Native Plants

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Thursday - October 22, 2015

From: Deville, LA
Region: California
Topic: Plant Lists, Poisonous Plants, Herbs/Forbs, Wildflowers
Title: Indoor and Outdoor, Fast Growing Plants for California
Answered by: Anne Van Nest

QUESTION:

I’m looking for the best plants for me. I have small kids so they would have to be safe. I would like them to be able to grow inside or outside. I would love for them to grow fast and reproduce fast.

ANSWER:

There are some native California plants that will grow indoors as well as outside such as Adiantum capillus-veneris (Southern maidenhair fern), but looking for the ones that will grow fast and reproduce fast as well as those that are non-toxic and safe for children really narrows the list. Also there are several California native cactus (in the Ferocactus, Escobaria, Opuntia and Mammillaria genera) that will grow indoors as well as in the garden but they have nasty spines and could be a hazard for small children.

Other ferns to try include Athyrium filix-femina (common lady fern).

Perhaps one of the native Salvias might grow well indoors as well as outdoors for you. Try Salvia spathacea (hummingbird sage) to see if it will work indoors. I could find no reference to this plant being poisonous (unlike some other Salvias). Good luck.

From the Image Gallery

Southern maidenhair fern
Adiantum capillus-veneris

Common lady fern
Athyrium filix-femina

Hummingbird sage
Salvia spathacea