Winter Drought? You’ve Just Gotta Water

 

 Strong El Niño conditions in the Pacific.  Plenty of rain and snow in Northern California and the Sierras.   But here in Southern California – and particularly in western Los Angeles County – gardeners are wondering ‘where’s our El Niño?’  Instead of record rains, we seem to be entering our 5^th year of drought very early this year.  And a dry winter means you’ve just got to water your native plants.

Many Southern California native plants are really drought tolerant. You can read about why at: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-things-work-plant-drought-tolerance.html  But plants from western Los Angeles and Orange Counties need at least 10 inches of winter rain (or irrigation) to survive.  Winter rains are what make our local plants both water-wise and lovely.   The rains  allow them to cope with our long, hot, dry summer and fall.

Southern California homeowners are struggling to meet their targeted 25% reduction in water use this winter.  Local water companies recently bemoaned our 17% reduction compared to 2013.  Which leads us to wonder: ‘Have they looked out the window?’  It’s dry this winter; and most of us don’t want to lose the mature trees and shrubs that shade and cool our neighborhoods.  And so we water.

Plants from Mediterranean climates are the best-suited water-wise plants for our region. They should dominate our home and commercial landscapes.  Many are very water-wise in the summer/fall, when we most need to conserve water.  They can result in significant yearly water savings when used to replace summer-thirsty tropical plants and wet-climate grasses.   In fact, they are more water-wise than the semi-tropical succulents many people are now planting to conserve water.  So water agencies, state officials and teachers should be encouraging gardeners to plant water-wise Mediterranean climate plants, and most importantly, California natives.  

But local water companies don’t yet seem to understand that Mediterranean climate plants, including Mediterranean herbs and citrus trees, must be watered in dry winters.  And some dry winters are to be expected in in Southern California.  Ideally, water budgets should take year-to-year variability into account; computerized data allow water agencies to do so.  

A ‘one size fits all’ approach to water conservation doesn’t make sense in times of rapid climate change.  Our current water targets are based on 2013 monthly water use levels.   And the 2012/2013 season, while dry over-all, started with a fairly normal winter (in which little supplemental water was needed).   We were gardening along with the rest of you in 2013.  So we know: our soils were moist well into spring that year without supplemental water.

Some of us have been given ‘water budgets’ that specify the number of CCFs we can use each month (based on a 25% reduction from 2013 levels).  A CCF is hundred cubic feet of water (the first ‘C’ is the Roman numeral for 100); one CCF is equivalent to 748 gallons.  Five CCFs per month is about the lowest feasible level if you have any sort of a garden at all.  A small family can get down to 3-4 CCFs per month with vigilant indoor water saving and almost no outside water use.  But it’s not easy to keep a garden going on 5 CCFs per month during a significant winter drought.

Fortunately, some water companies allow customers to ‘bank’ CCFs not used.  If your garden features native/mediterranean plants, and if you follow our suggestions for surviving the drought (see http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2015/07/surviving-drought.html), you can actually save excess CCFs for winter drought watering.  But even if you don’t have saved credits, you can keep your winter water use reasonable, while still maintaining healthy plants.  Here are a few suggestions:

1. Save as much water indoors as possible.  Many of us still take sponge baths most days, wear our outer clothes longer between washings and use rinse water to fill our toilet tanks and water our plants.  Water saved indoors can be used to water your garden plants.
2. Prioritize your watering. Don’t waste water on plants that need replacing.  Be sure that trees, large shrubs and other plants that provide shade, food or other important services get first priority.
3. Check the long-range weather forecast.  If no rain is predicted for the next 10 days – and if your soil is dry – you need to consider watering.
4. Check your soil moisture. Dig down to a depth of 3-4 inches.  If the soil is dry –and there’s no rain in sight - it’s time to water.  Don’t rely on plants to tell you when to water; you need to check the soil.  At this time of year, the soil should be moist; if not, you need to water.  There is no substitute for checking your soil moisture.
5. Check soil moisture in several places; water accordingly.  Shadier, sheltered parts of the garden remain moist longer than sunny areas.  Be sure to water only parts of the garden that really need it.
6. Water on days that are cool (or at least relatively so). We’ve had a spate of summery, hot weather this winter.  Check the weather forecast for days with on-shore breezes and a chance of fog; those are the days to water.  Watering on cooler days benefits the garden in at least two ways:
1. Water is more likely to percolate into the soil, rather than evaporate;
2. Water and warm temperatures encourage fungal and other plant pathogens.   By watering during a cool period you stand the best chance of avoiding disease problems associated with warm, moist conditions.
7. Water at cool times of the day.   We’ve done well with winter watering late in the day.  The water has time to percolate into the ground overnight.
8. Use watering methods that decrease evaporation.  Trickle-water with a hose, use soaker hoses or old-fashioned ‘whirligig’ sprinklers that produce larger drops.  Sprinklers that produce a lot of mist waste water.
9. Remember that large, water-wise plants have extensive root systems. Be sure to water out to the drip-line and beyond.  If you’re using drip irrigation to establish plants, move the emitters out as the plants grow.
10. Install permeable paving for patios, walkways, etc. These allow all the water that falls on your garden to percolate in.  For more on permeable paving options see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2013/06/harvesting-rain-permeable-paths-patios.html

