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I did this when I bought a house in Santa Cruz. Planted a bunch of natives, in particular bushes that flowered at different times of the year - ceanothus, manz

I did this when I bought a house in Santa Cruz. Planted a bunch of natives, in particular bushes that flowered at different times of the year - ceanothus, manzanita, etc. I happily had bees and other insects around the yard almost all the time. It's worth doing. Funny thing, monarch butterflies (and the caterpillars) seem to prefer the non-native Milkweed to the native variety.

pamelafox 4y ago
Which milkweed did you plant? I find that our Monarchs love narrow-leaf milkweed but HATE showy milkweed. They have to be absolutely desperate to nibble on it. Both are technically native, but clearly one of them is tastier.
- bmitc 4y ago
  The milkweed that I planted is common milkweed and swamp milkweed. I find swamp milkweed to be prettier, but they both seem extremely popular and they seemed to bloom at different times, which is a nice benefit. (I'm not certain about the bloom times as I'm going only on a year's experience.)
kccqzy 4y ago
In my yard, I didn't plant any milkweed but I found them growing on its own. Or at least, Google Lens told me it's milkweed. How do I know if they are native or not? How do I know if they are harmful or beneficial to the ice system, and whether I should remove them or let them grow? Where do you get this knowledge?
- bmitc 4y ago
  I use the app PictureThis (https://www.picturethisai.com/ https://www.picturethisai.com/) and then supplement it by researching the online on various sites. I don't have any particular sites to offer offhand, as I'm still figuring everything out myself. Another thing I have considered is buying some books from local native plant societies and organizations. They publish books that contain pictures and information of regionally native plants. They also have plant sales every year, where they sell native plants that have been grown by themselves or by known third-parties. In general, I have tried taking an additive approach. I have only removed plants that I knew for a fact, through the app and subsequent research, were non-native and particularly damaging.

pamelafox 4y ago

Which milkweed did you plant? I find that our Monarchs love narrow-leaf milkweed but HATE showy milkweed. They have to be absolutely desperate to nibble on it. Both are technically native, but clearly one of them is tastier.

bmitc 4y ago
The milkweed that I planted is common milkweed and swamp milkweed. I find swamp milkweed to be prettier, but they both seem extremely popular and they seemed to bloom at different times, which is a nice benefit. (I'm not certain about the bloom times as I'm going only on a year's experience.)

kccqzy 4y ago

In my yard, I didn't plant any milkweed but I found them growing on its own. Or at least, Google Lens told me it's milkweed. How do I know if they are native or not? How do I know if they are harmful or beneficial to the ice system, and whether I should remove them or let them grow? Where do you get this knowledge?

bmitc 4y ago
I use the app PictureThis (https://www.picturethisai.com/ https://www.picturethisai.com/) and then supplement it by researching the online on various sites. I don't have any particular sites to offer offhand, as I'm still figuring everything out myself. Another thing I have considered is buying some books from local native plant societies and organizations. They publish books that contain pictures and information of regionally native plants. They also have plant sales every year, where they sell native plants that have been grown by themselves or by known third-parties. In general, I have tried taking an additive approach. I have only removed plants that I knew for a fact, through the app and subsequent research, were non-native and particularly damaging.