Hi there - I am so glad I stumbled upon your website. I like in Silverado Canyon, CA (92676). My entire acre of land is full of large native oak trees and the majority of the year I am in complete shade. I have partial shade during the summer months.

Your location is a bit too far for me, but can you help me with picking the correct plants and flowers that will grow in my condition and where I can purchase these plants.
I also noticed you have a garden designer software package that might be able to help me?

www.mynativeplants.com

I live in the Antelope Valley northeast of Los Angeles . Palmdale, Lancaster , Mojove are close by. I am trying to create a hummingbird butterfly garden. At present I am stuck on trying to get salvias, penstemons, and agastache to get get started and grow. In Sunsets Southwest garden book we are zone 11 of 24. Too Hot, too cold, too windy for some plants. Most of the plants I try should survive but I or something seems to kill 90% of what I plant. What kind of soil do I have. ?? Well 14 years ago the building contractor gave us mostly compacted rock and heavy clay. Now there is a lot of sandy soil and I try to put in a lot of compost. Butterfly bushes do well, the salvia greggis seem to like the area but I am trying for the salvia bushes the big ones. I am envious of the plants I have seen at Morningstar Herb Farm in Vaccavile Calif. But then they are in a different growing zone.

I have been accused of overwatering. This past weekend we were gone for 4 days and when we got back back everything was dry.

One of the salvias I arm trying for are salvia guargantua.

Elevation here is 3,000 feet. So when I hear the word direct sunlight for six hours ..... that means 6 hours of exposure to 90+ heat, people get heat stroke under those conditions.

I have several trees doing fine ... fruitless mulberrys, a sumac, Siberian elm ... vitex ,,,, a black locust ( no flowers after 5 years ) but what about salvia ... ...

If I buy a large container ( the largest home dept sells ) what do I put into it for the plant to survive.

One strange thing weeds / grasses quack grass does very well and keeps me very busy. So that tells me I have too much of some mineral or not enough of some other mineral.

The water is alkaline.

Any soil testing for one spot would not be the same for some other.

Also 9 tall rosemary plants ..., 5 feet by now

I do not use bug spray or weed killer ... I did poorly in College chemistry especially quantiitave analysis. ( given a small sample ... identify it )

tropical, equals a ton of water(Amazon, Vera Cruz, Guatamala, etc.)

below 5000 foot, elevation is no biggy

forget containers, they need a ton of water and attention

nope, too much water and fertility

slightly, but not that bad

again not the problem

too much water

with quack grass, spray, pick desert mountain or desert plants and drop MOST of the watering.

I live in an HOA community in ... with a very water, pesticide, and herbicide dependent landscape. Because of the heavy water usage and maintenance it requires, our HOA fees have gotten very high.

Our HOA is interested in converting our current landscape to a native plant based, low-maintenance landscape that would eliminate or greatly reduce the need for water, pesticides, and herbicides. We discussed such a conversion at a recent HOA meeting and I volunteered to research this process and report back to the board members and landscape committee.

I was directed to your nursery as I understand that you are do or work with landscape conversions. Do you provide free consultations and/or estimates for landscape conversions on large HOA properties?

no, we decided a long time ago that "free consultations" are free for the shoppers, but the good customers end up paying for them and we do not feel right charging good customers for bad customers.
Morgan, who works for us can come and look at it, plan it and your association do the work, but if it's a big conversion you'll need to pay www.calown.com for the plan and estimates.
numbers can be staggering as tear out costs 2X-4X more than planting.

So happy I could come to you for advice. I live in

Santa Clarita (91351) and am looking for a native

ground cover for the back yard which faces west (wsw,

I think). Very little shade at the moment. We planted

an oak tree last year but it's still quite small. It

was a 5 gal. container size. Anyway, any suggestions

would be helpful. I love your web site.

look at (according to how much water you want to use)
SalviaDarasChoice
...SalviaDarasChoice is great for a bird garden and a butterfly garden.
SalviaDarasChoice's foliage color is Gray , type is Evergreen , and has ...
www.laspilitas.com/plants/609.htm - 11k - Cached - Similarpages

SalviaGracias Creeping sage.
...SalviaGracias is great for a bird garden and a butterfly garden. SalviaGracias's
foliage color is Green , type is StressDeciduous , and has fragrance. ...
www.laspilitas.com/plants/798.htm - 12k - /FONT>Sages, Salvia


or mix
Achillea millefolium lanulosa Mountain Yarrow.
... leaves are smaller and tighter than the common native yarrow in California.
... Available plants on hand at Las Pilitas. If the numbers are zero, ...
www.laspilitas.com/plants/15.htm - 12k -Cached - Similarpages