 

Have faith – we’ll get through the drought, although our gardens will likely evolve to accommodate our changing climate.   Look at the drought as a challenge and an opportunity; a chance to make your garden even more alive and interesting than it is today.  Consider ways to incorporate more native plants in your garden.   And for now, if your Mediterranean climate plants need water, you’ll just have to water. 

 

 

 

 

We welcome your comments (below).  You can also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com

 

 

Plant of the Month (February) : Rattlepod – Astragalus trichopodus

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - Mother Nature's Garden of Health

Despite forecasts of a strong El Niño season, we’re currently at only about half our normal rainfall.  That’s worrisome!   We’ve been watering Mother Nature’s Gardens, trying to saturate the soils, as they should be this time of year.  One plant that’s blooming right on target is the Rattlepod, Astragalus trichopodus.

Rattlepod is known by several common names including Santa Barbara milkvetch, Three-pod milkvetch, Ocean locoweed and Ocean milkvetch.  We prefer ‘Rattlepod’; a name that well depicts the plant’s most unusual feature.  Three varieties of Astragalus trichopodus grow in Los Angeles County.  Astragalus trichopodus var. phoxis grows in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, but is more common in the inland foothills of Los Angeles County (San Gabriel Mountains).  Astragalus trichopodus var. trichopodus is found on Santa Catalina Island and the inland Puente Hills. 

Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus – the most common variety in Western Los Angeles County – was once widespread on the coastal plains and Channel Islands (less than 1000 ft. elevation) from San Luis Obispo County to San Diego County and Baja California, Mexico.  Locally, it once grew on the coastal bluffs and coastal prairies of Playa del Rey, Hermosa and Redondo Beach and San Pedro.  Specimens were also collected from the Dominguez Slough (now Gardena Willows Wetland Preserve).  Planting Rattlepod in our Garden of Health brings this plant home.  We hope to use seeds from our garden to re-populate Rattlepod on the Preserve.

 

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - growth habit

 

Since Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus is the type grown in our garden, we’ll focus the rest of this article on that variety.  Rattlepod is an herbaceous perennial in the Pea family (Fabaceae).  It dies back to the ground in the dry season, emerging again with the cool rains of winter and early spring.  Once conditions are satisfactory, it quickly grows to a bushy, somewhat sprawling perennial, 2-3 ft. tall and about 3 ft. wide.  Although the stems are stout, they are herbaceous.  The high winds last weekend knocked a few branches off the plant in our garden.

 

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) -
compound leaves

 

The foliage is a bright spring green – the color of garden peas.  Like most in the family, the leaves are compound, with 15-40 rounded leaflets along a midrib that can be up to 8 inches long (see above).  The leaves of local plants are modestly hairy.  We find the foliage to be unusual and attractive in the garden setting.  All parts of the plant are toxic if eaten.   This explains the common name ‘Locoweed’: domesticated horses, cows and sheep can become quite ill if they eat too much milkvetch.

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - blooming plant

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - close-up of flowers

Rattlepod is an early-flowering species.  It can begin blooming as early as January and almost never flowers later than early April in our area.  The flowers are a waxy cream-white and are arranged around upright stems.   On close inspection (above), the individual flowers exhibit the usual characteristics of members of the Pea family.  You can clearly see the banner and keel on the photograph above.    The early flowers attract bees and other insects.

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - green pods



Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - dry pods

The seedpod of Astragalus trichopodus is rounded and inflated; the dry seeds rattle in dry seedpods, which explains this plant’s common name.  While other vetches have inflated seedpods, Rattlepod deserves special attention; its pods are puffed up like little balloons.  The pods are 1/4" to 3/4" wide and 1/2" to 1-3/4" long.  Green when young, they gain pink tinges as they mature, finally becoming dried and tan (see above).  Each pod contains up to 20 or so, pea-like seeds that become wrinkled when dry. 

