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From the Santa Cruz Sentinel
April 14, 2005

Spring sale a perfect time to re-introduce natives to the landscape

Spring is the perfect time to enrich your non-native garden with native plants. A walk in the awakening spring garden feels like a gathering of old friends after a long absence. The tug of familiarity pulls at you from each plant. You muse, how will natives fit in among all of my old favorites?

In general, the answer is quite well, with a good garden evaluation and careful planning. From planting a few patio pots with natives to a complete restoration project, you will find natives are rewarding assets to your garden. A selection of native plants will be available at the joint UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and California Native Plant Society sale Saturday at the University.

The original natives
Before development, your garden was part of one of the many native plant communities found in California. These habitats were rich in diversity, alive with plants uniquely adapted to survive in each environment. Coastal scrub, redwood forest, sandhills and riparian woodlands are just a few of the habitats that once covered our area.

Remnants of your native plant habitat can still be found today. Look for undeveloped spots close by and note what is growing. Let these survivors guide your native plant selections. For example, if you notice a variety of oaks, madrone and bay trees, it may indicate your garden was originally in a mixed evergreen forest where ceanothus, coffee berry and hazel could be considered on your plant list.

Once established these displaced local natives will thrive with the natural rainfall, thereby reducing the need for supplemental irrigation. Their plant textures, flower colors and seasonal changes will enhance your garden with the look and feel of California past.

Your garden today
Buildings, grading of the area and the introduction of non-native plant material may have created new habitats in your garden. Determine what environments have been created. They will help dictate which natives should be selected.

Note how many hours of sun each area receives, the soil type and amount of irrigation you provide. The south side of a home can be a hot, dry environment where drought-tolerant sun loving plants thrive. The north-facing side of your home or an area under a mature tree can be a cool dry or moist area for understory plants.

Existing plant material can provide important details. Naturally shade-loving camellias that sunburn every summer, suggests the environment is too sunny for understory plants. On the other hand, a sun-loving rose with leggy weak growth may indicate it has been placed in an area with too low a light for full sun plants.

Equipped with the knowledge of your garden habitats past and present, look for natives that are best matched to the current growing conditions.

The habitats
WARM AND SUNNY — Established non-natives, like bottle brush or tea trees, survive and even thrive with little if any summer water. Match them with native salvias, manzanitas and yarrows which are found in the "drought tolerant" section of most nurseries or at Saturday’s plant sale. These natives grow beautifully with only the natural rainfall pattern. The term xeriscape is often associated with the mixing of non-natives and native plants to create the feel of a traditional garden that requires minimal summer irrigation. In recent years, many plants from Mediterranean climates like proteas or New Zealand flax have become available in the nursery trade or at the UCSC Arboretum, creating lots of choices for use in xeriscaping.

SHADY COOL WITH IRRIGATION — Many of our redwood community plants like native ferns, ginger, bleeding heart and elk clover thrive among non-native camellias, hydrangeas and fuchsias, appreciating shade and summer water. To reduce the water requirements, mulch heavily to retain soil moisture.

HIGH SOIL MOISTURE — Either created artificially by a pond or naturally from a year-round stream, moist soil areas support natives that like "wet feet." Look for native ferns or Mimulus moschatus (musk flower).

"Capitalize on the overflow of water from seasonal watering of hanging baskets like fuchsias and begonias by planting underneath with native groundcovers like redwood sorrel or ginger. By grouping like plants together the summer water applied will go farther," says Stephen McCabe, coordinator of Research and Education at the UCSC Arboretum.

CONTAINERS — Patio pots can be excellent spots for spring wildflower annuals. If succulents are your interest, the Dudleya species. thrive alone or in mixed pots.

SHADY AND DRY — This is one of the areas where natives really shine. Under mature trees like oaks that do not tolerate summer water, consider ribes, coral bells, California strawberry and snow berry.

THE NATIVE DIFFERENCE — Gardeners new to growing natives are often disappointed in their performance. Immature natives can appear to be slow growing and are far from prolific bloomers. Long before the promises of increased wildlife in the garden, reduction of water usage or aesthetic benefits, the exercise is deemed a failure.

This often comes from applying expectations created from gowing highly hybridized plants to native plantings. Many commercial plants are bred to grow quickly producing lots of blooms on relatively immature plants, thus setting the standard for gardening success.

Natives have quite a different agenda so to speak. The genetic material that programs their growth is geared for survival not commercial acceptance. A young native that appears to grow slowly, taking a year or two to become fully established, has most likely spent its growing energy establishing a root system in preparation for a dry summer.

Carry around a couple of different measuring sticks for success in your mind when evaluating non-natives and natives. Both are assets to the garden.

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