Zauschneria californica GhostlyRedRed California Fuchsia.
Zauschneria californica GhostlyRed. Red California Fuchsia.
www.laspilitas.com/plants/698.htm - 12k - Similarpages


Achillea millefolium rosea Island PinkPinkYarrow.Achillea millefolium rosea Island Pink. PinkYarrow.
Erigeron WayneRoderick Daisy WayneRoderick.
...Wayne gave this to us with a wr label, we called it WayneRoderick...
Erigeron WayneRoderick Daisy's foliage color is Green , and type is Evergreen . ...
www.laspilitas.com/plants/271.htm - 12k - Cached -

Thank you for responding; I will try to fill you in on a few details:

Yes, my husband and I are presently in Buffalo, New York.......have lived here all of our lives. Only use to landscape in the East!
Will be making California our home as we are retiring from our long time jobs. Perhaps a part time job in Ca would be nice once we are settled and the shock of the relocation has subsided.
We have purchased a new home with absolutely no landscape or hard scape; therefore everything needs to be done: site prep, drainage, trees, shrubs, plants, concrete walkway, stamped patio, attached patio cover, irrigation, lighting.
The front yard in two halves, split by a driveway, measures approximately 32' x 15' on one side and 39' x 28' on the other side.
The back yard measures approximately 56' x 78.9'
One of us, mainly myself, enjoys gardening and we are use to cutting grass. We like a colorful, uncluttered look....nothing busy or too difficult to handle. We don't want to become slaves to the yard.
We are at a loss for the type of trees, shrubs and plants that grow well in Ca, therefore we will eventually spend some time at your nursery.
My main goal now is to get in touch with a person or company that is trustworthy, reputable and will not "kill" our budget.

I need to contact several landscapers very soon and set up appointments to meet with them when I return to Ca in a few weeks. At that time I must select one so that things can get moving along before they all get overly busy.

When I found your web site I knew you could help us with your knowledge.
When you ask if we like wildlife I assume you are referring to plants growing naturally around Ca. Is this something that is wise to do in landscape as the plants are more apt to grow well?

We now realize the water problems Ca has and how costly water is, so cutting down on things that must have water often would certainly be wise. This is something we have never had to contend with in NY as we are surrounded by lakes.

this is California, NOTHING is cheap

the problem is, most of the work done in Southern California is expensive and d+ or c- at best, the good ones are back logged for months

saves water bill and you can manage it yourself, no mower

here's the options
www.calown.com
he's backed up at least until fall
I do not know of any other option other doing it yourself with Morgan(who works at the nursery) helping you, before you freak, with natives that is do-able
sorry, the the trade down there seems to be of good enough, you might call the nursery and see if Morgan or Valerie have any other ideas, 760-749-5930

Need a tree to plant amongst Salvia Gracias

Cercis occidentalis, we can ship gallons

I live in urban Oakland, CA.
Could you please list 5 or 6
possible plants to consider
for parking strip location.
One side is full sun and the
other side is 1/2 day sun.
I live on a corner lot.

Baccharis pilularis consanguinea PS Lowly Coyote. <http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/828.htm

Arctostaphylos edmundsii *Carmel**Sur* Manzanita *Sur* Manzanita. <http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/45.htm

Big Sur manzanitaManzanita

Ceanothus *thyrsiflorus**repens* Low Blue Blossom.

Hi - I have a small plot of dirt that I've been trying to establish a garden
on. And it seems every year I basically rip everything up and try again.
I've been wanting to create a community of plants that attract butterflies
and hummers and birds and I want it to be lush and plenty of flowers and
fragrance - I've not achieved it. I can't begin to count the amount of
hours, and money I've thrown at the endeavor with not alot of success - can
you help? I live in Tustin, and I don't know if you make "house calls" or if
possible I could bring in photos of my garden and get some advise on what to
plant to get the results I want.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

how big? what's the soil like? send a small picture of garden plot from a couple of angles
do not hit me with a 20 meg photo or ten page email
who needs spam, a couple of 20 meg photos will do it

This is absolutely great. I own a hillside home in Bel Air and have been looking for someone who can help me do a native plant garden and now I found it. I assume the first step is to visit you. What would you like me to bring to the first visit? Photos of the area? I will likely need suggestions about someone to help with the planting. My experience has been that most 'gardeners' know little about any plants to say nothing about the ones in your arena.

