Planting & Watering Guide for California Native Plants

Now that the rains have arrived (hooray!!), it’s the best time of year to plant natives. Not only is the soil easy to work, but Southern California’s native plants’ annual growth cycles are based on rainfall, almost all of which typically happens between December and March in our Mediterranean climate. The Ojai Valley Land Conservancy has an excellent free online publication, “Planting & Watering Guide for California Native Plants.” It’s short,  easy to read, and has good photo illustrations. The page includes a handy downloadable watering chart. Another good resource is the California Native Plant Society’s plant cultivation website, CalScape.org. You can find many other websites on growing native plants under that heading on my Resources page. I also have a section there on native plant nurseries. Now is the time of year to get those natives going in your garden so they can benefit from the winter rains!