Mediterranean etc.

I have been too busy to throw my 2 cents into this discussion, though I have
read everyone's plights and advice with interest.  It's Sunday afternoon
now, and I think I will add a bit, if only to comment on the comments.  

It should be noted that while the rock mulch as mentioned does indeed
preserve soil moisture and mitigate localized temperature fluctuations to
some degree, it also has the unwanted effect in very hot regions of raising
the localized temperature surrounding plants.  That might be desirable in
winter (like trying to grow citrus in marginal climates), but in very hot
summer, inland areas it can cause some serious scorch to foliage and trunks,
and actually ADD to the plant's water loss by increasing ambient
temperature.  In these areas, organic mulch is a better alternative, and the
rocks, rather than being moved, could be used to create borders or paths, as
I have had to do.  

To put in a word for my favorite native California species, Ceanothus, they
do NOT all require a little summer shade, nor do they all have foreshortened
lives by a bit of run-off irrigation from neighboring beds, which I have
heard rumored.  (It's sort of like the old wives' tale about going outside
with wet hair and catching a cold.  It only applies if there are cold germs
there: root rot isn't an inevitability if the soil drains, and Phytophthora
isn't present.)  There are some native to coastal areas, and some native to
the harshest chaparral.  (I recommend Ceanothus by David Fross and Dieter
Wilken.)  We have a selection at the UC Davis Arboretum that we will be
introducing to the public in about 18 months that defies all that: it is
coastal in origin (derived from C. maritimus), but it can take anything you
give it as evidenced by our irrigation and climate zone trials: hot,
interior, or coastal; high water or low, and put on the most spectacular
flower show you can imagine.  There are many very floriferous Ceanothus that
would do beautifully in hot, dry exposed sites in Spain or Portugal, but I
fear our friends in the Mediterranean areas may not have access to as wide a
variety as we can get here.

The advice about looking to see if you can find where something is native is
usually a good start, but the bottom line is this: will it survive in your
garden, your soil, and your ability to provide water or not?  Sometimes,
trial and error is the only way to discover this.  I'll bet we have all seen
things that defy logic growing where they ought not.  I'm sure that rigorous
scientific study would uncover the reasons, but who has the time, eh?  My
philosophy is that if something has a reasonable chance of surviving my soil
and climate, I give it a try.  If it is really nifty and I really want it, I
might even try it twice.  After that, it's history, and I move on to
something else!  There are so many things to try, especially for those of us
lucky enough to live in California, where nurseries abound if you're willing
to look for them.

Happy Gardening!
Karrie Reid
Folsom Foothill Gardener with cobbled clay soil
Sunny California Zone 9
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index