Re: Comarostaphylis and Xylococcus

Most natives that are summer water sensitive are
especially so if watered in summer during periods of
high temperatures, when they are most likely to get
attacked by phytophthera.  I would limit irrigation to
cool summer weather only, to avoid the tendency to
root rots.  Maybe watering only at night, and only
during cooler spells.  It might also be best to plant
these earlier in the fall to take maximum advantage of
cooler growing conditions, and maybe starting from 4
inch containers would get them to establish better.  I
suspect that Comarostaphylos is similar to Arbutus
menziesii, in being very susceptible to pathogens when
watered in warm weather conditions, and probably also
needs/prefers associated soil microbial associates to
get well established.  I have never been able to get
even one Arbutus menziesii plant established in a
garden setting, and have given up and substitute with
the much more adaptable Arbutus 'Marina'.

It is not the easiest thing to do to get some of the
more water sensitive natives to establish in hotter,
interior valley locations of southern California,
especially if the species are better adapted to cooler
and more humid coastal conditions.  I would suspect
that cooler, north or east facing slopes with existing
dappled shade of Live Oaks would be the ideal
conditions for getting these plants to do well in Simi
Valley.


--- Ben Wiswall <benwiswall@pacbell.net> wrote:

> Hi,
> Does anyone have any experience with these two
> plants
> in southern California? 
> Unlike the manzanitas, these are actually native in
> the southern chaparral, so I'd like to use them in
> dry
> or semi-dry gardens, but so far I've had very little
> success. 
> I've tried Comarostaphylis in both a hand-watered
> completely California native garden, and also in a
> moderately-watered mediterranean garden sharing
> space
> with an olive, rosemary, and lavender.  Both were
> planted in clay soil, but on a berm, so drainage
> should be adequate.  The native garden plant went in
> as a one-gallon in late fall, and conked out by
> early
> summer.  The mediterranean garden plant went in at
> the
> same time, made fast growth in the spring, the lead
> shoot broke in half, and the whole plant died in
> mid-summer.
> I have one Xylococcus in the native plant garden. 
> It
> went in as a one-gallon plant at the same time as
> the
> Comarostaphylis, about 10 feet away.  It's still
> alive
> entering it's second February, and has flowered, but
> looks a bit stressed: old leaves have dropped, and
> the
> plant has grown very little.  It shares the berm
> with
> several Ceanothus, Arcto. 'Howard McMinn', Arcto.
> pungens, Mahonia nevinnii, Mahonia fremontii, Salvia
> 'Winnifred Gilman', and Prunus illicifolia.  The
> Prunus looks less than happy, and the 'Howard
> McMinn'
> looks like it would prefer a bit more water, but
> everything else is doing fine.  I water very rarely
> now as the garden is two years old, but I'd say I
> give
> it a good drink once a month in the hot inland
> valley
> of Simi Valley.
> Any advice?
> -Ben Wiswall
> 
> 
> 
>
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