August/September, 2023

Guest Article compiled by Dan Songster.

This column is a newsletter feature offering OCCNPS chapter members and local experts a chance to briefly share information on many things related to gardening with natives.

The Request for this Edition of the OCCNPS Newsletter was: “Which native tree would be your favorite to plant in a small to average-sized Orange County home landscape and why?”

J. Mark Sugars– “Rhus integrifolia, especially if there is a need for something tolerant of pruning.  Some people might not consider Lemonadeberry a “tree,” in which case I would recommend Prunus ilicifolia subspecies ilicifolia; if the home in question is close to or even in the Santa Ana Mountains, I’d suggest Cupressus forbesii, because Tecate Cypress needs all the help it can get these days.”

Brad Jenkins-“Scrub Oak, Quercus berberidifolia. Oaks are nature treasures with high counts of associations to fauna and found in many vegetation alliances. Scrub Oak is the oak that is garden friendly for size, care, and appearance.”  

Leon Baginski-“Coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia—A tree that is fairly drought tolerant, non-deciduous and is a huge habitat magnet for many insect species. Will outlive all of its owners and can be pruned or left wild, dealer’s choice.” 

Ron Vanderhoff-“Just to be a little different, I’ll go with the Catalina Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii) as a good choice for the average home and average gardener. Its evergreen, with large, glossy foliage, is relatively clean, tolerates garden conditions well, and is a manageable size.”

Laura Curran-“Catalina Island Cherry Tree, Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii, if you can deal with the cherries dropping in the summer. Toyon is also good. Both are more bush like, not trees, but you can prune them to tree shape.” 

Amy Litton-“Hands down – Cercis occidentalis aka Western Redbud. The blooms emerge before the heart-shaped leaves, creating an incredibly beautiful effect. Ours has understory species such as Ribes speciosum (Fuchsia-flowered Gooseberry), and the combination creates incredible habitat for a variety of bird species and pollinators. The shade in the summer is wonderful too!”

Robin Huber-“I would go with Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oak), our local wonder. It’s a gift to the future. Even as one of the fastest growing natives, it will last a long time. A mature oak in a yard is a blessing. It stays green and shades you all year. Once established it needs very little if any extra water. It feeds the critters. Kids of the future can climb it and build a tree house in its strong branches. Its leaf drop makes a wonderful mulch and is home to even more critters. The shot-hole borer may be an issue when it gets to a certain circumference, but I have hope that by that time there will be a remedy. And after all, we can’t just give up.”

Peter Welch-“My favorite tree for a small garden is Cercis occidentalis, Western Redbud”.

Sarah Jayne-“With a past history of planting over-sized trees in my 30 X 30 garden, I’m a fine one to recommend anything! My beloved Sycamore was upward of 60 feet when I finally decided it had to go and the California Bay, capable of similar heights, is well on its way. Inspired by a mature specimen in one of the Garden Tour gardens, I am now strongly considering replacing the bay tree with a Catalina Cherry. Am I choosing right this time?” 

Alan Lindsay-“I still like the Island Oak in my backyard, Quercus tomentella, but it is now shading out plants beneath it.  My second choice is the Engelmann oak, Quercus engelmannii, because it is endemic to California’s southern coastal counties. The Engelmann seems to let more light though.” 

Dan Songster-“I have to agree with Alan Lindsay-Size, versatility, and habitat value cause those same two oaks to come to mind. First is the wonderfully graceful Engelmann oak (Quercus engelmannii). Never a huge tree, and even after thirty years it tends towards being an upright tree (not too wide and spreading) and so can fit in most landscapes easily. Another plus is that is can grow well in our heavier clay soils. Yes, they are semi-deciduous , so there is leaf drop in winter, but I like that since it makes them so light and airy looking much of the time, (and the leaves are small and make good mulch).

Then there is the Island Oak (Quercus tomentella) especially if you are close to the coast. Deep veined leaves are lush looking on a tree that grows more upright than wide (especially when young) and never gets too big, but it is large enough to make a statement in the garden. Its history is interesting as well, though now found endemic on the Channel Islands, fossil records show it once was widespread on mainland.”

(Note: As Brad mentioned, for smaller homes there is always one of the wonderful scrub oaks like Quercus berberidifolia– small in size but with lots of oaky character.)

Our question for the next newsletter: “After the tremendous crop of weeds from last season’s rains, what tricks and techniques do you now recommend for efficient weeding in your native garden?”

Email your responses to Dan Songster at songster@cox.net. Please attempt to keep replies brief so we can include most of the responses.