August 21, 2015
CapitalPress.com
5
Nurseries offer drought-resistant alternatives
By JULIA HOLLISTER
For the Capital Press
SAN FRANCISCO —
Parched by the 4-year-old
drought, California gardeners
are turning to nurseries for
help in relieving their water-
ing guilt.
One way is to re-
place thirsty lawns with
drought-tolerant
native
plants.
“The Bay Area is one of
only a few places on the plan-
et with remarkably diverse
native flora,” said Geoffrey
Coffey, general partner of
Bay Natives in San Francis-
co. “This is because of the
Mediterranean climate —
mild, wet winter, and nice,
warm summer and fog. There
are 7,000 different native
species in California and 75
percent are drought tolerant
— they only drink when it
rains.”
In this dry period he said
homeowners and gardeners
don’t have to let their lawns
die; they just have to re-think
the word “lawn.”
The challenge, he said, is
education. Lawns originally
came from England, where
it rains often and grass is a
lush green. When the English
settlers came to the Eastern
United States, the climate
supported lawns.
However, when settlers
came to California they
brought their mental bag-
gage, too, Coffey said. Most
of California is dry and lawns
have never made sense.
“You can still have a lawn
and a garden, just a differ-
ent type with native grass
that stays green because of
its long tap roots,” he said.
“Carex pausa is the most
popular grass that thrives in
sand dunes or just dirt.”
Coffey said he gets calls
every day from people asking
what they should do about
the drought.
“It is a challenge for peo-
ple to shift gears in their
thinking,” he said. “The real
work is to move past the pan-
ic and into new understand-
ing into a different kind of
gardening. My fear is there
are more people who are not
calling for advice, they are
just not watering.”
California beach straw-
berries are another option
for lawns, he said. “They are
happy being dry.”
Drought tolerant plants
are the same price as tradi-
tional plants, he said.
“It’s not a new idea but
one whose time has come,”
Coffey said.
Finding alternatives to tra-
ditional plants also is a major
concern for the state’s nurs-
ery industry. Consumer calls
have noticeably increased
over the past two years.
“Drought is very serious,
and we are taking a serious
approach and providing the
consumers with options and
information,” said Chris
Zanobini, president of the
California Association of
Nurseries and Garden Cen-
ters, a trade organization that
promotes the state’s nursery
industry.
The organization rep-
resents 300 nurseries state-
wide.
“There is no reason for
someone to over water and
there is no reason people
cannot continue to enjoy the
California lifestyle in their
homes and yard,” Zanobi-
ni said. “We are presenting
them with ways to use water
more efficiently.”
Zanobini said drought-re-
sistant plants have been in
demand and sales for suc-
culents and native plants are
high. There is also an effort
to utilize slow-release fertil-
izers that require less water.
Using mulch around plants
reduces evaporation, too.
“Consumers are coming
to nurseries looking for op-
tions and asking questions,”
he said.
Geoffrey Coffey, general partner
of Bay Natives in San Francisco,
receives calls daily from people
concerned about the lack of rain.
He says drought-resistant plants
are the answer.
Julia Hollister/For the Capital Press
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