Test your knowledge with a quiz
The California poppy of course is the state flower. It's an important plant for pollinators, including this ligated furrow bee, a type of sweat bee. Kathy Morrison
Through Saturday, it’s California Native Plant Week, and I can’t think of a better time to plant two or 12 or 222 California natives.
These are the plants that grew here before suburbs and urbs, before gardeners from other areas began importing their favorites from other parts of the country or the world. Our native plants are uniquely adapted to our climate and to our native pollinators (including birds).
In the spirit of celebration, I put together a quick (and fun, I hope) quiz on California natives. See how much you already know about them:
1. Which was the first native plant to receive an “official” state designation?
a) California redwood, state tree
b) Purple needle grass, state grass
c) California poppy, state flower
2. The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica), by the way, beat out which other native(s) to win the title of state flower? Choose any that apply:
a) Windpoppy (Papaver heterophyllum)
b) Coulter's matilija poppy (Romneya coulteri)
c) Mariposa lily (Calochortus sp.)
d) Red ribbons (Clarkia concinna)
e) California sunflower (Helianthis californicus)
3. Which of these natives is NOT a ceanothus?
a) Buck brush
b) Coyote bush
c) Deerbrush
d) Oregon tea tree
4. Which native plant has been endangered by poachers in the wild?
a) Bluff lettuce (Dudleya farinosa)
b) Black sage (Salvia mellifera)
c) Desert agave (Agave deserti)
d) Western redbud (Cercis occidentalis)
5. Oak trees (Quercus sp.) are considered a keystone species for California wildlife – important especially for native birds. Which of these oaks is not a native?
a) Blue oak (Q. douglasii)
b) Garry’s oak (Q. garryana)
c) Engelmann oak (Q. engelmannii)
d) Pin oak (Q. palustris)
e) Black oak (Q. kelloggii)
6. California has how many types of native plants, according to the California Native Plant Society?
a) 1,000
b) 2,500
c) 5,000
d) 6,000
Bonus: How can gardeners celebrate California Native Plant Week?
a) Join CNPS or a local chapter (Sacramento Valley for our region)
b) Sign up for the free Gardens Gone Native tour, to be held April 29 in Sacramento and Yolo counties. The self-guided tour will include about two dozen gardens planted primarily with natives.
c) Plant California natives! See the list of suggested plants and participating nurseries at Bloom! California.
d) Visit the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden to see its many native plantings. Or shop at the next Arboretum Nursery plant sale, which always includes a variety of natives.
Answers:
1. c) The California poppy became the official state flower in 1903. The redwood was designated in 1937 and the needle grass in 2004.
2. b) and c) They finished far behind in the legislative vote total.
3. b) Coyote bush. Its Latin name is Baccharis pilularis.
4. a) Dudleya farinosa and many other coast Dudleyas are in such danger from succulent poachers that in 2021 Gov. Newsom signed a bill specifically making Dudleya poaching illegal.
5. d) The pin oak is a popular landscape tree in California but it’s an import from the eastern and central United States.
6. d) It’s at least 6,000 and probably higher -- more than any other state. And roughly 40 percent of California’s native plants are found only within its borders.
Bonus: All of the above, of course!
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Flowers in My Back Yard Series
Aug. 11: Hardy hibiscus adds big tropical impact
Aug. 4: Dianthus a deceptively hardy flower
July 28: Naked Ladies put on summer show
July 21: Thank Luther Burbank for these long-lasting beauties (Shasta daisies)
July 14: How to keep hydrangeas happy
July 7: Grow these bright cosmos for bees and butterflies
June 30: Agapanthus adds blue fireworks to the garden
June 23: Easy-care gazanias fill those hot corners
June 16: Daylilies are perfect for water-wise gardens (and a lot more)
June 9: Grow coneflowers for pollinators -- and yourself
June 2: Sunflowers capture Sacramento's summer attitude
May 29: Are your roses going 'blind'?
May 26: Zinnias are the summer flowers every garden needs
May 19: Plant dahlias now for late-summer flower power
May 12: Know your coreopsis from your bidens
May 5: Mums the word on Mother's Day weekend
April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look
April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower
April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact
April 7: Calendulas do double duty
April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come
March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)
March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots
March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums
March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come
March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy
Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?
Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come
Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers
Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses
Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?
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Garden checklist for week of Aug. 9
During this break in the heat, fertilize your garden. Make sure to water before and after applying fertilizer.
*Feed citrus trees their last round of fertilizer for the year. This will give a boost to the fruit that’s now forming.
* Harvest tomatoes, beans, squash, pepper and eggplants to prompt plants to keep producing. Give your plants a deep watering twice a week, more if planted in containers. Also, give them a boost with phosphate-rich fertilizer to help fruiting.
* Watch out for caterpillars and hornworms in the vegetable garden. They can strip a plant bare in one day. Pick them off plants by hand in early morning or late afternoon.
* Mulch can be your garden’s best friend – it conserves moisture while blocking out weeds. But don't let mulch mound around stalks, stems or trunks. That can promote rot.
* Camellia leaves looking a little yellow? Feed them some chelated iron. That goes for azaleas and gardenias, too.
* Pinch off dead flowers from perennials and annuals to lengthen their summer bloom.
* Pick up after your fruit trees. Clean up debris and dropped fruit; this cuts down on insects and prevents the spread of brown rot. Then feed fruit trees with slow-release fertilizer for better production for next year.
* To prolong bloom into fall, feed begonias, fuchsias, annuals and container plants. Always water before fertilizing.
* Fertilize fall-blooming perennials, too. Chrysanthemums can be fed until the buds start to open.
* Prepare for a fall full of flowers by paying a little extra attention to your garden. Cut off spent blooms from roses, annuals and perennials, then give them a boost of fertilizer. Make sure to water plants before feeding. Roses will rebloom about six to eight weeks after deadheading.
* Indoors, start seedlings for fall vegetable planting, including bunching onion, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, radicchio and lettuce.
* Sow seeds of perennials in pots for fall planting including yarrow, coneflower and salvia.
* In the garden, direct seed beets, carrots, leaf lettuce and turnips.
* Plant potatoes.
Contact Us
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
Lessons learned during a year of edible gardening
WINTER
Is edible gardening possible indoors?
Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
How to squeeze more food into less space
Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Win the weed war by tackling them in winter
Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
Ways to win the fight against weeds
FALL
Add asparagus to your edible garden
Soggy soil and what to do about it
Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
We don't talk (enough) about beets
Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Enhance your food with edible flowers
Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
How to grow summer salad greens
Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
Help pollinators help your garden
Battling early-season tomato pests
Where are the bees when you need them?
How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
Grow culinary herbs in containers
When to plant summer vegetables
Don't be fooled by these garden myths
Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
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