Now is the time to add California-native plants to your garden

Fall is the most exciting time of the year for California gardeners who like to dream big beautiful thoughts towards making changes in their spring gardens. The autumn weather should soon become cooler, yet the soil is still warm from summer heat, the days are shorter, and change is in the air. September is the perfect time for the direct seeding of wildflowers in your garden.

Need ideas to spark your imagination for a succession of spring flowers in your garden, while also contributing valuable habitat for native bees, butterflies and other critters?  Plant choice ideas and research tools are all available online, including local nurseries to visit or mail order.   

Let’s consider the California natives, first. Check out this new tool from the California Native Plant Society: https://calscape.org/. 

“Our goal at Calscape is to help Californians restore nature and save water one garden at a time. We do this by showing people which plants are really native to any location in the state, helping them figure out which ones they want, and where to buy them and how to grow them.”

“True native plants are the foundation for nature restoration. They attract butterflies, birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, bees and other pollinators that evolved with those plants, and over time create a working natural ecosystem, without pesticides, and without artificial fertilizers,” the site says.

For instance, if you live in San Joaquin County, type your ZIP code or address into their search engine, and you will most likely get a few hundred possibilities for your consideration, divided into 20 different categories, including, “all plants, trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, grasses, succulents, vines, ferns, sun, shade, part shade, ground covers, butterfly hosts, hedges, bank stabilization, low water, very low water, damp soils”, and finally, “very easy.”

For fun, let’s look at “very easy” wildflowers for Stockton. Up pops Silver lupine, (Lupinus albifrons), California Poppy, (Eschscholzia californica), Purple Chinese Houses (Collinsia heterophylla), California Buttercup (Ranunculus californicus), Common Meadowfoam (Limnanthes douglasii) and Great Valley Gumweed (Grindelia camporum), all native to Stockton. 

So, for instance, if we choose the silver lupine, we will learn that “it prefers full sun with good drainage and likes sandy or rocky soils that are dry, but will tolerate some moisture. If conditions are right it will be long-lived.” More information is available, including the wildlife it supports, which lists the “7 confirmed species”, and “49 likely” butterflies and moths. 

The Calscape website also offers a plant list function which helps keep track of your favorites, and a list of the nurseries where your local native plant choice seeds are available, throughout the state

The San Joaquin Native Plant Society is also a great place to learn about native plants: https://nsj.cnps.org/

Favorite non-native wildflowers: Other favorite flowers to plant in the fall for the spring bloom, you may want to consider, would be the annual sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), or the perennial sweet pea, (Lathyrus latifolius), Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.), Centaurea cyanus, commonly known as cornflower or bachelor’s button, which is available in several colors, including the traditional blue flowered, or the purple or pink cultivars.  

Pacific Coast Seed in Tracy offers a Central Valley wildflower mix by the pound. Some of the seeds are native and some are non-native to San Joaquin but still perform well in the county. 

“This mixture of annual and perennial wildflowers, known to perform well in California's Central Valley, provides a bright and colorful array of flowers through spring. Fall planting results in an earlier and longer blooming period. Spring planting can be successful with supplemental irrigation. These seeds have low water requirements and may be sown alone or in conjunction with selected grasses,” the site says.  

These mixes include: White Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Farewell-to-Spring, (Clarkia amoena), California Poppy, (Eschscholzia californica), Bird’s Eyes, (Gilia tricolor), Goldfields, (Lasthenia californica), Tidy Tips, (Layia platyglossa), Meadowfoam, (Limnanthes douglasii), Blue Flax, (Linum lewisii), Sky Lupine, (Lupinus nanus), Arroyo Lupine, (Lupinus succulentus), Five Spot, (Nemophila maculata), Baby Blue-Eyes, (Nemophila menziesii), and California Bluebell, (Phacelia campanularia).

A Central Valley California winter is a gardener’s paradise. By planting native plants, especially wildflower mixes, the delights of winter can be extended into spring, and with a little forethought, it’s “easy-peasy”!

For more information on native plants or other gardening questions, visit ucanr.edu/sjmg or call our helpline at 209-953-6112. More information can be found on our website: http://sjmastergardeners.ucanr.edu/CONTACT_US/ .