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8/6/2019 Garden Replacing Ice Plant
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Technical Elements
Replacing Ice Plant
Years ago, Freeway iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis) wastouted as the perfect solution for fire safety. Planted on
hillsides of thousands of homes in San Diego, it hassince crawled off the original site and into neighboringOpen Space parks, endangering unique plants bysmothering them. Iceplant provides little habitat valuecompared to the plant community that it is replacing.Compared to the native shrubs, Iceplant has veryshallow roots that do not hold soil well; closeinspection often reveals gullies underneath the twistedmat of vines. After rain, Iceplant engorges with water,substantially increasing its weight. As a result, Iceplantcan cause the deterioration of steep hillsides byencouraging slumping potentially endangering the
house above.
PROCEDURE:
First, remove the iceplant. Then add native containerplants, leaving the dead iceplant to act as mulch whilethe container plants become established. Keep an eyeout for volunteers of native plants, which may returnonce the iceplant is removed.1. Remove the Iceplant:
Because of its shallow roots, iceplant can be easilypulled, piled up and left to dry out (which will takeseveral months).If erosion on a steep hillside is a concern, iceplant can
be killed in place by spraying with 2% (finalconcentration) of Roundup. Choose a low-wind day.Check the label for precise directions on use. Theactive ingredient, glyphosate, is essentially non-toxic
California Native Plant Society - San Diego Chapter
c/o San Diego Natural History Museum - P.O. Box 121390,San Diego, CA 92112-1390 - [email protected]
Thanks to Carrie Schneider and BruceHanson for their ideas and botanica
knowledge in the preparation of thisbrochure
to humans and other animals its target is an enzymespecific to plants; it does not bioaccumulate and i
breaks down over time. It binds tightly to soil particlesand is therefore unlikely to wash from the site. Roundupwill not kill seeds, but it will kill desirable plants, whichmay be covered while one sprays. It will take severaweeks for sprayed plants to start yellowing. A goodschedule to follow is: treat in the spring or summer, thenplant or sow seed in the late fall.2. Plant container plants
First, decide what plants are appropriate, figure ouwhere to get them, and then plant them.
Plant Choice
First, there may be a viable native seed bank, so keepan eye out for volunteers of native plants, which wilreturn once the shade by the Iceplant is removed. Nextchoose plants based on the habitat type that originallyexisted on your hillside. If possible, find a nearby areawith native vegetation, and study the slopes that havethe orientation as yours (for example, south-facing onorth-facing). The native plants growing there are theones that will be successful on your hillside with theleast maintenance.
The plants in the table below are chosen because theyare easy to grow plants, are distributed widely on
hillsides around San Diego, and are consistent witheasy fire-zone management, because their foliageresists ignition, or they can be pruned easily to reducefire risk. Many other native plants fit these criteria.
used with permission of www.laspilitas.com
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.laspilitas.com/http://www.laspilitas.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]8/6/2019 Garden Replacing Ice Plant
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Appropriate Plants
Trees or tree-like shrubsHeteromeles arbutifoliaToyon
Quercus dumosaScrub OakQuercus agrifoliaCoast Live Oak
Quercus engelmanniiEngelmann Oak
Rhus integrifoliaLemonadeberry - use sparingly, plants become quite large.
Broad-leaf shrubs
Ceanothussp. California Lilac
Isomeris arboreaBladderpod
Lonicera subspicataChaparral Honeysuckle
Malosma laurinaLaurel Sumac
Prunus illicifolia ssp. illicifoliaHollyleaf Cherry
Rhamnus californicaCoffeeberry
Rhamnus croceaRedberry
Ribes speciosumFuschia-flowered Gooseberry
Simmondsia chinensisJojoba
Groundcovers
Sisyrinchium bellumBlue-eyed Grass (a perennial bulb that spreads)
Artemisia douglasianaDouglas Sage
Epilobium (formerly Zauschneria) California Fuchsia
Eriogonumspp. Buckwheat
Solidago californicaCalifornia Goldenrod
Iva hayesianaIva
Succulents, Cactus, Yucca
These can be easily propagated without irrigation, and they provide substantial habitat benefits. There are a number of
species - find the one that is native to your area.
Cylindropuntiasp. Cholla species (e.g. Opuntia prolifera)
Cylindropuntiasp. Prickly-pear species (e.g. Opuntia littoralis)
Dudleyasp. Dudleya species (e.g. Dudleya pulverulenta)
Yucca schidigeraMojave Yucca
used with permission of www.laspilitas.com
http://www.laspilitas.com/http://www.laspilitas.com/