Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

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Saturday - April 16, 2011

From: Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Region: California
Topic: Groundcovers
Title: Drought resistant ground cover for Rancho Cucamonga CA
Answered by: Barbara Medford

QUESTION:

I live in Southern California. Could you please recommend a low maintenance, drought resistant ground cover that does not attract rodents to create as their home (more than one suggestion would be GREAT!)? I would like to place this on the slope in my backyard that faces South, which gets a lot of sun.

ANSWER:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is dedicated to the growth, propagation and protection pf plants native not only to North America but to the areas in which those plants grow natively. While we could go through our Native Plant Database and find some suggestions for plants that might be appropriate for ground covers, we know of an excellent nursery in Southern California, Las Pilitas, that has a list of ground covers native to your area, not all of which have made it into our database, which is always a work in progress. There are good pictures and growing suggestions and, even if it is not convenient for you to visit that nursery, you will have information for your garden.