Choosing Plants for your San Diego Yard<\/h2>
Pretty plants and flowers are easy to find, but because San Diego is in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 8a through 10b,<\/a> the right greenery depends on whether it can handle hot and dry climates.<\/p> Check out these attractive shrubs, vines, and flowers for your backyard. <\/p> Woody shrubs, annuals, biennials, and perennials — salvia blooms in shades of blues, purples, reds, pinks, and whites. All varieties produce long flower spikes and are heat-tolerant. <\/p> If you want to attract butterflies and other pollinators, salvia is a perfect choice. Blossoms appear in late spring to early summer and may continue blooming through early fall.<\/p> Drought tolerant and suitable for xeriscaping, Protea \u2018pink ice\u2019 is an evergreen shrub growing 6 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide. Pink blooms and sweet nectar lure the bees and butterflies, and birds will snuggle into branches for nesting. Flowers bloom in late spring through mid-autumn.<\/p> \u2018Pink ice\u2019 tolerates most soils, enjoys bright sunshine, and is drought-tolerant once the roots are firmly established. <\/p> The San Diego sunflower<\/a> is <\/em>a flowering perennial shrub growing mostly in southern San Diego County. It blooms in most months of the year. <\/p> When planting your backyard or front landscape, combine San Diego sunflowers with other native plants — penstemon, salvia, trichostema, and the like — for a stunning display of color. San Diego sunflowers are hardy plants that tolerate drought and sandy soils. They thrive in full to partial sunlight. Water regularly as needed but do not let water pool around the roots. <\/strong><\/p> Aloe vera is only one type of succulent plant that thrives in the xeriscapes, gardens, and flowerbeds of San Diego, but you can create a visual oasis with a variety of greenery. With plump fronds, stems, and roots that store water, succulents withstand drought, add a sculpted texture to the landscape, and just scream out \u201cCalifornia!\u201d <\/p> Fill your landscaping with aloes, agave, echeveria, euphorbia, sedums, and a few spiny cacti. The warm and dry climate of San Diego helps these plants produce clusters of colorful flowers, but they do not need a lot of water. <\/p> Aloe Vera plants are very prolific: They will shoot off sprouts that you can replant outside or in containers.<\/p> With tubular flowers on spiky stems, penstemon spectabilis<\/a> is noted for blue, purple, red, pink, and white florets. Also called \u2018royal beard tongue,\u2019 the plant grows up to 4 feet tall and just as wide. Native to Southern California and often seen in San Diego gardens and neighborhoods, this regal perennial grows best when planted in autumn so it can bloom the following spring.<\/p> Hummingbirds love the sweet nectar from penstemon, which also draws bees and butterflies to your yard. <\/p> The name is a mouthful, but this climbing vine grows up to 30 feet high and looks nice on trellises, pergolas, posts, and chain-link fences. Also known as Calystegia \u2018Anacapa Pink,<\/a>\u2019 the leafy green vine thrives in full to partial sunlight and doesn\u2019t need much water. Fragrant pale pink blooms trail along to brighten up your landscape. Anacapa Island pink morning glories attract bees and butterflies, they also make nice groundcovers.<\/p> As with most perennial vines, pruning the plant in winter controls the spread, and encourages them to sprout new stems and flowers in the spring.<\/p> California fuchsia<\/a> is a perennial native to the foothills and coastal areas, producing bright red-pink flowers in summer and fall. Fuchsia usually dies back and goes dormant in the winter, but it will be blooming around your San Diego home for many years to come. <\/p> California fuchsia is called the Hummingbird Flower for a good reason — the tiny birds flutter to its bright colors and enjoy sipping the blooms\u2019 sweet nectar. Easy to grow, plant California fuchsia in full sunlight and water it once a month if there\u2019s no rain. <\/p> With so many species of orchids growing in warm climates, San Diego has a few native flowers to add to your landscape. For a perennial that blends in well with other colors, striped Bletilla (Bletilla striata) <\/em>doesn\u2019t have sharp solid bands, but variations in the pattern float softly over white flower petals. This perennial needs to be watered regularly — take care not to drown the roots.