Thank you to all who participated in the Beautify Chula Vista Day event that took place on October 15th.  Our annual event was at Rice Canyon for the removal of invasives along a 1.2 mile stretch of trail, Discovery Canyon and Rancho Del Rey Business District for litter removal, and our fall revegetation project between Buena Vista and Via Goya along the parkways of Rancho Del Rey Pkwy South.

40 volunteers participated in our annual revegetation project and planted over 300 hundred plants: 200 hundred California Native plants and 100 succulents, and spread 65 yards of mulch along the east- and westside parkways of Rancho Del Rey Pkwy South.

Hover mouse over picture gallery to get a quick caption.

A BIG thank you to Mayor Mary Casillas Salas for participating in the planting of our waterwise plant material and spreading of mulch.

Here’s the gallery of after pictures.

Here’s a quick reference of our plant palette.  Hover mouse over picture gallery to get a quick identification of plants.

This beautiful robust stemless plant usually has a single rosette 3 feet tall with long broad silvery blue-green leaves with reddish teeth along the margins. In the summer the spectacular inflorescence branches near its base with each stem becoming a vertical spike rising well above the foliage and holding dark red to orange-red down-curved flowers that lie flat against the stems with the oldest flowers turning yellow at the tips starting from the bottom of the spike.

Young plants may produce only one raceme but older plants can produce multiple racemes, further enhancing a spectacular sight. This species is easily identified by its compact racemes of dark red flowers, with the tips of the flowers curving downwards towards the branch and pressed tightly against it.

This feature, together with very short pedicels, far exserted stamens and style, and the tendency to produce thorns on the lower leaf surface,  can often be confused with Aloe gerstneri and Aloe petricola.  

Opuntia turpinii is a very unusual cactus species closely related to the Opuntia family; it’s distinctly shaped growth resembles pine cones with almost no spines and cylindrical type growth.

Individual stems average 6″ to 2′ in length and 1-1/2″ in diameter. Stems have half circle scales on stem exteriors, smooth to the touch. Very easy to grow, not requiring any special soil mix, but good drainage is a must.

Pine Cone Cactus blooms 2″ white flowers at the tips of the joints; blooms are from April to September.

This attractive landscape plant is sure to start conversation in the garden or patio. Can easily be grown in containers also.

Why Garden with Native Plants?

Gardening with native plants can bring the beauty of California into your own landscape while receiving numerous benefits.  One of the benefits that I enjoy the most is inviting wildlife like hummingbirds, butterflies, and beneficial insects.

By landscaping with natives you can save 573,375 gallons in 10 years.   Watering a lawn is like showering 9 times a day.  

Lower maintenance costs by planting with natives; they do well with some attention and care, but require less water to no fertilizer and less pruning than non-native plants. Native plants use and  require 68% less maintenance.

Reduce Pesticides            

Native plants have developed their own defenses against many pests and diseases. Since most pesticides kill indiscriminately, beneficial insects become secondary targets in the fight against pests.

Pest management cost are 60% lower and by reducing or eliminating pesticides will let nature take control over the garden; and by letting nature take over we can keep the garden toxins out of our creeks and watersheds.

Soils

Most native plants perform better without any fertilizer. Extra nutrients push plants to grow quickly, sometimes beyond naturally supportable levels, and can shorten their life span.  Mulching can be a valuable practice in low-maintenance gardening.  A layer of mulch slows water evaporation, discourages weed germination, and creates a favorable environment at the soil interface for beneficial biological bacteria.

Knowing your soil determines how often you water your soil; whither it’s sand, clay, or loam influences how fast water penetrates before running off, how often plants will need to be watered, and how much water you’ll need to apply.

Growing Conditions

Native plants grow best under natural and familiar conditions, which are also known as biotic communities. Common California plant communities include northern and southern oak woodland, valley grassland, chaparral, desert, coastal sage scrub and bluff, mixed evergreen, and redwood forest.  Choosing plants that are native to your landscape’s community will help ensure their optimum health and performance.

Planting

Although most California natives can be planted at any time of year, it is best to plant them in the ground during the fall or early winter. This gives them time to establish a healthy root system and build the energy for new growth and stunning floral displays in spring and summer.

