Native Plants
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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
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Saturday - November 28, 2009
From: Santee, CA
Region: California
Topic: Trees
Title: Evergreen for inland San Diego, California
Answered by: Nan Hampton
QUESTION:
I'm looking for an evergreen tree for my inland San Diego residence, 30 foot max height, growth speed is not important. I had decided on the carrotwood until I found your site and discovered the problems that come with it. Thank you.ANSWER:
Here are several native evergreen trees that should do well in your area:
Cercocarpus montanus (alderleaf mountain mahogany) grows to 20 feet
Cupressus arizonica (Arizona cypress) with a maximum height of 30-40 feet
Cupressus forbesii (tecate cypress) grows to 20 feet and here is a photo and more information
Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius (Catalina ironwood) grows to 30-50 feet and here are photos
Morella californica (California wax myrtle) grows to 25 feet and here are photos and more information
Here are photos of the first two from our Image Gallery:
More Trees Questions
Tree resembling live oak, but with thorns
August 04, 2008 - I'm trying to ID a tree in our backyard, most of our trees are Live Oaks and the tree in question has a dark almost black and gray bark that looks just like a Live Oak. The leaves are similar but lig...
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Texas Ash secreting sap in Lockhart, TX
July 05, 2012 - I have what I believe is a Texas Ash in my front yard that is secreting a sap with what looks like some wounds on it with some white stuff and with black and red looking ants as well as it has a lot o...
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Leafing out problems with oaks in Towson MD
June 02, 2012 - 3 native 5-year-old oaks kept old leaves until March and are not leafing by the end of May. The few leaves that have emerged are shriveled. WHAT'S WRONG?
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Stump sprouting of Oak trees in the wildfire area in Bastrop, TX.
May 13, 2012 - We live in Bastrop, Texas, in the wildfire area. We lost all of our trees. The oak trees have "suckers" growing from the base of the burned tree that has been cut down. They look like little bushe...
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Montana native plants to create a garden with edible plants
January 14, 2013 - Hi Smarty Plants
We are looking to create a native herb, vegetable, root, fruit, flower and ground cover garden for the area of Hot Springs, Sanders County, Montana. Our zone is 4 and soil is mostly ...
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