I thought it might have died in there, since I watched it for a good two minutes with no movement. It turns out that "passing out" in flowers is a thing that bees do sometimes.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.crimedad.work/post/91685

Solar project to destroy thousands of Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert

cross-posted from: https://jorts.horse/users/fathermcgruder/statuses/112563861339745778

Solar project to destroy thousands of Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/solar-project-destroy-thousands-joshua-100000768.html

It's crazy to me that a destructive photovoltaic solar project like this one is considered reasonable, but a new nuclear power plant within or adjacent to a city is beyond the pale.

@usa

Hi, Reddit refugee lurker here, missing r/Ceanothus. It would be great if more people start posting content here since the niche communities are what’s really missing. To that end, behold my Coulter’s Matilija Poppy! I planted it as a 1 gallon from a CNPS sale last October, and it has had amazing growth over the past 8 months!

Yerba Santa is actually several closely related annual plant species native to California and Oregon. In my personal experience, Yerba Santa can frequently be found along roadsides and in disturbed soils in the Sierra Nevadas, but CalScape suggests that they're mainly found in the mountains around SoCal and along the Pacific side of the Diablo range. The leaves are tough and leathery with a rich, dark green coloration on top and a fuzzy underside that looks much paler. The plant can be a little unpleasant to handle due to the sticky resin it secretes. The leaves are long and toothed, and grow off of stems that don't branch. I've never seen a single yerba Santa plant by itself, it almost always grows in small, dense clusters like you see in the picture. Yerba Santa also puts off clusters of trumpet-like purple-white flowers from the top that are used by native butterflies, but I haven't seen this in person.

Multiple sources report the medicinal use of Yerba Santa by both First Nations

Chenopodium Album, also known as Goosefoot, Pigweed, or Lambsquarters, is a member of the amaranth family that has become endemic to much of California up to 5900 ft in elevation. It's originally native to Europe and Asia, where it has been known to be grown as a food crop for people and livestock.

Lambsquarters' distinguishing features include soft, arrowhead-shaped, gently toothed, dark green foliage that appears silvery-gray on the underside of the leaf; the leaves also can have a fine, white powdery substance dusting their surfaces; the plant is an annual that has a large, shrub-like growth habit that I've seen grow to roughly seven feet high under good conditions, though most top out around four of five feet; it has strong stems that, as the plant ages, get streaked with purple and dry to a woody texture when the plant has died; in the late summer and early fall, the plant manifests inflorescences from which very small, black seeds will eventually fall.* The plant prefers distur

Hello, everyone!

I'm going to start profile common invasive species to the central valley to help people recognize them, know which are good, bad, and ugly, and distinguish them from true natives. I'm starting with a special guest the central valley drivers will soon be getting re-acquainted with: the Tumbleweed (Salsola sp.). The tumbleweed, also known as Russian Thistle, was first introduced by Russian immigrants to the Dakotas in the late 1800s. The plant spread aggressively, and was in California before the turn of the century.

In terms of physical characteristics, Salsolas tend to have a darker, olive green appearance, with the larger stalks taking on purple-hued streaks later in the season. The leaves are sort of clusters of feathery spines (with some not so feathery spines mixed in for good measure). Later in their growth season, they have small, purple-hued flower like structures (though I don't think they're true flowers) at the nodes. They have an erect habit that forms a s

This is a list of reputable brands, seed dealers, and nurseries for acquiring native plants, both online and offline. If you'd like to add one to the list, just post it below, and I'd appreciate a little blurb about your experience with them or why you find them reputable.

The list is currently pretty sparse, but with everybody's help, we can make a great list!

Nurseries

Online

Offline

SoCal

NorCal

Bay Area

Central Valley

Sierra Nevada

Mariposa

Creekside Nursery

Address: 5047 Stroming Rd, Mariposa, CA 95338

Phone: (209) 742-5107

Web: https://www.creeksidemariposa.com/

Blurb: Small nursery, literally by Mariposa creek. Known to carry several native shrubs including Ceanothus sp. and California Rose, as well as seeds for California Poppies.

Brands

Online

Offline

SoCal

NorCal

Bay Area

Central Valley

Sierra Nevada

Seed Dealers

Online

Offline

SoCal

NorCal

Bay

Make sure you're planting a native species for your area first! Milkweeds have a very wide range, and there's been issues with tropical milkweeds being planted here in California, since they don't go dormant during the fall and winter. That means that:

• Along the coast, they're more likely to be exposed to high levels of moisture that will promote disease growth that can be spread to Monarchs
• Monarchs might lay their eggs on the non-dormant plants instead of migrating, which will likely cause the caterpillars to die, being out of season.

California has some 15 species of milkweed that are native, with one of the more common being the narrowleaf milkweed. You can buy seeds for narrowleaf milkweed online, and now's the time to do it if you plan on directly sowing the seeds, since they need to get cold in order to germinate reliably.

Some fast facts about milkweed:

-It's a perennial, and once established will continue to spread through tubers.

-It's very drought tolerant once e

If you've ever thought about planting some native plants, early fall is usually the ideal time to start planting for California natives. I'm considering picking up some more California Poppy seeds, as well as some milkweed. I have other ambitions for some larger shrubs, like Manzanita or Flannel Bush, but I don't know how well that's going to go. The biggest battle I'm currently fighting is that I'm lobbying to replace our crepe myrtle with a Toyon shrub.

Do you guys have any natives that you're considering planting?

In case you're interested in learning more about or advocating for native flora, it's definitely worth checking out the CNPS. They've got chapters all over California, and many of them regularly do relatively easy hikes for educational purposes. Also, October is the month that most chapters participate in a native plant sale, so your local chapter may have some native plants available for you right now!

Hello, everyone! I thought I'd share this really neat in-depth presentation on how to make a garden with native trees and shrubs that requires very little to no irrigation and doesn't look deep fried by July.