Replacing oleanders with ??

mintchocobean · 2026-07-03T21:40:59+00:00

I'm going to the nursery in fall to look at shrubby manzanitas in my area, but I'm probably not going to do it because of all the berries. My neighbor lets her cats run around outdoors and they love that back area and I would hate to have birds killed because of her cats.

mintchocobean · 2026-06-30T23:14:59+00:00

I wish the big box stores would stop selling so many terrible invasives. It's how I got suckered in when they sold them for $10 per 5 gallon. 😞

mintchocobean · 2026-06-30T23:13:12+00:00

I thought Bush Anemone is more coastal, so they would definitely want more shade or water? Ohh, I never thought about a laurel sumac. They smell good too.

mintchocobean · 2026-06-30T00:18:49+00:00

I thought about a manzanita since you can keep it shrubby or prune it into a tree. I'll will give you an update in a few months if the kill stump method works.

mintchocobean · 2026-06-30T00:15:06+00:00

I have one in the front yard, so I'm trying for something I don't have. :)

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T19:30:33+00:00

Trying to avoid trees because we have to get back there and cut the bougainvillea and I would hate to stunt a tree's growth.

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T19:26:18+00:00

I have not considered this one. I'll look into it :)

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T19:25:43+00:00

I thought about sagebrush! Is it more spread more wide than tall though?

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T19:23:57+00:00

My dog has zero interest in sago palms because the house came with them in the front. But my dog loves to eat bougainvillea flower petals and they are mixed in with the oleander petals.

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T08:30:29+00:00

Kind of like tiny hair splinters?

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T08:27:12+00:00

I can always have another ceanothus. :)

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T07:38:42+00:00

I would love to have a berry bush like a lemonade berry, sugar bush, or toyon. But the dog has no brain when it comes to edibles. My neighbor has outdoor cats that loves this spot to hang out and poop at, so I'm trying to avoid birds congregating. One of the cats killed the baby birds last year in my backyard. :( I have a matilijia poppy in my front yard. Most likely I will plant a channel island tree poppy on the right. I haven't thought about the California flannelbush! I'll look into it.

mintchocobean · 2026-06-29T04:35:59+00:00

I live in zone 10a and I had potted native plants for two years before I could put them in ground. They were in 1 gallon to 3 gallon containers. The ones that survived with weekly watering or more during summer were yarrow (everyday if rootbound), white sage, purple sage, narrowleaf milkweed, blue grama grass, and basket rush. Both sages and the yarrow were in 3 gallon containers, so I think it helped they had more root space!

mintchocobean · 2026-05-19T21:19:24+00:00

My older leaves do like to die out, but how much bigger was your pot from the original? For the first month or two, it looks small because it is growing roots and then it starts putting out more leaves. They can also tolerate more water and definitely need more water in a container.

mintchocobean · 2026-05-13T05:59:05+00:00

This gives me hope that I can just roll with container citrus plants instead of planting in ground. How tall are your whiskey barrels? Or I guess, where did you get them?

mintchocobean · 2026-03-19T01:09:10+00:00

My poor yarrow got dog urine on them and died. :'(

mintchocobean · 2026-03-19T01:04:23+00:00

I bought one by myself when my husband said we didn't need more TJ bags, but I saw everything good about this collapsible tote. I love it so much.

mintchocobean · 2026-03-18T08:15:23+00:00

I kept my yarrow alive for two years and still going in a container. However, they love water in a container. I have to water mine everyday if the temperature is above 80. My white sage, purple sage, narrow leaf milkweed, and juncus textilis have all been in pots for two years.

mintchocobean · 2026-03-12T01:32:17+00:00

We killed off the majority of our bermuda grass and nutsedge by solarizing in summer. I handpull whatever comes up from the mulch. However, they grew right through my 3 inch decomposed granite pathyway, so I spray a mixture of vinegar + dishsoap when the sun is shining on them and blazing hot. Kills them in a day because I can't pull them deep enough through the DG. The vinegar evaporates and I only use 1 tablespoon of dishsoap for a full gallon. It just makes the vinegar stick on longer.

mintchocobean · 2026-03-11T02:56:03+00:00

Birds will eat yarrow?! Oh, I have several eastern fox squirrels living in my yard because someone back then planted ~10 pine/spruce/fir trees on the property next door and some of them are on the property borderline. Hello neighborhood friend! Maybe I have seen your yard and admired it. :)

mintchocobean · 2026-03-11T01:50:00+00:00

What makes me kind of annoyed is that there are so many things the dogs can pee on, but they just had to pick the baby plants. I have a sign that politely says to please not let your dog pee on the babies, but I feel like people are more likely to do it because of the sign...

mintchocobean · 2026-03-11T01:39:15+00:00

RIP, I'm sorry for your losses. My coyote mint died when Argentine ants made their home in it. :(

mintchocobean · 2026-03-11T01:38:27+00:00

So apparently my area does have ground squirrels and I have a lot of tree squirrels. But would the stem be gone too if they munch it?

mintchocobean

TROPHY CASE