Although our native plant diversity offers us blooms year-round, spring presents us with an exceptional variety of shapes and colors—have you seen our annual wildflowers?! The warmer months in San Diego often showcase muted yellows and browns instead of vibrant blues, reds, and pinks. As we inch closer to summer, you may start to see some of your plants either go dormant or die off, and understanding these natural changes will help you tend your garden better.
Planting native is a phenomenal way to support San Diego’s vast biodiversity, keep reading for some tips to keep those native gardens thriving.
During summer, many native plants experience something called dormancy. In San Diego, dormancy happens during summer months so plants can conserve water and energy. Your plants may look brown and dry, but they’ll bounce back once the rainy season begins again. They’re just toughing out those harsh summers. Because summer in San Diego is dry and hot, planting during this season is not recommended; this is a time to make sure the plants you already have survive.
Some native plants are biennial or perennial, which means they will go dormant during summer, but come back if they’re watered or when it rains again. When these plants go dormant during the summer, they may lose their leaves and flowers and look dead, but rest assured, they will grow back from their original roots or stems.
Annual plants, however, complete their life cycle in a single growing season, but the seeds they produce before they die allow them to create a new plant the next year.
Though your garden may seem dry and dormant, prepping your garden during the spring is one of the most important things you can do to make sure it does well during the summer.
Consistent watering
Consistent watering during springtime is a great way to make sure the soil is moist and to reserve a sufficient groundwater supply for your garden, which will ensure your plants are prepared when the dry season arrives. Generous watering will help the establishment period of newer plants, too. If spring is unusually dry, mimicking natural rainfall is helpful.
Once summer comes, it’s hard to backtrack and water heavily because most plants don’t like hot, moist soil. Some plants don’t like summer irrigation at all, such as established ceanothus (Ceanothus spp.), manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), and coffeeberries (Frangula californica). Other plants, like California poppies, will do well with a light misting to keep them happy. If you're going to give your garden a quick refreshment, just make sure to give your plants only a light surface sprinkle at the end of the day once temperatures have cooled.
Regular weeding
Regular weeding will help ensure that weeds aren’t competing for resources with your native plants. Seed spreading for weeds happens during the summer, so clearing them is a great way of reserving the precious groundwater you’ve accumulated just for your native plants while preventing new weeds from popping up.
Don’t clear brush
Although you may be tempted to remove dead plant material from your garden, leaving a few dead stalks and some leaf litter is beneficial to our native insect populations because it provides habitat. Did you know that some native nesting bees make tiny nests out of dried stems and leaves from previous years’ growth, just like birds? And they lay tiny eggs, too! Leaving dead leaf litter in your garden can ensure many garden allies, beneficial insects, and pollinators will have a place to build their homes and take care of their young.
Mulching
Mulching your garden area is a great way to prevent excess evaporation and will help your soil retain more water. Just make sure you leave some space between the mulch and the base of your plants to prevent fungal growth or unwanted decay.
San Diego is the most biodiverse county in the contiguous United States, yet habitat loss due to urbanization is a huge threat to our local plants and wildlife. By planting native, you can create new habitat in your own backyard.
There’s always a way to bring nature to your home. Imagine the impact we could make if every garden in San Diego supported a thriving array of native plants. We could create so much new habitat for native wildlife, learn about our local environment, and have fun doing it. Even if you don’t have a yard, container gardening with native plants can be a great alternative!
Thank you to Nat Horticulturist Carla Quimson, Mike Evans from Tree of Life Nursery, and Curator of Botany Jon Rebman for helping review the extensive informaiton in this blog.
Posted by Janae Pabon.
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