by Ann Clary and C. Darren Butler GardenZeus receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. There is no additional cost to you. New Year’s Resolution 4: Grow California Native and Mediterranean Plants. Will plants sold at local gardening centers and nurseries thrive in your garden or landscape? Often they will, but in […]

GardenZeus receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. If you’ve never grown California native wildflowers, the California Color Flower Seed Mix from Botanical Interest is a perfect way to start. It provides an inexpensive, time-efficient, low-water-use, low-maintenance option for winter and spring color. It’s especially useful for mass planting, and for difficult […]

Seeds can be scattered at the rate of one seed every 2-3 inches or about 20 seeds per square foot, ideally just before fall or winter rainy periods. Leave seeds at the soil surface undisturbed, or rake gently into soil. While counter-intuitive for many gardeners, it’s best not to cover California Poppy seeds with soil. […]

California Poppy needs full sun during cool-to-warm weather. It is perennial, but also grows as an annual in gardens and in wild areas where summer temperatures exceed about 90°F for long periods or where winter temperatures drop below about 15° to 20°F. It grows and yields best at daytime temperatures of about 55° to 80°F. […]

California Poppy (Eschscholzia california) is among the most care-free and lovely California-native flowering plants, and among the easiest to cultivate in urban landscapes. See Planting and Growing California Poppy (Eschscholzia california) for more info about planting, environmental needs, and benefits it provides. Watering: The best method for watering California Poppy is generally drip irrigation, especially […]

GardenZeus receives commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Many California native plants that are adapted or bred for urban landscapes have a reputation for being fussy with special needs, or being difficult to grow. California Poppy is the opposite. It requires little more than scattering seeds from fall through late winter or […]

For those familiar with gardening maintenance associated with the traditional flowering perennials and annuals common in California home gardens, such as roses, azaleas, delphiniums, and (gasp!) grass, learning what to do, or more precisely what NOT TO DO, with California native plants is a process. California natives require us to reevaluate our plant maintenance practices, […]

Between the large urban garden centers and the growth of the internet, gardeners in California can purchase a wide range of plants and seeds from outside California and  outside of the United States in many parts of the world. But is this a good idea? The answer is not really. California native plants are adapted […]

Ceanothus is one of the most popular plant selections in California. Ceanothus are available in a wide variety of shrubs and groundcovers, most of which are native to California. Many produce copious “lilac” colored flowers in the spring, hence the popular name California Lilac.  Watering needs depend on the variety: some withstand some garden water […]