Author Topic: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?  (Read 8097 times)

ScottR

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Re: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?
« Reply #25 on: May 15, 2018, 10:37:33 AM »
Barath, I would think that if you put in some Kei Apple seedlings in Autumn-Winter time they might make it trough rest of year with little water! Just a thought ;)another one once established that's hard to get rid of would be goji berry's 8)

barath

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Re: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?
« Reply #26 on: May 15, 2018, 10:54:54 AM »
Can you build swales to help water retention? Good ground-cover will also help water retention. I've found some beans to be drought tolerant and good ground cover. The best were a gift from a local and weren't identified.
Many cactus are nitrogen fixers - opuntia for nopal and prickly pears, stenocereus (slow growing) for pitayas.
Similarly desert trees such as acacia and mesquite are nitrogen fixers although mesquite can be invasive in some areas.
http://www.aridzonetrees.com/nitrogen-fixation-and-desert-trees.html
https://cals.arizona.edu/desertlegumeprogram/
http://www.perennialsolutions.org/all-nitrogen-fixers-are-not-created-equal
You might also get some help from https://plants.usda.gov/adv_search.html

I do hope to dig swales to retain water.  I'm curious if there are actual groundcovers that cover the whole ground surface that are useful and grow in such climates, or if using mulch is as good as it gets.  (I had thought about perennial peanut and birdsfoot trefoil, but they may need more water than is available.)

BajaJohn

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Re: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?
« Reply #27 on: May 16, 2018, 12:18:01 AM »
I do hope to dig swales to retain water.  I'm curious if there are actual groundcovers that cover the whole ground surface that are useful and grow in such climates, or if using mulch is as good as it gets.  (I had thought about perennial peanut and birdsfoot trefoil, but they may need more water than is available.)
The beans I use self-sow and come up when conditions are right for them suggesting that even annual plants can help moisture retention as well as provide a constant supply of organic material.
There are cactus and succulent varieties that you may be able to use too. Ice plants come to mind but some (like carpobotus) are considered invasive in some areas. Lampranthus, Aptenia and Oscularia are others.
Trailing acacia(a. redolens)?

barath

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Re: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?
« Reply #28 on: May 16, 2018, 12:39:12 AM »
Barath, I would think that if you put in some Kei Apple seedlings in Autumn-Winter time they might make it trough rest of year with little water! Just a thought ;)another one once established that's hard to get rid of would be goji berry's 8)

Ah, yeah -- Kei Apple!  I had been thinking something spiny might be needed to keep coyotes out, so maybe that's the right choice.

barath

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Re: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?
« Reply #29 on: May 16, 2018, 12:39:31 AM »
I do hope to dig swales to retain water.  I'm curious if there are actual groundcovers that cover the whole ground surface that are useful and grow in such climates, or if using mulch is as good as it gets.  (I had thought about perennial peanut and birdsfoot trefoil, but they may need more water than is available.)
The beans I use self-sow and come up when conditions are right for them suggesting that even annual plants can help moisture retention as well as provide a constant supply of organic material.
There are cactus and succulent varieties that you may be able to use too. Ice plants come to mind but some (like carpobotus) are considered invasive in some areas. Lampranthus, Aptenia and Oscularia are others.
Trailing acacia(a. redolens)?

Ah, interesting.  What beans do you plant?

BajaJohn

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Re: Trees for bare dirt Zone 10b/11a SoCal hillside?
« Reply #30 on: May 16, 2018, 06:53:56 PM »
Ah, interesting.  What beans do you plant?
I'm still trying to ID them. They were a gift from an aging neighbor who unfortunately died. The closest I've come is 'friholes cuernos' or 'horn bean' which is probably a generic name.
Here they are:

And on the vine:

And the row of vines. There is a dried-up row of black beans in front that are totally dried up. They were in the ground for 3 months whereas the healthy looking row has been in the ground for 6 months and seems to be starting a second life right now. They are supported on a frame but I've just left them on the ground in previous years.

« Last Edit: May 16, 2018, 07:04:26 PM by BajaJohn »