5 Great Ideas for Planting Dry Slopes - Best California Natives & Drought-tolerant plants to Landscape Steep Areas

Many California Native Plants are adapted to growing on steep hot slopes. But getting them started isn't always a piece of cake! Any trials will be rewarded though, because once these plants get a foothold, they love the fast drainage and rocky soil that hot seasonally-dry slopes provide.

Tips: Make sure there's enough of a level terrace around their base for some water to collect and absorb during rainy seasons. Plants may grow best without supplemental irrigation from winter rains through spring. To keep them supplemental water summer-fall and ease into winter with a hard prune of any grasses or sages.

A Plant Community is a grouping of plants that grow symbiotically in nature and reoccur in clear predictable patterns. Together, plant community members create a lush self-perpetuating (or "net growth") ecosystem.

• Native Chaparral Wildflower Plant Community

  - this wild plant community is filled with the hot colors of the blossoming hills. Its defined by sun loving types of daisies or wild sunflowers, purple flowering or silver leaved accents and the hot orange of California native poppies. Sometimes we fill it in with a few other native flowering plants that will tuck into the shade of their bigger counterparts - or fill-in the tree lined edges of your garden.
  • PLANTS
    • Tickseed (Coreopsis) - also known as California wild daisy
    • California Buckwheat (Eriogonum) - Red Buckwheat - var. grande rubescens is a favorite
    • Coast Sagewort (Artemisia pycnocephala)
    • Honey Sage (Salvia mellifera) - also called Black Sage
    • Bush Sunflower (Encelia californica)
  • Where does this Plant Community occur in the Wild? Semi-sheltered plateaus and open expanses on slopes. This plant community was first spotted on coastal slopes around Los Angeles, in the meadows at the watershed runout around Eaton Canyon (in 2016). Its regularly seen growing throughout most full sun exposures with moderate slopes (not so steep they're overly rocky) around: 
    • Santa Monica Mountains 
    • Orange County's Saddleback Mountains
    • San Diego Foothills 
    • Long Beach / Palos Verdes peninsula
    • Santa Barbara and surrounding coastal mountains
    • Oakland & San Jose surrounding hills/mountains
    • Sonoma & greater Santa Rosa foothills, meadows

 

• Native Lilac Plant Community 

  - combining a handful of California native lilacs (Ceanothus) with a few complimentary sages (Artemisia, Salvia), grasses (Deschampsia, Muhlenbergia) and wildflowers (Penstemon, Yarrow, Trichostema), recreates a native chaparral aesthetic with minimal water needs. If you're an an inland region of Southern California substitute grasses with ground cover manzanita (Arctostaphylos) or additional creeping Ceanothus to further stretch drought-tolerance and coverage. For smaller yards, use more groundcover forms of Ceanothus & Manzanita. 
  • PLANTS:
    • Purple-flower Ceanothus / Native Lilac (Ceanothus maritimus) Blue-flower Ceanothus / Native Lilac (Ceanothus maritimus)
    • White-flower Ceanothus / Native Lilac (Ceanothus maritimus)
    • Manzanita (Arctostaphylos)
    • California Yerba Santa (Eriodictyon californicum) 
    • Common Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

  • Where does this Plant Community occur in the Wild?: adjacent to yucca and prickly pear type chaparral. This plant community was first spotted on the Cajon pass - linking San Bernadino and the high desert. It's also been seen growing wild on slopes:

• • • Between San Diego, specifically those between Julien and Anza Borrego as will as on the
    • North-facing slopes of areas of the San Fernando Valley like Agoura Hills & Sunland.
    • Plus on any slope angle at all in the Malibu Hills. 

How to take advantage of drought tolerance? While these plants can establish in the wild on North and East facing slopes with decent summer sun exposure in hot areas, they can also take the full sun on South and West facing slopes with supplemental irrigation (1x week deep waterings with drip or soaker hose buried in swales spaced every 10-20'). Or in mild coastal climates or those further North, if planted during the rainy season and with adequate leveling around their base to ensure water absorbs. 

 

• Mellow Meadow Plant Community

  - In much of the greater San Francisco area, where summer temperatures are more mild and winter brings much longer and more persistent rains, many areas of grassland occur interspersed between woodlands. And, especially if in part shade, will stay green much of the year.  Many mid-sized ornamental grasses love slopes, and staging them on a vertical face really ups the "wow" factor. Irrigate during dry season with soakers hoses run horizontally across slope every 6 feet. Plant irregular rows 2 feet away on either side. Space Muhlenberia 4' apart and all else 18" with flowers andCape Mendo Grass in front.  
  • PLANTS: While this isn't an authentic blend of native grasses - which aren't widely available in landscaping nurseries - it is a blend of the best California native grasses for home landscaping that work well together (no pokey seed heads) and look the best for the longest possible period. All grasses have some seasonal dormancy. Plus a few common wildflowers. Look out for   
    • Muhly Grass (Muhlebergia - various) dubia, capillaris, rigens
    • Gramma Grass (Bouteloua grailis)
    • Sedge Grass (Carex pansa or praecracilis)
    • Cape Mendo Reed Grass (Calamagrostis foliosa)
    • Yarrow (Achillea)
    • Coast Daisy (Erigeron)

• • Where does this Plant Community occur in the Wild?: in between woodlands all along coastal mountain ranges including: 
    • Greater San Francisco
    • Greater Santa Maria & San Luis Obsipo
    • Greater San Diego
    • Greater Orange County

 

• Provence - Inspired Plant Community

  - The California Chaparral and Mediterrean Macquis species mix remarkably well. Demonstrating numerous similarities in plant colors, structures and moisture preference. Plus, many of the plants in this community or so well developed in the nursery industry, there's some varieties out there that can even take intense cold (but leave out the native sages)

• • PLANTS:
    • Butterly Bush (Buddleja)California Purple Sage (Salvia leucophylla, Salvia clevelandii or hybrids)
    • Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
    • French Lavender (Lavandula x ginginsii or 'Phenomenal')
    • Lavender Cotton (Santolina chamaecyparissus) 
    • Yarrow 'Moonglow' (Achillea millefolium)

 

 

• Adaptable Drought-Tolerant Dry Shade Plant Combination

  If you've got dry shade, it's worth bringing in some plants from other drought-tolerant regions of the world. There's not many that take the cake in this kind of environment - even with California's huge pantheon of plant gods. Here's a plant combo that packs in an incredilbe amount of large, lush foliage contrast.  
  • What Plants does it feature? 
    • Blonde Basket Grass (Lomandra 'Platinum Beauty') - it's a great slope-stabilizing, low-water and fire-resistant plant. 
    • Australian Rosemary (Westringia 'morning light' or 'smokey') - slow grower first 2 years, than explodes
    • Limelight Mexican Sage (Salvia 'limelight') - likes some water
    • Little River Wattle (Acacia incognata 'Cousin itt')
    • Blue Rye Grass or Rush Grass (Leymus condensatus or Juncus patens)

Best Individual Plants for Hot Dry Slopes: