GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: San Diego Is Not A Desert, But…
- k-england
- Jun 1
- 8 min read
By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! June 2025.
San Diego is Not a Desert, But…
There are many precious natives that are considered desert plants that do well in San Diego, and many are indigenous.
“Native desert plants thrive in hot, sunny areas with good drainage, perfect for a hot area near pavement. They support local ecosystems where there was previously none by providing nectar, seeds, and shelter to native birds, pollinators, and beneficial insects. These drought tolerant plants reduce water use and enrich your garden with vibrant blooms and unique textures year-round.” (WWW.CNPSSD.ORG)
BEAVERTAIL PRICKLYPEAR, Opuntia basilaris, with pads shaped like a beaver’s tail, has eye-catching slightly scented magenta, pink, and purple flowers in the spring through the beginning of the summer. This spreading succulent will grow to about 2 feet tall by about 5 feet wide, and stays green all year. To avoid getting stuck be careful not to touch the pads with bare hands. The flowers will attract pollinators and the plant supports butterflies, caterpillars, and bats.
Beavertail is found in the Southwestern deserts of the U.S., as well as in Mexico. Native people enjoy using the fruit, leaf, buds, and seeds as food. To successfully grow this plant in your garden, place it in a sunny to partially shady location that has fast draining sandy, or gravelly soil, such as sandstone or decomposed granite (DG)*. Do not water once established. If desired, remove dead pads, but only with gloved hands. Most prickly pears and chollas can be started from a single pad, or segment, so if a healthy one falls off, or you need to remove an awkward one, use it to start a new plant.
Possible Beavertail companion plants include Desert Agave, Agave deserti, Elephant Tree, Bursera microphylla, Desert Lavender, Condea emoryi, Barrel Cactus, Ferocactus cylindraceus, Chuparosa, Justicia californica, Palo Verde, Parkinsonia spp., Joshua Tree, Yucca brevifolia, Mojave Yucca, Yucca shidigera, and numerous native annuals.
OCOTILLO, Fouquieria splendens, is another good companion plant for Beavertail Pricklypear, and Jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis. Its tall long-limbed form provides a pleasant visual contrast to other desert plants. This unique plant is similar to the non-native African Ocotillo or Madagascar Ocotillo, Alluaudia procera, that is seen at the San Diego Zoo. The native succulent is found in northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. continent. Habitats for this plant include Creosote Bush Scrub, Desert-Holly Scrub, and Joshua Tree Woodland.
Their partly green stems are bare for much of the year, but after a rainfall they show their gratitude by covering those bare sticks with a plethora of tiny green leaves. In spring and summer, the tips of these branches may be covered with splendid red tube-shaped flowers. Its growth rate may be very slow, but it will outlive your grandchildren’s grandchildren.
This species needs full sun, fast draining rocky, sandy, or DG soil and a maximum of once-a-month summer watering once established. In the right conditions it will do well, and thrive when planted with some of these following additional native species: Creosote Bush, Larrea tridentata, Blue Paloverde, White Bursage, Ambrosia dumosa, Chuparosa, Justicia californica, Barrel Cactus, Desert Lavender, Condea emoryi, Indigo Bush, Apricot Mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa, other Opuntia spp., and numerous annual wildflowers. It supports bats, butterflies, caterpillars and moths including the strikingly beautiful Hemileuca electra rubra.
BRITTLEBUSH, Encelia farinosa or actonii, is another succulent that you might want to pair with Beavertail Pricklypear, Ocotillo, Fouquieria splendens ssp. splendens, and Jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis. This fragrant native occurs in desert habitats in southern California including Creosote Bush Scrub, Desert-Holly Scrub, and Joshua Tree Woodland. Its daisy-like, yellow and brown flowers will enhance your garden during the winter and spring. It is a fast-growing mounding or rounded shrub reaching up to 5 feet tall by 4 feet wide in a short time. This species supports bees, caterpillars and butterflies.
Locate Brittlebush in full sun with medium to fast draining DG soil. Once it is established it needs no more than a once-a-month summer watering. Its care is easy, including optional deadheading to encourage more new flowers. Summer, or fall is the best time to prune it, if you feel the need.
Many other native plants are good companions for it including Creosote Bush, Larrea tridentata, Blue Paloverde, White Bursage, Ambrosia dumosa, Chuparosa, Justicia californica, Barrel Cactus, Desert Lavender, Condea emoryi, Indigo Bush, Apricot Mallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa, other Opuntia spp., and numerous annual wildflowers.
JOJOBA, Simmondsia chinensis, occurs in Chaparral, Creosote Bush Scrub, and Joshua Tree Woodland that are found in the Peninsular Range and the Sonoran Desert. This shrub that may reach 7 feet tall and 7 feet wide may be pruned back as needed. In the spring it will give flowers of yellow and cream.
This beneficial plant will help stabilize banks, can be grown in containers, or as a hedge. Jojoba is a very valuable plant because the fruits are edible and the seeds are food for wildlife. As long as there is a male plant nearby, the female plant will produce acorn-like fruit which is the source of Jojoba oil. It appeals to and supports butterflies, moths, and caterpillars.
As it is a desert plant, it needs a sunny location with fast draining sandy, or DG soil and should not get summer watering once it is established. It is a perfect complement for Creosote Bush, Larrea tridentata, Desert Agave, Agave deserti var. simplex, and Rush Milkweed. San Diego Viguiera, California Buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum var. fasciculatum, Salvia spp., and Chaparral Yucca also work well with Jojoba in chaparral plant communities.
WILD MARIGOLD (Baileya multiradiata) is a sun loving potentially short-lived perennial, that reseeds itself. Its silver green foliage with tall stalks bearing flowers, similar to marigolds, is indigenous to western North America and northern Mexico. The disc flowers where the seeds develop remain, as the ray flowers fade. Yellow flowers show up during the spring and summer on this plant that gets to be about 2 feet tall by 1 foot wide. It is semi-deciduous in the summer and winter.
This deer resistant plant is suitable for containers and needs full sun with fast draining, sandy, or rocky soil. It does not like organic mulch or fertilizers. Once it is established it will only need a once-a-month summer watering.
Creosote Bush Scrub, and Joshua Tree Woodlands are the plant communities where Desert Marigold is found naturally. Creosote Bush, Larrea tridentata, Joshua Tree, Yucca brevifolia, Desert Lavender, Condea emoryi, Chuparosa, Justicia californica, Desert Agave, Agave deserti, California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera, Smoke Tree, Psorothamnus spinosus, Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis, Jojoba, Simmondsia chinensis, and various cactus species are plants that will grow alongside Desert Marigold. It also supports bees, butterflies, caterpillars, and moths, including a specialist, known as the Desert Marigold Moth.
DESERT PENSTEMON. Penstemon pseudospectabilis, is one of the desert plants that is considered suitable for gardens of San Diego. It does not occur naturally here, but is found in lower eastern California, mainly in the Mohave Desert. It occurs in sandy washes, scrub, including Creosote scrub, and woodland habitats. I was not going to include this one because it is not actually in our range, but its flowers are hard to resist, and if you live far enough east you may even attract the Anicia Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas anicia). The slightly fragrant blooms, which occur in the spring are magnets for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds who won’t want to stay away from this sweet desert plant.
Desert Penstemon takes more water than any of the others talked about in this article during our dry summers, but still only twice a month once it is established. This is despite the fact that it is only found naturally in the desert. It will grow moderately in fast draining rocky, gravely, or sandy soil and should be in full sun. It is suitable for containers. Native plant companions include Manzanitas, Arctostaphylos spp., Ceanothus spp., Brittlebush, Encelia spp., Lupine, Lupinus spp., California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica, Dudleya spp., and various cactus species.
These species are among the many native plants that support biodiversity, and help preserve our environment, by not needing fertilizers and only needing minimal watering. For specific requirements in your area, always consult with the experts at the nursery regarding the needs of each plant and its growth habits, when planning or making purchases. The plants in this article are typically available at local native nurseries and the CNPS fall plant sale. For more information on these species and the companion species please see Calscape.org.
Please come see the California Native Plant Society’s garden exhibit at the San Diego “Summer Pet-tacular” County Fair.
June 11 - July 6, 2025. I think you will enjoy this spectacular display!
Looking for gardens for the 2026 California Native Plant Society Garden Tour:
"We would love to feature your native garden on the tour! We’re looking for inspiring gardens located south of I-8 and west of SR-125) to be featured in the 2026 CNPS San Diego Native Garden Tour, happening April 11 & 12, 2026."
The communities are: Hillcrest, University Heights, North Park, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, Paradise Hills, National City, Chula Vista, Bonita, Imperial Beach, Otay Ranch, and East Lake.
To find out more about participating, go to: https://cnpssd.org/2026-garden-tour/
(*If you have dogs that make use of your landscaped areas, please consider using gravel instead of DG which can get stuck in their paws and tracked into your home.)
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