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mragle

need groundcover for sunny slope, drought resistant

mragle
16 years ago

We are building a new home in Simi Valley. The front "yard" of our house consists entirely of a slope, 80' wide and 12' tall at the tallest. It is a sunny location, and we need something drought resistant. Does anyone have any low-maintenance, low-water groundcover ideas? Thank you.

Comments (4)

  • wanda
    16 years ago

    I'm not sure what works well in your area, but I recently saw a Grevillea that was awesome!

    This is it's description from Suncrest Nursery, a wholesale grower

    Grevillea x gaudichaudii.
    One of the most unusual of the grevilleas suited for use in ground cover. It spreads to a diameter of 15Â or more, its long, willowy stems lying flat on the ground. They are lined with 3" deeply lobed leaves, maroon in new growth and dark green when mature. Brushes of dark red flowers are borne along the stems in winter and spring. Probably hardy to 20oF or less.

    I've added a link to the grevillea page on their web site, because there's other good groundcover ones too.
    It they interest you, you may also want to check out
    Monterey Bay Nursery and San Marcos as they carry other varieties.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Grevilleas

  • gardenguru1950
    16 years ago

    Grevillea x gaudichaudii is one of my favorite large-scale groundcovers.

    If you do have a large slope and if you think it's "steep" (not easily walked on), you should plant more than just a groundcover.

    Consider a mix of small trees, upright shrubs, spreading shrubs and running herbaceous material, such as:

    Small trees with tenacious root systems --

    Agonis flexuosa PEPPERMINT WILLOW
    Callistemon citrinus LEMON BOTTLEBRUSH
    Callistemon viminalis WEEPING BOTTLEBRUSH
    Heteromeles arbutifolia TOYON
    Leptospermum laevigatum AUSTRALIAN TEA TREE

    Non-spreading shrubs with deep, bank-holding roots --

    Atriplex lentiformis ÂBreweri BREWERÂS SALTBUSH
    Baccharis x ÂCentennial DESERT BROOM
    Ceanothus ÂJoyce Coulter JOYCE COULTER CEANOTHUS
    Cistus ÂSanta Cruz SANTA CRUZ ROCKROSE
    Cistus purpureus PURPLE ROCKROSE
    Cistus ÂSunset SUNSET ROCKROSE
    Cistus x skanbergii PINK ROCKROSE
    Echium candicans PRIDE-OF-MADEIRA
    Grevillea (many) GREVILLEA
    Melaleuca hypericifolia RED PAPERBARK
    Melaleuca nesophila PINK MELALEUCA
    Myrica californica PACIFIC WAX MYRTLE
    Rhamnus crocea ilicifolia HOLLYLEAF REDBERRY
    Rosmarinus officinalis ROSEMARY
    Salvia apiana WHITE SAGE
    Salvia clevelandii BLUE SAGE

    Expansive, low spreading shrubbery --

    Acacia redolens PROSTRATE VANILLA WATTLE
    Arctostaphylos ÂEmerald Carpet E.C. MANZANITA
    Baccharis pilularis ÂTwin Peaks TRAILING COYOTE BRUSH
    Ceanothus thyr. horizontalis ÂYankee Point Y.P. CEANOTHUS
    Grevillea (many) GREVILLEA
    Myoporum ÂPacificumÂ, 'Putah Creek' PACIFICUM SANDALWOOD
    Salvia leucophylla ÂPoint Sal POINT SAL PURPLE SAGE
    Salvia mellifera ÂTerra Seca TERRA SECA BLACK SAGE

    Stem-rooting perennial groundcovers --

    Drosanthemum ROSEA ICEPLANT
    Gazania rigens leucolaena TRAILING GAZANIA
    Lampranthus productus ICEPLANT
    Lessingia filanginifolia ÂSilver Carpet TRAILING WOOLY ASTER
    Rosmarinus officinalis ÂProstratus TRAILING ROSEMARY

    Joe

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    16 years ago

    Bougainvillea is nice, they give a big splash of color, but they can be a little tricky to get started--best planted in warm weather. The root systems on young plants are very delicate, while the old ones--you can't kill them.

    We have bougies, Baccharis and prostrate Rosemary, Santolina, lavenders, and a variety of succulents--agave, yucca, crassula. They all do better with a little water in the summertime. One plant I like a lot on the slope in back is Myoporum 'Pacificum'. It grows with no water at all, yet has an intense, rich, green color
    And it grows FAST, I planted a single 1 gallon plant, watered it exactly once, and it was 30' wide in less than a year yet without making a pest of itself. Though Simi Valley may be a bit warm for it.

    One thing I speak from experience about, if you have any bermuda grass on that slope, kill it and make sure it is really all dead before you plant anything else! It can grow up through anything and you've got a mess on your hands and clearing it out on a slope is miserable.

  • gobluedjm 9/18 CA
    16 years ago

    Lantana. I put in a flat of it and it covered about 80 sq feet since april. They were about the size of little weeds at first.
    You get about the same high heat temps as I do so it should do well. Will need water until it gets going for a couple months.
    I've seen it in purple, white and yellow.
    Put in a few sages here and there and you'll have hummingbirds everywhere.
    The hummers go crazy after my bottlebrush also.