Rattlepod is very drought tolerant.  A long taproot partially explains this plant’s  drought tolerance.  But the Rattlepod’s yearly cycle is also geared to our long dry season.  Plants die back to the roots for the dry period – a pretty good strategy for such an herbaceous plant.  For more on drought tolerance see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-things-work-plant-drought-tolerance.html

Local gardeners on the Palos Verdes peninsula plant Astragalus trichopodus in the hopes of providing larval food for the endangered Palos Verdes Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis).  We like the plant because it also attracts other interesting insects – pollinators, early butterflies and others.   The flowers and plant are pretty, and contrast well with other native plants.  Rattlepods provide good winter-spring fill around larger plants.  They also look nice with locally native cool season grasses, spring annual wildflowers and Wallflowers. 

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) - Madrona Marsh Preserve

We are not entirely sure whether Astragalus trichopodus has medicinal value or not.  Asian Astragalus species are used for a variety of ailments, including viral illnesses. Chemicals made by several Astragalus species are being tested as possible cancer and AIDS treatment drugs.  That being said, California native Astragalus species are toxic and should not be eaten.   We’ll just have to wait and see whether compounds from local natives will be added to the medicine bag of the future.
 

Rattlepod (Astragalus trichopodus var. lonchus) with
Dune Wallflower - Madrona Marsh Preserve

 

For a gardening information sheet see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-astraglus-trichopodus

For more pictures of this plant see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/astragalus-trichopodus-web-show

For plant information sheets on other native plants see: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html

 

 

We welcome your comments (below).  You can also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com


 

Plant of the Month (January) : Bicolor (Miniature) Lupine – Lupinus bicolor

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) - in bloom

Very little is blooming in Mother Nature’s Gardens right now.  But the recent rains have coaxed a number of annual wildflower seeds to germinate. We’ve chosen one of these, the Bicolor or Miniature lupine, as our Plant of the Month.

Like many native species, Lupinus bicolor is the subject of current taxonomic debate.  The species shows morphologic variability within its range, and variants have been categorized as several separate species, as well as varieties and subspecies of Lupinus bicolor.  For simplicity, we’ll just discuss the species as a whole.  Former species which now are included in Lupinus bicolor are: Lupinus congdonii; Lupinus polycarpus; Lupinus rostratus; Lupinus sabulosus; Lupinus umbellatus and possibly others. 

The geographic range of Bicolor lupine stretches from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico.  The species grows throughout the California Floristic Province (West of the Sierras) and in the western Mojave Desert.  In Western Los Angeles County, it can be found in the Santa Monica Mountains, on the Southern Channel Islands and in the Los Angeles Basin from the Transverse Ranges to the Pacific Ocean.  It is a common in open or disturbed areas from sea level to about 5000 ft. (1500 m.).  Like many annual wildflowers, it can be found in a number of California plant communities including the coastal strand, southern coastal prairie, valley grasslands, joshua tree woodland, yellow pine and mixed evergreen forest, and foothill woodland communities.

Bicolor lupine is one of about 75 species of Lupine native to California.  About one-third of them – including Lupinus bicolor – are annuals; the rest are perennials, sub-shrubs and shrubs.  All are members of the Pea Family, the Fabaceae. Like many in this family, Lupines have a unique relationship with special soil bacteria.  These bacteria live within nodules in the roots and convert nitrogen to a form that can be used by plants, through a process known as nitrogen fixation.  When the root dies, the converted nitrogen is released into the soil, improving soil fertility.

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) - leaf

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) - plants

 

Bicolor lupine is a small annual, usually less than one foot tall locally, with medium- to gray-green foliage clustered at the base of the plant.  The palmately compound leaves, which look like an open hand, have 5 to 7 leaflets and are covered in short, transparent hairs.  The leaf shape is typical for Lupines.  As can be seen in the photograph above, the hairs trap mist and fog quite effectively.

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) 
 flowers & seed pods

 

The flowers of Lupinus bicolor are petite and charming, making them a favorite small wildflower.  This is a fairly early bloomer – often February or March in Western Los Angeles County, later in colder climates.  The flowers, which are usually less than ½ inch across (1/4 to 1 inch; < 2.5 cm.) are arranged in a spiral pattern (whorl) around short flowering stalks. The flowering stalks, often not much taller than the foliage, usually have 4-10 flowers per stalk (see above).