I am excited about your company and site. Have a nice Holiday and I hope to do business with you soon.

you can bring in photos and a handful of soil
we've also have a couple of designers that are trying to get their contractors licenses that are into natives and live in your area

1. For instance, the list I pulled together was all drawn from the Coastal Sage community. I paid attention to what liked sand versus clay etc. Clearly that is an enormous classification encompassing many miles of our coast which is how I ended up "dreaming" of things from far away.
What would be useful would be some subsets - or for marketing lets call them packages. To wit - you might say if you live south of Santa Barbara within 1 mile of the ocean you might consider building your list (starting your garden) from this subgroup - which we know to be reasonably successful in your area.

BTW LOL at the idea of the plants hating each other - I assume they want different micochondryia (sp?) or have roots at the same depth? How would I know?

2. How do the Arcos and the Ceanos get along?

3. Brief suggestion - analyze your zipcodes and focus on the ones that bring you the most sales first =) I have to believe there are real pockets here...
4. Wanna spec a sample garden for me instead of what I have going or are we doing OK?

• Got tired of whining about how hard it is to figure (figger) this out - tried your design tool - came up with the usual suspects which was encouraging and some new ones - opinions please:

• Calliandra
  Lobelia cardinalis g
  Baccharis p. p.
  Fremontedron c. decumbens

• Not about the plants - about the people who buy the plants =)

• Any way to kill these things using chemistry, nuclear fission, electro shock.... or?

1. as time allows, HA! We plan on building sample 'gardens' throught the state, about 30-50 of them.

if they don't exist together in nature there's a reason

• they in love

• the only consistent thing about native plants is no patterns or consistency

• It will be like a phone or online doctor

• try at water every two weeks 15 minutes, spring, summer, play with boulders versus, redwood mulch

• Calliandra excellent
  Lobelia cardinalis g needs wet, how much water did you put in?
  Baccharis p. p. excellent
  Fremontedron c. decumbens PITB

Monardella a might lock at a 'rock' garden in one section and pack it with penstemons, monardellas, backed with eriophyllums, Small salvias and large penstemons(sun) or Keckellia(shady)

• unfortunately, who the hell are they? NO patterns

• castor, cut down, paint stem with full roundup, silmax you have to dig the bulbs, ivy cut and spray.
  people are still planting that stuff, god help us.

Hi, I need some ideas for my garden.
I like colors and I like low maintenance.
I also like colors all year round.

What do you recommend?

mix as many species as possible around a core of Ceanothus and manzanitas

Well, okay. Where to start. I have half acre in the mountains, community of Pine Cove (Idyllwild), at 6000 feet. This is Yellow Pine country, I think. There are several tall pines, manzanita and oak trees on the property behind my house (beautiful, with the mountains as back drop). I'm thinking of making a natural garden with blooming schrubs, plants in the ground or in pots, with paths, benches, a sort of park. What is my question? Well, can I find some designs or do I need a designer. Do you know of anyone up here? Sometimes water shortage is an issue, I'm told, though not at the moment.

you can do it, no biggy because it needs to be simple and minimalistic
figure out where your want paths, benchs, bolders and such and plant small pockets of color here and there to provide color and wildlife

between drought, fire and critters, plant only about a 1/3 of the area, rest in paths, boulders, a few trees and open ground

Thank you for the well written website. There seem to be a shortage of nurseries offering native plants in Southern California, so it's good to know your operation.

As a soon to graduate landscape architect with an interest in ecological based design, I was wondering if you have any suggestions of Landscape design firms contact in the Los Angeles area.

nope, so far all awful

I was reading in your web site that you suggest novices (me) obtain the services of a consultant when installing a native plant landscape. Is there someone in the (east) Bay Area you can recommend?

ah, I have just the person to move you a little further along.
Dr. Brian Swope
TierraSeca Landscape Design

Do you do landscape design and install? I would like a water wise garden but have no idea where to start. I would like one that would attract butterflies and humming birds and look green and lush but use very little water. Is that possible? Poway, Ca. 92064

if you're doing it yourself, Call Morgan at the nursery, she'l design it 760-749-5930
if you want it designed/install
www.calown.com

Do you have a list of landscaper or gardeners who work in Rancho Bernardo area and use Ca Native plant philosophy?

if you're doing it yourself, Call Morgan at the nursery, she'l design it 760-749-5930
if you want it designed/install
www.calown.com

Hi, I am looking for native plants to put along the walk going up to the frontdoor. It is a narrow planter and completely shaded. Any ideas? (The planter is between the walkway and the side of the garage).

Satureja douglasii Yerba Buena....Yerba Buena is a creeping flat perennial that spreads to 6' across. ... We think Yerba Buena will tolerate it so well because one of its primary water ...
www.laspilitas.com/plants/622.htm

Pycnantmemum californicum Mountain Mint.Pycnantmemum californicum . Mountain Mint. ... Genus: Pycnantmemum Species: californicum Variety: Cultivar: Common name(s): Mountain Mint . ...</

I live in urban Oakland, CA.

