Hydraulic Lift and Redistribution of Water for the Benefit of other Plants in San Diego County

Creeping Snowberry
(Symphoricarpos mollis)

On my last week spent in San Diego County and while on my way back to Escondido from Ranchita, I took a detour of of Hwy 79 south before Santa Ysabel and headed directly west on Hwy 76 along the Lake Henshaw & San Luis Rey River route. I stopped and took photographs of something I remembered seeing and intrigued with back in the early 1990s. These are the heavily forested areas containing many many Oaks of all kinds. These Oak forests along here attract and provide life for a great many smaller plants which in turn provide food and habitat for a biodiverse community. This should give gardeners and landscapers clues as to design. But I had always noticed when taking this route to Temecula, several plants which thrive ONLY in association with these large Oak Trees. the wild wood or mountain Rose and plants like Creeping Snowberry.

Photo: Mine

Photo: Mine

Reservation along Hwy 76. numerous small creeping plants find a pleasant home in and among the Oak tree canopy and outer drip line of their crowns. This area is rich in Creeping Snowberry  (Symphoricarpos mollis). They are perfect for planting under native California Oaks as those leaves are oval to rounded and easily fall through the small plants interior, where Sycamores with much larger leaves would be a major  maintenance issue covering the plants. Besides, Oak Mulch makes a great compost and feed for the under story plants.  Here is a much bigger link for which you may Zoom in. I found that other plants there do very well as companion plants. Native Currants, Ferns, even Coral Bells and Elderberry.

Magnified View of Symphoricarpos mollis

Photo: Kevin Franck (June 2013)

This group of riparian trees above, Cottonwood, Willow  and Mexican Elderberry are also associated with not only Snow Pea, but also Wild Rose. Do any of them look to be competing or chocking out their neighbours in some religious ritual known as "Survival of the Fittest" ??? Hardly. But blind faith in human construct dogmas are hard to weed out. And yes, many evolutionary concepts from an ignorant Victorian Era period have held on and ruined many an ecosystem ever since. 

Photo: Kevin Franck (June 2013)

This is an Oak Tree at the bottom of my brother's property in  Ranchita California. This region in many ways is very much an interior high desert ecosystem. Very dry, cold/hot and windy at times from  any direction. And yet, take a closer look underneath That Oak tree. 

Photo: Mine

On a much closer inspection, this is Chaparral Honeysuckle (Lonicera interupta) and may seem odd at first being way out on this dry flat, especially considering it is still recovering from the infamous Pines Fire of 2002. Yet, no doubt, some bird stopped at this weigh station rest area and took a literal dump for which it may have previously fed on Honeysuckle fruit. Or perhaps a Coyote or some other animal. They are not opposed to eating fruits, berries or seeds to supplement their diet of meat. In any event, there it is under an Oak tree. This plant however, is very tough and will fine out in the open, as another future post specifically on this particular plant will show. But it is a great plant to add under various trees among other natives out in your urban landscape back in the city.

Photo: Mine

This plant here is abundant everywhere and photo is from Burnt Valley area of Anza California. It is Squaw Bush (Rhus trilobata). It can be confused by some for Poison Oak and if you are sensitive,  it could cause some irritation. This is another beautiful plant, often overlooked, but has beautiful berries and deep Burgundy red Fall colouration. Goes well with similar plants under trees or Chaparral. All these plants will network well together above and below the ground, which ultimately should be your goal.

Next, these photos below are of my Mum's place and the plants I chose to fill in under the California Sycamore trees. These trees are deeply rooted and feeding from the aquifer below, but with good mycorrhizal networking and compatible companion plants with which the trees could interconnect with and mutualistically help each other survive. I know I keep drumming this Hydraulic Lift and Redistribution phenomena into the ground, but seriously, this should be basic elementary school stuff. But you simply don't hear these terms with reference to landscaping and gardening and yet everyone NEEDS TO! Anyway, below is what I chose and perhaps I should have done more of years before, but unfortunately left 7 years ago.

Photo: Mine

Photo: Mine

Both of these plants above are Chaparral Currant (Ribes malvaceum) These were purchased at Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery at the Escondido store on old Hwy 395. These were planted my third  week in El Cajon CA and inoculated with Mycorrhizal Fungal spores and beneficial bacteria from MycoApply. Again, I'd never plant any new plant without such applications. City-scapes are a mess and need reintroduction, despite what any naysayers will tell you. Do believe me ? Then proceed with the flawed conventional science-based recommended by commercial elements with a vested interest. These were extremely small when first planted. They are at time of photo six weeks old the day before I left there.

Photo: Mine

Fuchsia Flowering Gooseberry(Ribes speciosum)

I had one planted on the other side of these Sycamores, but under some Canary Island Pines and Tecate Cypress. I love this   plant and put it there to not only fill in between three trees,   but create a screen to keep my Mum's stupid Wiener Dog (Dachshund) out of there. Insane dog.

Photo: Mine

Photo: Mine

These next two are California Coffeeberry (Rhamnus californica) "San Bruno" dwarfed variety. I love these small Coffeeberries   and they are placed towards the south end of the Sycamore drip-line.   They should do excellent. The top photo has a plant that had lots of   flowers, but no leaf buds. All energy was being put into flower   production, but I'd rather have the leafs to begin with. The bottom   one took off like a rocket with new growth, but something has been   attacking it, and I'm assuming large Grasshopper as they were  everywhere. In fact the Cat was capturing many. But it still  looks to be doing very well.

Photo: Mine

 Western Redbud (Cercis occidentalis)

There is another much larger plant to the right and above of this  photo and it's 67 years old and doing wonderfully. Flowered for the first time this year. This plant was pathetic when  I purchased it here, but with inoculation with Fungal spores and some watering, those pale (almost see through) leaves  with red veins became large newer leaves with deep green. You can see one of the original tiny leafs at the bottom of this plant. It also coloured up nicely.

Photo: Mine

http://www.medford.watersmartgardening.com/eplant.php?plantnum=20596&return=l7_aR

 This plant, also purchased at Las Pilitas Native Plant Nursery is a Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus laevigatus) or so I thought  as it was labeled as such. The leaves appear different, so I'll have to wait for next visit. Still, it's a kool shady looking plant and was nothing before I planted it. It's grown wonderfully. The closest I could find as  far as identification is from this link which labels is Smoothed Leaf  Snowberry, but it's got the same identical scientific name. Here is a  link to a northwestern gardening website in Medford Oregon. As you  can see from a comparison of the photo above and the photo in the   link below, there is clearly some distinct similarities with what is listed  as (Symphoricarpos albus laevigatus)

Photo: Mine

And finally, this is the same Sugarbush  (Rhus ovata) I may have referenced at the start of my visit this year, but it's the final day there and I've since trimmed up the bottom and side branches to encourage more upwards growth with the multi-trunk. This is located on the south sun facing side of the California Sycamores. I'm hoping it will balloon up and out wider. Originally I wanted to create an example of a Chaparral Tunnel with that Laurel Sumac I had at the eastern end of the planter (still on the south facing side), but for which the neighbour freaked out and insisted it come out because it would destroy his block wall. It never would have, but oh well, to keep peace.  You can see the trunk of the tree someone else put it. An African Sumac, not exactly my choice, but again, 'Oh Well'

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More reading:

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/symphoricarpos-mollis

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/lonicera-interrupta

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/ribes-malvaceum

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rosa-californica

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/ribes-speciosum

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rhamnus-californica-san-bruno

http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/rhus-trilobata