Pruning

While many non-native plants are often pruned throughout the year to keep up with their water and fertilizer induced growth, for most native plants pruning once per year is sufficient and generates 56% less green waste than non-natives.

Give them room to grow by properly spacing them in your garden design.   Crowded plants need more frequent pruning and care.

Watering

After two to five years of establishment many native plants can survive with minimal or supplemental water.  Proper watering can present a challenge when first becoming acquainted with native plants.  Under watering young native plants is a frequent cause of death, while over-watering can cause root rot and kill more established species.  Some native species can maintain a healthy appearance for much of the year while being watered only 1–4 times per month.  California native plants need minimal irrigation beyond normal rainfall.  Saving water conserves a vital amount of our limited resources as well as money savings too.   Native plants use 83% less water than non-native plants.

Habitat

The iconic Saguaro cactus, Carnegiea gigantea, occurs naturally in the Sonoran Desert.  This unique habitat, which is home to many other characteristic plants and animals, is shared by the United States (Arizona, California) and Mexico (Baja California, Sonora). The Saguaro Cactus ranges north to the edge of the Hualapai Mountains in Arizona and along the Colorado River in south-eastern California. The largest saguaro populations occur in the state of Sonora (Mexico) where its distribution reaches its southernmost point around Ciudad Obregón, the second-largest Sonoran city.

Description

A member of the cactus family (Cactaceae), Carnegiea gigantea is a tall, tree-like cactus. It is columnar in form, the stem and branches tall and thin, like pillars, and grows up to 50 feet tall. The ribbed stem (trunk) can reach a diameter of 28 inches.  It is the largest columnar cactus native to the United States but is extremely slow-growing. It flowers once it has reached a height of about 6 feet.  The first branches, which grow out from the sides of the stem, only appear after it has reached a height of 16 feet and an age of 50 years.

The Saguaro stores water in its trunk and branches as an adaptation to its dry environment.  It has a deep anchoring taproot (the main root that goes straight down into the soil) up to 3 feet long and an extensive, shallow, lateral root system (roots that spread outward from the main taproot) that allows it to take up water quickly after the infrequent rains typical of the Sonoran Desert.

The trunk bears dense, strong, thick, spines up to 1.5 inches long on 12–30 prominent, vertical, ribs. The white flowers appear just below the top of the stem between April and June. They are 3-4 inches long and 1-2 inches in diameter. The flowers open during the night and are primarily pollinated by bats that feed on the abundant nectar.

However, they do remain open for some time in the morning when other animals, such as bees and birds, visit the flowers and further aid in pollination. The edible, red, fleshy fruits ripen from May to July and are 1-2 inches long and 1 inch in diameter.

Threats and conservation

Although not considered endangered, the Saguaro cactus is protected under the Arizona Native Plant Law. Illegal collecting of plants is a concern around cities, but the most significant impact on their populations is posed by urban development, especially near Phoenix and Tucson. Nowadays, however, developers have a duty to move or protect Saguaros that would otherwise be destroyed during building operations.

Native Americans

Saguaro fruits are highly prized among Native Americans. The delicious fruits have a juicy, red flesh with lots of tiny, black, nutty-tasting seeds.  They were a staple food of the Tohono O’odham and Pima Indians. The seeds are used as chicken food or ground into a flour to prepare a cake.

The internal ‘woody ribs’ of dead stems provided building materials and firewood, and were also used as splints for broken bones.

The Tohono O’odham organized their traditional calendar around the Saguaros annual fruiting cycle and considered the species to be so important that plants were regarded as fellow humans who should not be hurt.

Food for wildlife

The flowers, fruits and seeds of the saguaro are an important food source for Sonoran wildlife, such as the collared peccary, long-nosed bats, rodents, western white-winged doves, woodpeckers and insects.  Saguaros provide nesting habitats for birds and small mammals.  When Gila woodpeckers and gilded flickers dig their nests into the plant’s flesh it produces a hard callus lining to the cavity that seals it off from the surrounding living tissue.  Once a saguaro has died and the soft flesh has rotted away, the hard lining of these bird nesting cavities remains intact, forming curious looking container-like structures that stick out among the remains of the dead plant.

These so-called ‘Saguaro Boots’ were used as containers by North American Indians.