Plant Database
We’re here to help you navigate the process of creating a thriving native landscape.
We’re passionate about your success with native plants. Our goal is to expand this resource over time, empowering gardeners, contractors, and architects with the knowledge they need to create thriving native landscapes.
We prepared these plant profiles with anecdotal experiences: insights from our own gardens and stories shared by others. We encourage you to comment on the plant profiles and share your experiences and recommendations.
We’ve started with 50 of our hardiest species and will continue adding from our inventory.
Chilopsis linearis (Desert Willow)
A small tree with beautiful, large pink flowers. Ideal for full sun and sandy soil.
Cercocarpus betuloides (Mountain Mahogany)
A columnar small evergreen tree with delicate feather-like flowers. Great for screening or pruned into a small tree.
Hesperocyparis forbesii (Tecate Cypress)
A native cypress that makes a great hedge or screen plant.
Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii (Catalina Cherry)
A glossy-leafed evergreen tree from the Channel Islands with white flowers in spring and an edible red cherry. Makes a great screening plant or small tree.
Prunus illicifolia (Hollyleaf Cherry)
A medium sized evergreen tree with leaves that resemble holly. A profusion of fragrant, small white flowers arrive early to late spring. Red fruits follow which songbirds love.
Quercus engelmannii (Engelmann Oak)
A beautiful rare oak native to Southern California that has lost much of its native habitat due to development.
Quercus chrysolepis (Canyon Live Oak)
The most wide-spread oak in the state, typically located alongside creeks and in drainage swales, thriving in moist and cool microhabitats.
Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oak)
One of the only native oaks that thrives in coastal environments. An iconic tree that serves as an essential species for wildlife and the surrounding ecosystem.