Enjoying our local native plants

00000169-0cc2-dbbe-a16f-4ee2825a0000 — Jolanta Mayerberg – stock.adobe.

UPDATED: November 20, 2018 at 10:16 PM PST

As the valedictorian of my home school, I had learned a lot about the California natives. The people, not the plants. That didn’t come until much later when I explored our country backroads as a member of the notorious Sons With Arthritis Motorcycle Club. Sometimes, I would ask our gang to stop and ire the flora and fauna of our surroundings. After that, they didn’t really play nice, so I took the remaining parts of my bike and went home.

According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Plants), “California hosts approximately 6,500 species, subspecies, and varieties of plants.” “219 species, subspecies and varieties of native plants are designated as rare, threatened or endangered …” At one time or another I’ve considered many of my plants to be endangered, usually right after I threatened them.

Today, California native plants continue to pop up in public and private landscapes. Most native plants require very little supplemental water, little or no fertilizer and significantly less maintenance and pesticide use. They attract beneficial pollinators such as bees and butterflies and provide some of the most interesting and dramatic blooms and year-round color. Flowering times vary slightly from year to year, depending on the weather.

You can see many of the natives in our local nurseries. But for a greater selection, I hike our local trails such as Blue Sky, Lake Poway, Iron Mountain and Mount Woodson. The 2,650-mile long Pacific Crest Trail is also on my bucket list, but I’m pretty sure I’ll kick that bucket.

Anyway, space permitting, here a selection of native plants:

Arroyo Lupine is a deciduous shrub desired for its light blue/purple flowers which bloom from early fall to late spring. Grows 3 to 5 feet. Hikers will easily find it at Blue Sky Ecological Reserve and Lake Poway.

Blue Larkspur, aka Delphinium. Perennial dark purple to light blue blooms all summer. Grows to 3feet tall. Hummingbirds and butterflies love them.

Bush monkey flower is a perennial with showy tubular, golden blooms in spring. Stems and leaves can be sticky, possibly to deter insects. Flowers attract hummingbirds. Plants often go summer dormant. Size: 2 feet tall by 3f feet wide. Monkey flowers are rumored to have monkeys in their flowers. I’ve seen a spider, a bee and a happy face. No monkeys.

California Everlasting (Cudweed) is a member of the daisy family. A real nice family. It has bright white blooms, grows 2 feet tall and its leaves have a maple syrup-like fragrance.

California peony is a 2 foot tall, summer-deciduous, perennial herbaceous plant. It has drooping flowers with dark red petals which bloom from December to May. It’s often used in native plant landscaping and xeriscaping. It is moisture sensitive in the summer, when its swollen roots will rot if watered. They’re commonly seen at Blue Sky Reserve.

California poppy is our state’s flower. Brilliant cup-shaped orange, red and yellow flowers start blooming in early spring. Size: 18 inches tall. The petals close at night or in cold, cloudy, windy weather, and open again the following morning. See them at Blue Sky.

Cleveland sage belongs to the salvia genus. This evergreen has very aromatic leaves and lavender colored blooms in spring and summer. Grows to 3 feet tall and wide. The salvias are my favorite of the California natives.

Hoary California fuchsia is a perennial that has fuzzy green leaves and bright red flowers in summer. Plants tend to run by runners so give it room to roam. Size: 1-by-4 feet.

The popular California Mountain Lilac is an evergreen shrub measuring 6 feet-by-6 feet and has rich blue flowers.

Tidy Tips is a spring annual herb with yellow and white daisy-like flowers. Grows 1 foot high and 2 feet wide.

Toyon is also known as the California Holly. This evergreen shrub has green leathery leaves and red berries in winter. Size: 8 feet-by-15 feet wide. You’ll find some on your way to Potato Chip Rock on the Mount Woodson trail.

White Sage is a Native American ceremonial plant. Flower stalks of this evergreen perennial are tall and arching, up to 5 feet high by 6 feet wide. Striking white foliage.

Wild Canterbury-Bell, aka California Bells is an erect, 8-by-24-inch annual with 1-inch wide, bell-shaped, purple flowers. You’ll find them around Lake Poway.

As a courtesy, I ran around to all of our local trails and picked a flower for each of you. Therapy is going quite well for my foot blisters the size of water balloons and a sunburn brighter than an Heirloom tomato.

I really miss my motorcycle.

Schmidt is a Poway resident with more than 40 years of gardening experience.

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