Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Celebrate California native plants this week and all year

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.

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!

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Local News

Ad for California Local

Thanks to our sponsor!

Summer Strong ad for BeWaterSmart.info

Dig In: Garden Checklist

For week of March 24:

In between cloud bursts, try to catch up with early spring chores. 

* Attack weeds now! Get them before they flower and go to seed. Take a hoe and whack them as soon as they sprout. Aim for 1 inch below the soil line.

* Start preparing vegetable beds. Spade in compost and other amendments.

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs after bloom.

* Feed camellias at the end of their bloom cycle. Pick up browned and fallen flowers to help corral blossom blight.

* Feed citrus trees, which are now in bloom and setting fruit. To prevent sunburn and borer problems on young trees, paint the exposed portion of the trunk with diluted white latex (water-based) interior paint. Dilute the paint with an equal amount of cold water before application.

* Feed roses with a balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10, the ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium available in that product).

* Prune and fertilize spring-flowering shrubs and trees after they bloom. Try using well-composted manure, spread 1-inch thick under the tree. This serves as both fertilizer and mulch, retaining moisture while cutting down on weeds.

* Cut back and fertilize perennial herbs to encourage new growth.

* Seed and renovate the lawn (if you still have one). Feed cool-season grasses such as bent, blue, rye and fescue with a slow-release fertilizer. Check the irrigation system and perform maintenance. Make sure sprinkler heads are turned toward the lawn, not the sidewalk.

* In the vegetable garden, transplant lettuce and cole family plants, such as cabbage, broccoli, collards and kale.

* Seed chard and beets directly into the ground.

* Plant summer bulbs, including gladiolus, tuberous begonias and callas. Also plant dahlia tubers.

* Shop for perennials. Many varieties are available in local nurseries and at plant events. They can be transplanted now while the weather remains relatively cool.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!