Could you please list 5 or 6

possible plants to consider

for parking strip location.

One side is full sun and the

other side is 1/2 day sun.

I live on a corner lot.

Thanks,

Stephen

Baccharis pilularis consanguinea PS Lowly Coyote.

<http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/828.htm

Arctostaphylos edmundsii *Carmel* *Sur* Manzanita *Sur* Manzanita.

<http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/45.htm

Arctostaphylos edmundsii Big Sur *Manzanita*

<http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/711.htm

Ceanothus *thyrsiflorus* *repens* Low Blue Blossom.

<http://www.laspilitas.com/plants/225.htm

We are evaluating a site that is the home for a significant number of

southern California black walnut trees. In order to maintain the

native integrity of the site, we are considering an extensive planting

program consisting of over 150 of these native trees. My questions to

you are as follows:

1. What is your experience in the planting and success of these trees?

2. What is the ideal plant size to improve the success of this type

of program?

3. Does your nursery offer a contract grow program whereby we could

set aside a significant number of these trees at your nursery

and allow them to grow over a 12 to 24 month period?

1. rodernts are a big problem, and the spot needs to be moist in

winter/spring, driesh in summer

2. 1 gallons

3. no, we no longer do contracts

and you only need nuts and about six months. The nuts can be a big problem

What an incredible site, my friends, thank you! It seems like you must be

a great bunch of people. I have a garden in the middle of west l.a. that

I want to make into an urban native practically waterless edible refuge.

And so finding Las Pilitas was a great thing.

I know of several people that would do well to contact you, and I'd love

to direct them to you. Do you do landscaping projects and if so, what are

your charges?

sorry, we no longer do design

some of our staff at Escondido do, you might call and see if they could help

1. I'm the Community Garden Coordinator and am responsible for planning

and implementing a large uban garden. We have some funding most of

which we want to spend on the plants and trees to be installed on

the

site. I was wondering if you have anyone that could assist us in

planning this garden.

The site is about one and a half blocks long and the size of a 3

lane

(both ways) freeway. The soil is clay and there's lots of gravel (it

used to be part of a railway system). We are dividing the site

lengthwise down the middle. One half is designated to be a

California

native garden; the other half will be a combination of community

garden

plots, a school garden, community meeting area, and orchard/food

forest. The site is less than one mile from the beach in Sunset

Western

Zone 24. We would like a great deal of the native plants to be

edible.

Would you help us determine what would be the best plants/trees for

this site? Since our funds are limited would you be able to give us

a

donation in the form of a significant but reasonable discount on

plants

and trees? (We'll need a lot of them.)

2.Thanks for your quick response. I hadn't thought of individual plants

that would cover large areas. I am new to the idea of native planting,

so I don't know a lot about natives.

The site we have is given to us by the City of Long Beach for our use

with the stipulation that one half (lengthwise) be planned as a public

walk-through native garden. So it will be interesting to see how the

community responds to the site. I think it will be great.

I'll definitely check with Mr. Longcore and Uban Wildlands. I'm sure he

will be a good contact for this and other projects. I'll mention that

you refered me to him.

About $5.25 a plant? From your nursery?! That's pretty cheap! At that

price I'll bring truck to load up. Maybe we'll have enough money

leftover for some non-plant items the site will need. (As you know,

non-profit budgets can be tight.)

Would it be best to put together a list plants and quantities we want

before coming to the nursery to make sure that you have it in?

Is this time of year okay to plant natives?

Thanks again for your help.

1. don't ask much do you?

forget the edible, at least for man. Most of natives that were used

were inland species.

Your site would be perfect for a wildlife / beneficial insect

habitat.

Maybe a series of your gardens in the middle, natives on the edges?

Lager species will reduce your costs. Shrubs that grow 8 feet across

are

a great deal cheaper than small perennials.

Many of the plants like buckwheat, Encelia, and sages can cover 20

sq.

feet each, Ceanothus ground covers can cover 40 sq. feet each. Use

www.mynativeplants.comand sort for larger sizes.

Sorry, we don't give much in donations, we're a non-profit profit

making

operation.

Your price will be about $5.25/

you might contact this guy and see if they can help the native part

of

your project,.

http://www.urbanwildlands.org/longcore.html

2. yes

I am looking for a ground cover-type plant to use in small concrete-bordered planters spaced throughout our employee parking lot around the base of trees and lamp posts. Our business is in Diamond Bar, California, just east of Los Angeles. We are particularly interested in low-maintenance plants that require no irrigation. Would you have a recommendation for us?

look at

Penstemon Margarita BOP Margarita BOP Penstemon, Foothill or ...

