Re: plant suggestion to stem bank erosion

At 04:45 AM 2/22/99 -0800, you wrote:
>Does anyone know of any plants that would be fast to establish
>themselves and good at holding soil (gravely clay) on a vertical bank? 
>I recently  visited a friend's place in Sonoma county, California, who
>asked my advice about a problem with stream erosion next to his access
>road.  There is a 12 foot (3 meter) perfectly vertical stream bank that
>is gradually eroding at the top, which will eventually wash away the
>road. It is in deep shade most of the day, and it is a year round
>stream, although not large.

Hi Richard - 

Is this in an area that is basically 'wild', or close to wild areas?
If so, you might want to investigate natives as a first choice.  I find
that looking around the general area, at similar exposures and terrain,
can inspire many possibily solutions for plant selection.  You might also
call on Yerba Buena Nursery in Woodside, one of our local native
nurseries.  A visit to Tilden Park's Botanical Garden would also likely
be a good inspiration.  One native, off the top of my head, which might
be a good choice is Ribes viburnifolium, the Catalina Currant, Evergreen
Currant, or Catalina Perfume (for the fragrance of the flowers).  It is a
handsome groundcover with shiny, dark green foliage and flowers in 
spring, tolerant of shade and dry summer soil.

If this site is not really close to wild areas, some of the rampant
ground covers might be helpful.  I know that Delairea odorata (Senecio
mikanioides) is a rampant invader of cool, seasonally moist forests
along our coasts, but it does do a good job of covering a large area
in shade, rooting as it goes and doing a fair job ar soil retention.
But I would warn you that it occupies already too much of California's
wild-lands to rise planting it where it might further invade.





Sean A. O'Hara                       sean.ohara@poboxes.com
h o r t u l u s   a p t u s          710 Jean Street
'a garden suited to its purpose'     Oakland, CA 94610-1459, U.S.A.
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