<\/p> Leafy green, soft foliage lights up Bletilla in spring, summer, and fall. Blooming from mid-spring to late summer, these orchids propagate by rhizomes, bulbs, and tubers.<\/p> Don\u2019t let the name fool you, California Monkey Flowers don\u2019t really look like smiling simians, but the genus Mimulus is from the Latin \u201cmimus,\u201d a comic actor or mime. Related to snapdragons, monkey flowers draw hummingbirds and other nectar-loving critters.<\/p> From spring through summer, monkey flowers blossom in rose, peach, white, and yellow, and are about 1.5 inches wide. Common names are San Diego Monkey Flower, Red Bush Monkeyflower, and Mission Diplacus. <\/p> The simplicity of the seaside daisy <\/strong>brings <\/strong>soft hues to your San Diego landscape. <\/strong>Native to dunes, beaches, and coastal bluffs, seaside daisies spread with bluish-green foliage and flowers that bloom in winter to summer with little or no water. Create a xeriscape with these perennial evergreen herbs; they fit next to borders, along paths, in rock gardens, and in front of shrubbery. <\/p> Seaside daisies germinate by seed making them easy to plant. Lavender-white flowers bloom from January through August. Certainly unexpected, but IF the temperature ever drops below freezing, seaside daisies will survive. Pinch off dead blooms.<\/p> Make it easier on yourself by planting native flowers, shrubs, trees, and ground covers. Not only do they attract birds, butterflies, pollen-carrying bees, and wildlife to provide food and nesting resources, but native plants promote biodiversity and protect groundwater. The best part? Native plants are low maintenance, leaving you more time to enjoy your San Diego home.<\/p> Want to make your landscape even lower-maintenance? Hire a local San Diego landscaping pro<\/a> to create the yard of your dreams. <\/p> Main Photo Credit: Bernard Spragg. NZ | Flickr<\/a> | CC0 1.0<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" San Diego is known for beautiful scenery, a stunning coastline, and professional sports teams, but \u201cAmerica\u2019s Finest City\u201d has its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":4011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.lawnlove.com\/images\/best+native+plants-San+Diego+hero.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"Close up of a vibrant pink bloom from a protea","footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[402],"class_list":["post-4005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-california","tag-lawn-care-san-diego-ca"],"acf":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/cdn.lawnlove.com\/images\/best+native+plants-San+Diego+hero.jpg?w=1200&fit=1200,845&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Teri Silver","author_link":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/author\/teri-silver\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Salvia<\/h2>
![\"bright](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_2605889092_b0844df63f_c.jpg\")
2. Protea \u2018pink ice\u2019<\/h2>
![\"vibrant](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_114403472_824098fc67_c.jpg\")
3. San Diego sunflower (viguiera laciniata)<\/h2>
![\"large](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_33206140103_b405bddff5_c.jpg\")
4. Aloe vera and other succulents<\/h2>
![\"3](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_26011965770_83beaf2258_c.jpg\")
5. Penstemon spectabilis<\/h2>
![\"light](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_penstemon_spectabilis_-_flickr_-_peganum.jpg\")
6. Anacapa island pink morning glory (calystegia macrostegia)<\/h2>
![\"single](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_2673185526_3d14f3a0f6_c.jpg\")
7. California fuchsia (epilobium canum)<\/h2>
![\"bright](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_1009px-california_fuchsia_epilobium_canum_img_5116.jpg\")
8. Orchids<\/h2>
![\"close-up](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_4696302471_14d84de556_c.jpg\")
9. California monkey flower<\/h2>
![\"bright](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_1015px-monkey_flower_sticky_mimulus_aurantiacus_5-28-06_535309994.jpg\")
10. Seaside daisy (erigeron glaucus) <\/em><\/h2>
![\"pale](\"https:\/\/lawnlove.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/rsz_14293816706_2efca63b9b_c.jpg\")
Native plants are the way to go<\/h2>