MEETING REPORT: Tony Gurnoe's Southern California's Oaks in Managed Landscapes, September 2026
Although we had announced Jeremy Spath presenting on his horticultural work and adventures focused on plants like Agave and Dudleya, that discussion instead had to be postponed until November 21. Jeremy wanted me to pass along the fact that he would have better pottery to offer alongside his plants in November than he would have in September, so hopefully that is a bit of redemption for those who wish to shop. We want to thank the members who attended September's meeting despite that inconvenience. More personally, I appreciate the broad positive feedback on a presentation I had to work on until the morning of that very meeting.
Many of our members have heard me talk to some degree about oak trees but it's such a deep and broad subject that it's difficult for anybody to encapsulate the whole story of their significance in any single presentation. Based on some of the questions and responses after my Right Tree, Right Place, Right Care presentation earlier this year, I set out to create a presentation that would be relevant to San Diego's gardeners without losing the massively interconnected mystique of oaks and their interactions with the ecosystems they serve as foundations for.
Through this presentation we discussed several of the regionally native species of oaks best suited to horticultural use in San Diegan landscapes. These discussions included growth behavior of various species, what to look for and ask for in nurseries, and how to plan to plant oak trees in a way that establishes the greatest chance of success for that oak to eventually become a stately, majestic, and bountiful element of that landscape for generations to come.
For more details about these plants and their role in our gardens, check out this month's Editor's Armchair for a plant by plant analysis of the focal species from this presentation. Thank you all again for your patience, interest, and engagement!
Tony Gurnoe
