Easy garden design with native plants.
If you are having trouble picking out plants to put in your yard or just need some place to start, answer these three questions and we will give you some planting suggestions. This is really general so make a best guess. It is just to help you start looking in the right places and to catch common garden problems so you can have better success with your California native plants.
First, what type of soil do you have?
If you aren't sure which one of these are appropriate, try the shovel test. Dig a shovel sized whole and fill it with water. How long does it take to drain?
1. Sand: the water should drain out in less than ten minutes. (Good-excellent drainage)
2. Loam: the water will drain in anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours. (Fair-Good drainage)
3. Clay: the water will drain in more than 2 hours (Fair-Poor drainage)
This includes: decomposed granite and beach sand
How much do you water?
1. Wet: You have plants on drip irrigation or you are deep watering (more than a few sprinkles on the leaves and mulch) or you want to plant plants near your lawn or near a drippy birdbath.
2. Dry: You water only to get the plant established ( first year or over the first summer). This is what you should be doing unless you are planting plants way out of your plant community!
This includes: sandy loam , loam, and loamy sand.
How much do you water?
1. Wet: You have plants on drip irrigation or you are deep watering (more than a few sprinkles on the leaves and mulch) or you want to plant plants near your lawn or near a drippy birdbath.
2. Dry: You water only to get the plant established ( first year or over the first summer). This is what you should be doing unless you are planting plants way out of your plant community!
This includes: serpentine and other thick soils.
How much do you water?
1. Wet: You have plants on drip irrigation or you are deep watering (more than a few sprinkles on the leaves and mulch) or you want to plant plants near your lawn or near a drippy birdbath.
2. Dry: You water only to get the plant established ( first year or over the first summer). This is what you should be doing unless you are planting plants way out of your plant community!
