources, less maintenance and their inherent natural beauty.
Using native plants allows the landscape to look uniquely Californian. Many wildlife habitats have been destroyed by progress a n d development; using native plants can help create new habitats that provide food and shelter for many animal species, including native mammals, reptiles, birds and insects.
Because native plants are adapted to the area’s climate and soils, less water and fewer fertilizers are used, thus conserving natural resources. For the most part, native plants require less maintenance than many exotic species. And creatively designed landscapes using
native plants can be even more beautiful than those using traditional plant materials.
The native plant choices are nearly endless — there are multitudes of flower and leaf colors, various textures, groundcovers, grasses, shrubs, trees, annuals, perennials, evergreens and deciduous — and you can have something interesting happening in the landscape all year long. Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to Mojave Desert natives — there are numerous California species that are easily adaptive to this climate and soil. As long the plant can tolerate alkaline soil, hot and cold temperatures, intense sunlight and some wind, it should do just fine.
Generally, natives’ only requirements are well-drained soil, little to moderate water and a few hours of sunlight. Try to avoid species such as Cottonwood (Populus fremontii), which make an attractive shade tree but are native to wet areas and therefore require abundant amounts of water to thrive. When you go out to purchase the plants, just pay attention to the label or ask a knowledgeable salesperson about the plant’s needs.
This brings me to the subject of where to purchase native plants. Some nurseries carry a huge number of native species and some have only a few. Reliable local sources include Heavenly Growers at the Apple Valley Farmers Market, Cal Herbold’s Nursery in Hesperia, Oak Hills Nursery in Hesperia/Oak Hills, The Tree of Life Nursery in San Juan Capistrano and The Living Desert in Palm Desert, to name just a few. Many of the garden centers such as Lowes and Home Depot sometimes carry a few native selections as well.
Here is a short list of available plants that do quite well in the Victor Valley area: Blue Palo Verde (cercidium floridum), Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis), Deer Grass (Muhlenbergia rigens), Deer Weed (Lotus scoparius), Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa), Quail Bush (Atriplex lentiformis), California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), Prince’s Plume (Stanleya pinnata), Woolly Blue Curls (Trichostema lanatum), Chaparral Whitethorn (Ceanothus leucodermis), Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis), Matilija Poppy (Romneya coulteri), Blue Sage (Salvia clevelandii), Foothill Penstemon (Penstemon heterophyllus), Scented Penstemon (Penstemon palmeri), Desert Verbena (Verbena gooddingii), Desert Sage (Salvia dorii), Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris), California Flannel Bush (Fremontodendron californicum), Incense Cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) and California Fuchsia (Zauschneria californica). Remember this is only a partial list of beautiful possibilities.
Happy gardening!
High Desert resident Micki Brown is a drought-tolerant plant specialist with an M.S. in Plant Science. Send her questions to be answered in the column, and garden-related events to HorticultureHelp@aol.com
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