Succulents and Fennel in Los Angeles

[Anonymous]

My home is on a hillside near downtown Los Angeles.I'm not a gardener, so I just watered the plants thatwere here when I moved in. However, now I wouldlike to begin to SLOWLY convert the grounds into a nativegarden.

At present the front yard is dominated by succulents and fennel. I can't find anything about succulents in the books I've purchased about California natives. Are they non-natives? If so, would it be reasonableto begin my restoration by getting rid of themand replacing them with natives?

I gather that fennel is non-native and highlyinvasive; however I've noticed that it attractsladybugs and birds, esp. orioles.

So my idea would be to begin by replacing the succulents ifthey are INDEED non-native with natives that willnuture ladybugs and orioles. Any suggestions?

Then, once those plants are thriving, I'd get ridof the fennel. Is this a reasonable way to beginmy restoration? I am a complete ignoramus.

[Anonymous]

Susan,While there are several succulents native to our part of the state the chance that these are those is probably small.Do you know anything about gardening? If so, would you recognize Iceplant or Red-apple? Those are non native spreading groundcovers and should be removed before planting. One native that might be in the area is a succulent named Live-forever Dudleya, and is usually a solitary plant formed by a basal rosette of leaves. It should be saved.If it is a ground cover variety then take a piece to any good nursery and chances are they will tell you what it is. If it is native they most likely will NOT recognize it. Your first clue.We always wish to conserve natives like those Dudleya, so first make sure it is a non-native before ripping it out.The rest of your plan is logical, although leaving fennel in place is continue to build a seed bank that will make later eradication more difficult. Why not bite the bullet and put in good natives that grew in your area before it was graded and made into what it is today.The local chapter L.A./Santa Monica Mtns Chapter can give you a hand with finding out what that is. Many of these plants are great slope plants and will create far more diversity and habitat value for a wide variety of birds and other critters than would the fennel and a few accompanying native struggling between the choking fennel.Now is a great time to start planting with fall here and the temperatures cooling and rain, presumably, headed our way. Take the time to research, buy small plants one gallon is fine and water untill the rains begin. Then sit back and watch it slowly take over your slope. Weeding is the next big chore and is rather continual but decreases as the native vegetation you have selected and placed begins to take over the slope.Godd luck with what sounds like a great project!Dan</p>

[Anonymous]

Try Broadleaf Stonecrop sedum spathulifolium, a native succulent.

http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?special=calflora&where-taxon=Sedum+spathulifolium&where-anno=1

You can search www.calflora.org for all plants native to your zipcode.

Good luck!</p>