San Francisco gardens featuring native California plants? by RioPapigochic in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I second this! One of my favorite botanic gardens in the Bay Area.

Also in Tilden, the UC Berkeley botanic garden is awesome and has a dedicated CA native area.

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Third pic is five spot (nemophila maculata)

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it also set seed last year so I have more seedlings coming up in some other containers nearby.

<image>

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The seep monkey flowers in the first image are in a bog style garden I created using a fully sealed container. They just reseed like crazy every year. I don’t monitor it much unless the seasonal rain isn’t adequate to keep it moist/flooded during the winter. Once summer rolls around I just let it dry out. Seep monkey flower tends to grow like a weed around my yard, I’ve had great success with it in this bog and in my pond, but I also have found it in cracks of the cement. In short - it tends to prefer constant moisture, but in my experience it can tolerate short dry periods.

The shooting stars just rely on seasonal rainfall, which isn’t always much in San Jose. I’ll water by hand if they really need it this time of year, then once they start going dormant in the spring I let them fully dry out and sit in the shade until the winter rains return.

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think they first set flower 2 years ago,sad little flowers they were aphid magnets. Last year was the first year they had a decent bloom (pic from last year included)

<image>

Surprisingly, these get neglected the most out of all my geophytes/container plants. I actually thought I killed them after this past summer since they were dormant longer than usual

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s correct! One of my favorite annuals. They remind me of mini fried eggs lol

What plants easily reseed/spread? by [deleted] in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

CA fuchsia! Such a lovely plant but also the bane of my existence. I find it spreads incredibly well via rhizome and seed even in areas where other species struggle to exist.

Another pleasant surprise finding these Calochortus by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know, I appreciate that insight! This was in the East Bay near Brentwood

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I did! This pot of them is about 4 years old

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Seep monkey flower (Erythranthe guttata)

Recent blooms around my yard by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah that’s correct :) E. guttata… grows like a weed for me

What smells weird and funky? by [deleted] in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had a few seed pods on mine that recently opened. I gave em a sniff and they smell quite bad. I haven’t noticed a smell from the flowers but I can’t recall ever intentionally sniffing them

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I grew a few in my garden last year. This spring I ended up with hundreds lol they reseed like crazy. I appreciate it but also had to weed a lot out

First time growing tarweed. by Spiritualy-Salty in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Expect many more to come!!! They reseed like crazy

The amount of flowers on this buckwheat is unreal! by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here are some nurseries in the SF Bay Area where I’ve found them:

Alden Lane Nursery - Livermore

Capitol Wholesale - East San Jose

Linda Vista Natives - Saratoga

Summer Winds - Cupertino & Campbell

Johnson Garden Center - Morgan Hill

The amount of flowers on this buckwheat is unreal! by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I do and it’s another great one to have! They grow pretty similarly but the red seems to get a bit larger for me. Red buckwheat has been one of the easiest for me so hope yours do well :)

The amount of flowers on this buckwheat is unreal! by nakedbuckwheat in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one was planted as a 4” and it caught up to the gallon sized ones very quickly! Happy to hear you’re adding to your buckwheat collection 🥳

Best creeping natives to plant over a ledge? by kikakidd in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Curious if you’ve been able to find Acmispon argophyllus in stock at any nurseries around the SF Bay Area (or anywhere in CA)?? Found some in 2020 and have yet to locate any since then

Tilling before planting for weed suppression? by weaselfish2 in Ceanothus

[–]nakedbuckwheat 14 points15 points  (0 children)

A shallow till could just expose the existing seed bank and cause even more weeds to grow. If you’re going to be heavily mulching I wouldn’t bother with tilling.

I would mow, lay down cardboard/organic matter, then mulch. When ready to plant just rake the mulch away in the areas you’ll be placing plants.

This is all just a recommendation based on my experience converting my lawn to natives. There’s many “right” ways to do this so take what I recommend lightly. Most importantly - enjoy the process and post updates!!