We <3 California Native Plants!

Greetings Watershed,

Prepare yourselves, this one’s a little cheesy! We love California Native plants, and hope you do too! As we were planning this month’s newsletter topic, our minds were full of thoughts of heart shaped leaves, red running stems, beautiful blooms, and what plants we’d most love to share with the budding gardeners in our lives. Feel free to use any of these plants and their sayings below as Valentines for your loved ones, and let us know if you do!

Or if plants aren’t your thing (what? why? how?), check out our other offerings below–wildflower seed packets, gift certificates, and of course, elderberry syrup and handmade mugwort soaps from ShakeWell Herbalism!

California Rose

Rosa californica

Available in D-40, TB4, and 2 gallons for $10.90-$31.75 apiece!



• This deciduous shrub grows up to 8’ tall and can be used in the landscape as an informal spiny hedge, backdrop in a woodland planting, or along a water feature.
• This plant adapts to heavy clay soil and spreads by suckering roots to form a thicket. California rose has a long bloom period as well, covering spring through summer!
• The large pink flowers have a rich rose fragrance (it’s divine!) and the brightly colored edible fruits attract pollinators and birds. Fruits are nutritionally dense as well, a great source of Vitamin C. 

Western Redbud

Cercis occidentalis

Available in D-40, TB4, and 2-gallon containers for $10.90-$30.25 apiece! 

• This deciduous shrub to small tree grows to 14′ tall. In the garden, this multi-trunked tree is a great choice in a perennial border or woodland garden. The large, rounded leaves have attractive heart-shaped bases.
• New growth and seed pods of this species can be coppery red, providing nice contrast with the apple-green leaves.
• The attractive magenta flowers appear in late winter and spring when the foliage turns light yellow to red. The reddish-purple seed pods hang on the tree in winter.
• Western redbud is native to dry slopes, usually next to a spring or seasonal creek, but in the garden, don’t overwater. Don’t be discouraged if your first plant doesn’t do well–redbuds can transplant poorly!
• Pairs well with ceanothus, Douglas iris, and coral bells.

Heart leaf Milkweed

Asclepias cordifolia

Available in D-16 containers for $7.30 apiece! 

• Asclepias cordifolia is a perennial herb species of milkweed native to dry inland mountainous slopes of California, Nevada, and Oregon.
• Grows 1-2 feet tall and wide, with deep green and pink heart-shaped leaves.
• Heartleaf milkweed blooms in spring and summer, popping up dark red-purple umbels of flowers. (Each individual flower in an umbel is called an umbellet!)
• Heart-leaf milkweed is dormant this time of year, so be sure to remember where you plant it!
• A monarch butterfly host plant, Heart-leaf milkweed is best planted in rocky soil that drains quickly. Plant in a sunny spot or a large container, and don’t water once established!

Redwood Sorrel

Oxalis oregana

Available in 4” containers for $8.30 apiece! 

• Redwood sorrel is a short herbaceous perennial plant with erect flowering stems 5–15 cm tall.
• The three leaflets are heart-shaped with purplish undersides.
• The flowers are white to pink and the hairy five-chambered seed capsules are egg-shaped.
• This oxalis is found in moist Douglas Fir and Coast Redwood forests, blanketing the forest floor with its dense foliage, making it a great understory ground cover.
• The leaves of Oxalis oregana are edible in small quantities (they contain the mildly toxic oxalic acid, hence the genus name)

California Wax Myrtle

Morella californica

Available in D-40 containers for $10.90-$11.45 apiece! 

• This evergreen shrub or small tree grows to 10′-15’ tall with an annual growth rate of 12 to 18 inches. It can be used in the landscape as a hedge or to soften an unattractive feature or wall.
• Myrtle have a lovely light citrusy odor to the leaves when crushed!
• California wax myrtle is easy to grow. It can be sheared to produce a hedge, or it can be left to grow into large, loose mounds, providing a background of color to other shrubs and perennials. It’s one of the best looking native plants for gardens according to Sunset Garden Books.
• Clusters of black fruit are held on short spurs in late summer, persisting into midwinter and providing food for wild birds.

Salmonberry

Rubus spectabilis

Available in D-40 containers for $11.45 apiece! 

• Salmonberry is a deciduous shrub that can grow to a height of 6-10’ and spread out to form thick stands – better for larger gardens! 
• This tall and erect shrub looks beautiful at the edges of a garden where its bright pink to dark red blooms are visible throughout their long blooming cycle and are a favorite of hummingbirds!
• The blooms are followed by edible yellow to red berries. This attractive shrub does best on moist to wet places from stream banks to wooded areas.

‘Bee’ Well and Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at

The Watershed Nursery Cooperative!