By Cheyenne Wiscovitch, Apr 18 2015 06:47PM
Happy April (or mid-April)! I know we missed March’s post and I apologize for that. We were very busy with a bike race that we put on locally. Now that the race has passed, I can spend time discussing my favorite topic: The top plants for California!
There are two trees that I would like to mention. The first is called a Bailey Acacia. In full bloom, this tree has a beautiful yellow-cotton ball-like flower. When it is not in bloom, the leaves look like beautiful green, evergreen leaves. The great thing about this tree is it offers great shade and it grows to be a fully mature tree in only a few years! It loves to be in direct sunlight, and only requires frequent watering when first growing. This tree is very drought resistant (score!)
The second tree is called a Crape Myrtle. Talk about a beautiful tree! This tree will change colors throughout the year, with its peak season in summer. In autumn the tree brings us colors of yellow, orange or red. They also LOVE the sun. Perfect companion for living in So-Cal! These trees can be a single trunk or a multiple trunk. The single trunk creates more of a vase shape and the multiple trunks creates more of a broader canopy.
Let me quickly mention a shrub called New Zealand Tea Tree. I know, some of you may be thinking, tree?! I thought she just said shrub! I did. This shrub is called a tea tree because the thicker trunks can be pruned to look like a tree. The flowers on this shrub appear in spring and summer. This shrub loves to bask in the sun. They can grow up to eight feet tall and five feet wide!
I am going to jump over to perennials. What’s that you may ask? Plants that are in full bloom-ALL YEAR ROUND! Spectacular, right? The first perennial on my list is called a Border Penstemon. This beautiful purple flower loves to let hummingbirds feed from it, and absolutely loves its sunlight. It does enjoy shade, but prefers to be in direct sunlight. Be careful not to place it in a location where the soil gets soggy. This can be fatal for Border Penstemons.
Another perennial worth mentioning is the Daylily. These beautiful flowers are available year-round and unlike other perennials, it does enjoy some shade. It enjoys summers full sun, but where the summer is long and hot, it will ask that it receives a little bit of shade. Daylilys range in size, typically, from 2 ½ to 4 feet.
My personal favorite perennial is Sage. The colors of these plants are just beautiful. Sage doesn’t require a lot of watering, making it easy on your checkbook! In fact, regular watering may cause the Mexican Sage to become brittle. This perennial will be happy in sunlight, but does need shade.
Fountain Grass is a type of Ornamental Grass that produces a flower plume. This flower plume appears in summer and continues into fall. It loves to be in the sun and is extremely drought tolerant (yay!).
Giant Feather Grass is a beautiful Ornamental Grass that can get up to three feet in height. When the Giant Feather Grass becomes fully mature and is in full bloom, it produces a grassy presence with a cluster of golden flowers at the top. It prefers to be planted in a sunny location. It doesn’t require a ton of watering after its first year or two.
All of these plants that I have mentioned above, have great drought tolerant tendencies. They don’t require a ton of watering, and can save you lots of money in the end. We are booming with drought tolerant jobs right now, so don’t hesitate to give us a call today! If we don’t answer, we will call you back!
Al’s Helpful Tip of the Month!
Did you know?
By mulching your planters you can save up to 30% on your water! There are many types of mulches available today as recycling has become very fashionable. Recycled mulches tend to be of local plant, trees materials. They have a very small percentage of nitrohumus is added to also provide some additional nutrients to help support healthy growth for plant material. As the drought continues here in Southern California, mulching becomes a more logical approach to conserving water. As Cheyenne mentioned last month, drip systems and mulching are becoming the solution for conservation. In your future planning I would strongly advise that you consider these tips as a means to contributing to finding a solution to our drought problems.








