Re: Low plants for under deciduous trees
- Subject: Re: Low plants for under deciduous trees
- From: d* f* <d*@yahoo.com>
- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:34:18 -0800 (PST)
I would like to add that at least some of Gill's suggestions aren't all that drought tolerant in southern California conditions. Anemone japonica, Billbergia nutans, Begonia evansii and B. sutherlandii in particular will want regular summer water to survive. I don't think Campanual muralis will be too happy on low water regimen either. Although most of Fallbrook is rather mild, there are definitely lower elevations that pool cold air off the surrounding mountains that can freeze every year, while nearby properties that allow cold air drainage away do not. I think it was most recently in the 2007 California freeze, that parts of normally balmy San Diego County actually got much colder than parts of the San Francisco Bay Area 500 miles further north, even into the low 20'sF/-7C range.
I might second the recommendation for Hellebores, with H. x argutifolius doing particularly well in light shade and low summer water, although it can get almost 4 feet tall when old.
--- On Tue, 2/24/09, Gill.cei@wanadoo.fr <Gill.cei@wanadoo.fr> wrote:
> From: Gill.cei@wanadoo.fr <Gill.cei@wanadoo.fr>
> Subject: Re: Low plants for under deciduous trees
> To: nmmueller@roadrunner.com
> Cc: "'Mediterranean plants listserv'" <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
> Date: Tuesday, February 24, 2009, 2:45 AM
> Hi
>
> From a European perspective (and I imagine my winters are
> colder than yours) I'd think about the following:
>
> Anemone japonica, Aspidistra elatior, Begonia evansii &
> sutherlandii, Bergenia spp, Bilbergia nutans, Campanula
> muralis, Ceratostigma plumbaginoides & willmottianum,
> Cyclamen spp, Geraniums such as macrorhizum, x Biokovo,
> sanguineum, Hellebores, Lobela laxiflora, Liriope spp,
> Myrtus communis tarentina, Sarcococca confusa, Raphiolepis x
> delacourii, Danae racemosa, Viola hederacea, Teucrium
> chamaedrys
>
> Gill Pound
> near Carcassonne,
> Southern France
>
> NMMueller wrote:
> >
> > A gardening friend here in Fallbrook is removing a lot
> of grass from her backyard. Between (and including) two
> large ornamental pear trees she is making a large oval. She
> need attractive plants (not too tall-say 3' or less)
> that can take low water, yet be in the shade during a large
> portion of the day (once the leaves return on the trees in
> late Spring), and coexist with any trees roots. Any ideas?
> To add to her wish list -- she does not like orange.
> >
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> >
> > Nancy M. Mueller
> >
> > Fallbrook, CA
> >
> > Zone 23
> >
> >