Eschscholzia californica maritima California Poppy.

Baccharis pilularis pilularis Pigeon Point Dwarf Coyote Brush.

Salvia Gracias Creeping sage.

I can't seem to get the mynativeplants.com to work. I enter the info

on the first 2 pages and get a list, but when I change the height and

color, nothing happens. If I just change the height and color,

nothing changes. If I click on the filter button, the list goes away

and just says getting results, forever. What am I doing wrong?

thanks so much for the quick, human response. So tired of getting auto

responses based on a keyword in the question. I'll check back in a few

days. Again, thanks.

so then, can you recommend another site? We are landscape design

challenged. We've been in this house for 13 years and have done the front

at least 6 times and the back is just sad. We need help.

Plant killer, yes, but anonymous? The whole neighborhood knows! And

actually, I resent that label. I have a whole house full of silk plants

that are "alive and well" and just as beautiful as the day I bought them!

Anyway, we live in Concord, CA; the front and front side are the most

trouble(ing); the front faces west; the soil is like clay; and just

guessing, I'd say 1 to 3 hours to drain. I've attached pictures. As you'll

see, there are poppy's and you're right, even I can't kill them. But, I'd

like a little more variety and a little more depth and something I can look

at and think "how peaceful". So whatever you can suggest would be great.

Well not ALL are weeds. In Front-1 and Front-2 there is a rose bush, a bush

with some type of pink flower and an old daisy plant. Front-side is mostly

poppy's, a rose bush and a white oleader in the pot. The rest are weeds,

but we're not on a first name basis. The lilacs are beautiful, especially

Ceanothus Joyce Coulter. And we water once or twice a week.

OK, we use a hose and hubby says for about 4 minutes, twice a week. We can

dig into the soil, not too difficult. Hubby says maybe 6 to 8 inches to get

to moist soil. (wish I could grow plants like I spell)

That's great. How far apart should they be planted, and in any specific

pattern? Also, will this be a two hit wonder, or can you suggest some other

plants? You're being really nice about this whole thing; I realize that

your website was set-up so you wouldn't have this labor intensive one-on-one

situation, so I really appreciate all your help.

the computer is setting in a box in San Luis Obispo that we have not

been about to access, it may be the hard drive is full

I'll send your note to the over worked(he says so) college kid, maybe he

can fix it (a pentinum 1, April 2004, we finally put a opteron rack server we could access in in May 2005)

thanks for telling us

sorry

huh, more like a few months

it has not been addressed because there are too many other computer

problems in front of it

INVENTORY........

ahh, a plant killers anoynomus member

some PKA members turn out to be native plant nuts when they find they

can grow natives, others could kill a flower painting.

nothing does what mynativeplants does, free or paid for.

Forget the whole yard for a moment,

what town are you in?

which section of the yard is the most troubling?

what's the soil like? Clay? Beach Sand?

If you dig a shovel hole and fill it with water how long does it take to

drain?

what, if anything is living out there now?

how much sun does the spot get?

can you sent a picture?

we can't spend much time one one spot, there's just to many of you, but

usually by the second or third spot you'll have a clue.

ok, first how much are you watering?

second, are those weeds in all the pictures? if so what kinds?

look at

Lilacs of California

<http://laspilitas.com/groups/ceanothus/california_ceanothus.html

ok, I kinda zeroing in on the watering as I think it's part, if not all

of your problem.

most of the stuff in your pictures need a little water every couple of

weeks, a little more than natives, but not much.

how were you watering specically? (thank god I don't grow plants like I

spell...)

hose, sprinkler, bucket, coffee cup?

how long?

can you dig into the soil at all?

if so how deep before you find moist soil?

ok you're prefect for Ceanothus and maybe some of the Salvias

not even in the ballpark for garden center stuff

under our easywatering section you can find this

California native plants hate dust.

During the dry season, most native plants love to have a sprinkler wash

the foliage off every one to two weeks, A low volume sprinkler running

for 10-15 minutes is all that you need to make a dramatic difference in

the appearance and health of plants like manzanitas and Ceanothus. You

can do this by hand if you wish with DAVE'S BEER WATERING. After a bad

day in the office, or every Monday, (no more than once per week folks),

grab a beer, coffee, tea, water, whatever and a hose. Spray the foliage

and splash the ground until the beer is gone. Your yard work is done.

Hard work but someone has to do it.

Hubby can have his beer

50

15

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98

who you kidding?