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) - flower details

 

The individual flowers have a shape typical for the Pea Family, with petals modified into a ‘banner’, well-defined ‘wings’ and ‘keel’ (mostly hidden).  The flowers are two-toned: the banner is white with blue-purple spots or blotches, while the wings are blue-purple. Like other local lupines, the flower color changes from blue-purple to red-purple after a flower is pollinated, sending a cue to insect pollinators that no more nectar is being produced (see photo, above).

Miniature lupine is insect pollinated, primarily by bees.  The insect lands on the wing petals, causing them to move and reveal the sexual organs located in the keel.  The pollinating insect brushes against the stamens and stigma while retrieving nectar, thereby pollinating the flower.   The seeds develop in small ‘pea pods’ that burst open explosively when dry (mid- to late-Spring), spreading the seeds.

 

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) - young seedlings

 

Bicolor lupine is fairly easy to grow from seed.  Like all lupines, the seeds have a hard seed coat; germination is enhanced by soaking them in hot tap water overnight before planting.  Seeds can then be planted in prepared seed beds or in pots for later transplanting.  Lupines tend to have long roots – in our area they are often easier to seed directly into the garden rather than transplant.   Be sure to plant seeds on bare ground or under a thin gravel mulch.   Plant just before a good rainstorm in late fall or winter, then rake in lightly; seedlings will appear in several weeks.

Lupines are an excellent source of nectar for bees, particularly the larger, early-flying species.  The foliage is a larval food source for Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme) and several species of Blue butterflies.   The seeds, which are toxic if eaten in large quantities, are eaten by ground-foraging birds, particularly Doves.   They are an important food from summer through fall.

In summary, Lupinus bicolor is an annual wildflower that does well in California gardens and wildlands.  It likes sun, but is not particular about soil type.  If winter rains are adequate, Bicolor lupine needs no supplemental water, completing its life cycle before the summer dry season.

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor)
 Madrona Marsh Preserve, Torrance CA

 

We like to use Lupinus bicolor along pathways or in containers, where its small size can be adequately appreciated.  It is often grown, as in nature, with other local annual wildflowers, California poppies and cool season native grasses.  It is a charming seasonal groundcover on banks and around rain gardens and infiltration swales. 

A mass of Bicolor lupine, blooming in spring, is a sight for sore eyes.  If happy, it will re-seed in local gardens, returning whenever we have a rainy winter.  Lupinus bicolor is part of our unique natural heritage and a welcome reminder of the climate cycles that so characterize S. California.

Miniature (Bicolor) lupine (Lupinus bicolor) - mass planting

 

 

For a gardening information sheet see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-lupinus-bicolor

For more pictures of this plant see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/lupinus-bicolor-web-show

For plant information sheets on other native plants see: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html

 

 

 

We welcome your comments (below).  You can also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com

Plant of the Month (December) : Pale Spikerush – Eleocharis macrostachya

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya) in Mother Nature's Backyard 

 

After four years of drought – and spotty summer rain – our plants are blooming at unusual times.   As we’ve already featured many of our December-blooming plants, we’ve chosen a species that often begins growing in December for our Plant of the Month.

The Spikerushes (genus Eleocharis) are a common component of wetlands throughout the world.  These grass-like plants, members of the Sedge family (Cyperaceae), have rudimentary leaves and understated flowers at the tips of upright stalks.   Nearly all are wetland species and some – like our own Pale spikerush – can even begin growing in shallow water.

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya): new growth
 after winter rains.

 

The taxonomy of the Spikerushes presents challenges not uncommon in plants with relatively few relevant characteristics and cosmopolitan (widespread) geographic distributions.    Eleocharis macrostachya grows from Alaska and Northern Canada, as far East as the Great Plains states, and South to Mexico and South America (Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay). 

In California, it’s a common and widespread member of wetland communities from sea level to about 8,000 ft. (2500 m.)  It grows in a variety of wet places including marshes, roadside ditches, and along streambanks, lakeshores and rivers.  It also can be seen in seasonal wetlands, including mountain meadows, vernal pools/marshes and other seasonally flooded areas.

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya) in vernal marsh
 (Madrona Marsh Preserve).  Taller plants in back are Tules
 and Cattails.  Note how the spikerush grows around the
 edges of the marsh.

 

Known by the common names of Pale spikerush, Common spikerush,  Creeping spike rush and Wire grass, Eleocharis macrostachya shares many characteristics with Eleocharis palustris; some specimens have been included in this and several other Eleocharis species in the past.   There is widespread morphologic variability within Eleocharis macrostachya, even in California, so future taxonomic revisions shouldn’t surprise us.

 

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya) in vernal pool:
 Madrona Marsh Preserve, Torrance CA.

