Southern California Coastal & Inland Valleys
March, 2006
Regional Report
Favorite or New Plant
Perennials for Dry and Moist Conditions
Perennials with great tolerance for drought include achillea, anaphalis, artemisia, asclepias, coreopsis, daylily, dianthus, echinopsis, eryngium, gaillardia, lavandula, potentilla, salvia, santolina, sedum sempervivum, stachys, thyme, and veronica.
Plants that require plenty of water are astilbe, canna lily, fern, gentian, geum, globeflower, lily, lobelia, loosestrife, monarda, primrose, ranunculus, sweet woodruff, valerian, and violet. If you plant them in partial shade, they'll require less irrigation, but they'll bloom less prolifically.
Clever Gardening Technique
Separating Seedlings
An old fork or spoon will separate and lift seedlings gently from flats, and the handle (or a pencil or ice cream stick) can be used to ease transplants from individual growing pockets in segmented flats -- all with little damage to the tender roots.
