Easy Perennials for Southern California

Southern California is a grower's paradise for many flowers thanks to our climate. Perennial is latin for 'through' and 'year' meaning that they should last at least a couple years, with flowers growing and blooming in spring and summer, dying back in fall and winter, and coming back the next spring and summer. However, many perennials can continue blooming for many years in Southern California's climate before being replaced. Here are some easy perennials that continue to give beautiful blooms year after year:

Lily of the Nile photo by Mark Imhof

Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus): A striking combination of green foliage with long slender leaves that blooms in summer with a ball of multiple purple, blue, or white mini trumpet flowers on a long stalk that reaches up a few feet tall. Does well in full sun areas and can be divided in clumps to replant.

California Fuchsia photo by Stan Shebs

California Fuchsia (Zauschneria californica): This variety is perfect for hotter parts of So Cal because it is considered heat-resistant. This variety has grey-green leafy foliage and long-blooming bright orange, red and fuchsia flowers that last summer into fall. This variety does benefit from pruning to encourage fuller growth.

Butterfly Iris photo by Kristina Palmer

Butterfly Iris (Dietes bicolor): This perennial does well in sun or shade and in hard to grow spots. However, the sunnier the location, the more blooms. Each bloom has a short life of only about a day but it continuously gives off masses of flowers starting in early spring throughout the summer. It has upward, spiky leaves and does well in many types of soil. This variety can also be split and replanted.

Santa Barbara Daisy photo by Rob D. Brodman

Santa Barbara Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus): A blooming superstar and fast spreader with grey-green leaves and small, yellowed centered blooms. Petals start off white and mature into pink and purple. It is one of the earliest bloomers in spring and lasts long into fall. These do well in part sun and can be used to cascade in containers and planters. It also attracks beneficial insects!




Although you can plant perennials any time of the year in Southern California, planting perennials in the early fall helps get their root sytem established to bloom strong by spring and summer. At Pacific Vista Landscape Services we are experts on all types of flowers and adding color to your garden. We are dedicated to maintaining the beauty and value of your landscape!

Property Management: Smart Landscaping

Image by Camden Addison

Being smart and thinking long-term when choosing landscaping for a multi-residential property is key for lasting beauty. Landscaping large properties usually incorporates a combination of hard-scape and soft-scapes that look good initially but should also mature well with the site and not lead to expensive replacement issues down the line.

Property Manager Insider's 'Six Property Management Tips for Creating a Long-Term Landscaping Plan' has some great pointers for making smart choices."Those small trees that uniformly frame the clubhouse or the lush grass under a newly planted young Live Oak may look great now, but changes in available light, water supply, and nutrients over the course of several growing seasons could drastically alter the appearance and force you to replace them at additional cost and headache. 

That’s why apartment property owners should consider a long-term landscape plan that will not only minimize expenses but ensure that the community always looks its best several years down the road:

1. Envision the Property’s Horizon

Look at your horizon on the property and set a goal. Is the goal to create as much shade and greenery for the property as possible, or is it maintaining a clean-cut, colorful landscape that needs plenty of sun?

2. Consider Landscape Maturity

Plants will grow to maturity under normal growing conditions. When planning a landscape, property owners should envision what the property will look like as plant life matures and be prepared to make changes as necessary.

Avoid focusing on what a plant or tree looks like when it’s young: installing a young bush or tree that will be much larger at maturity in a small area could lead to larger issues as it grows. Even if trimmed and not allowed to reach its full growth potential, the plant can break down and be susceptible to disease because of the smaller space.

3. Manage Impact of Sun and Shade

Plants and trees compete for water, sunlight, and nutrients and sometimes only the strongest survive. A blooming plant that appears to grow in harmony next to a young tree will struggle as the tree matures and its canopy spreads to 50 feet across, creating more shade than sunlight. Property owners should incorporate into their master plan what the next step will be if a big tree dies or what will happen to blooming material as the tree gets older.

4. Prepare for Changing Conditions

Weather and changing conditions are big factors to consider when developing a long-term plan. Extreme conditions may tempt property owners to abandon the plan and move in a new direction. But conditions that are here today won’t necessarily be around for long. For example, during the recent drought in the southern U.S., water supplies were depleted for several months, damaging many landscapes that were designed with plant life that requires ample water.

5. Commit to Tree Trimming and Maintenance

Whatever the landscape components, maintenance is fundamental in order to stick to the plan. Skipping routine tree trimming, for example, will extend the tree’s canopy and affect the growth of other nearby plant life. Grass and other shrubs may die and require replanting at an additional expense.

6. Look into the Future

Nobody can predict the future, but it’s fairly certain that world water supply will continue to be an issue as the population grows so managing what is becoming a finite water supply is important. You also need to keep in mind that areas will experience once-in-a-century floods and drought, along with colder and warmer than normal temperatures. Plant life will be affected. A long-term plan should consider this important factor and include introducing material best suited for what lies ahead."

Whether we are working on a new, complex installation, renovation, or a simple site improvement, our professional crews at Pacific Vista Landscape Services have years of experience using the industry established "best practices" to install both hard-scape and soft-scapes. Pacific Vista delivers the best in workmanship and finest of materials to ensure landscapes retain a lasting beauty. Our team of seasoned pros pay attention to every detail to make certain your vision comes to life!