 

Pale spikerush is a rush-like perennial that spreads via rhizomes to form dense mats.  In lowland S. California, seeds germinate – and plants begin to grow – with the winter rains. The under-water stems are hollow; stems become pith-filled on land, giving them added stiffness.   The plants can grow either in shallow standing water or in moist soils, making them useful for seasonally moist areas like rain gardens and infiltration swales.  The plants continue to grow until the dry days of summer, when they become dormant and turn a lovely glossy tan.

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya): note stems
 with rudimentary leaves at base.

 

Pale spikerush is 12-18 inches (30-45 cm.) tall.  It can grow as a single stem, as a tuft-like cluster of stems or as a mat-like ‘sod’.  The stems have very rudimentary leaves (thin, red-brown sheaths at the base of the stems) and are smooth and upright (see above).  Stems are pale yellow-green under water, medium green on land.  This is a simple, but pretty wetland perennial.

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya) blooming in June:
 Madrona Marsh Preserve, Torrance CA.

 

The flowers of Eleocharis macrostachya grow in purple-brown spikelets at the ends of the stems.  As seen in the photo above, flowering plants are showy, even though individual flowers are rudimentary.  The spikelets are slender and cylindrical, somewhat like a flame on a candle, and contain many small flowers, each encased in a floral scale.  Since the flowers are wind-pollinated, there’s no need for fancy petals to attract animal pollinators.  Instead, the sexual parts are well-situated to ensure pollination (see below).  The seeds are enclosed in a gold-brown achene (capsule with one seed) that drops from the plant when ripe.

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya): close-up of spikelet.

 

Pale spikerush is a very adaptable plant.  It will grow in just about any soil, including clays and the sandy, alkali soils along our coast.  It tolerates full sun to fairly shady conditions, with flowering more reliable in full sun.  It does need moist soils in winter/spring and can even tolerate seasonal flooding or shallow standing water, particularly if water levels are allowed to fluctuate through the year (becoming shallower or dry in summer/fall). 

Rain garden at Mother Nature's Backyard.  Pale spikerush
(Eleocharis macrostachya) is indicated by arrow.

 

Pale spikerush is most commonly used as a pond/pool plant or in rain gardens, vegetated (infiltration) swales or bog gardens.  We grow it in our rain garden and as a grass substitute under our Elderberry tree at Mother Nature’s Backyard. It does fine with occasional (monthly or twice-monthly) summer water. When grown in mass (like a turf) it becomes a lovely ‘straw’ groundcover in late summer/fall.  In fact, spikerush straw is harvested in some parts of the world.

Alkali heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum)  growing through
a mulch of Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya)

 

Several points should be emphasized regarding Eleocharis macrostachya.  First, it is a wetland plant that spreads via rhizomes.  In our personal experience, it’s not particularly aggressive in a fairly dry garden.  But if you water frequently – and want to limit its spread – then plant it in a container.  The second issue involves plant-plant interactions.  Some sources note that Pale spikerush may inhibit the growth of other plants.   We’ve not noticed this ourselves and suspect it may be most important when dense Eleocharis ‘turf’ is allowed to dry, uncut, and release chemicals into the soil.

Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya) straw in summer.

 

That being said, Eleocharis macrostachya is a wonderful native for seasonally moist areas.  It’s great for rain gardens and ponds, stabilizing the soil on banks and slopes.  It is easy care, requiring only the removal of dead stalks in fall.  It provides food and cover, as well as nesting materials, for birds and smaller animals.  In days of old, the stems were used for weaving and dried stems for stuffing pillows and bedding.  Some Native American tribes used the plant as a medicine to induce vomiting. 

We love Eleocharis macrostachya as a reminder of the seasonal wetlands once common in the South Bay.  Spikerushes tie us to the past, providing a sense of place.  Ironically, our rain gardens and seasonal swales have become our region’s wetlands.  They are places where the plants of old continue to thrive, a remnant of the vibrant ecosystems that were once the heart (and kidneys) of our region.



Mixed groundcover with Pale spikerush (Eleocharis macrostachya), Carex pansa and 
Stachys bullata.

 

 

For a gardening information sheet see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/gardening-sheet-eleocharis-macrostachya

For more pictures of this plant see: http://www.slideshare.net/cvadheim/eleocharis-macrostachya-web-show

For plant information sheets on other native plants see: http://nativeplantscsudh.blogspot.com/p/gallery-of-native-plants_17.html

 

 

We welcome your comments (below).  You can also send your questions to: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com