AGEH 27: Evergreen Ornamentals
Shasta Campus,
City Hall and Cypress Square
Arctostaphylos viscida
Whitelaf Manzanita
Arctostaphylos viscida
Whiteleaf Manzanita
• Native to California
and Oregon
• In foothills and conifer
forest
• Stems of flowers and
fruits sticky
• Manzanita is Spanish
for Little Apple
• Native Americans
used seeds to make
cider
Cedrus deodara, Deodar cedar
pine family, Pinaceae
The species name is derived s from
the Sanskrit term devadāru, which
means "wood of the gods", a
compound of deva (god)
and dāru (wood, tree). This tree is
sacred to Hindus, and is the national
tree of Pakistan.
Cedrus deodara, Deodar cedar
pine family, Pinaceae
• Large tree, native to
Himalayas
• Needs full sun and moderate
water
• True cedar: needles sharp, in
tufted clusters on short side
shoots; cone upright,
disintegrates when mature
• Droopy leader
Cotoneaster horizontalis
rockspray cotoneaster
rose family, Rosaceae
Cotoneaster horizontalis
rockspray cotoneaster
• Stiff, angular habit
• Low to medium ground cover or espalier
Cotoneaster horizontalis
rockspray cotoneaster
• ID: white to pink
flowers, red
berries, no
thorns
• ID: small shiny,
entire leaves,
herringbone
pattern of leaves
and stiff side
branches
Cupressus arizonica, Arizona cypress
Cypress family, Cupresssaceae
Cupressus arizonica,
Arizona cypress
• Very drought tolerant, but will
tolerate moderate water
• Reluctant to burn (this is
good)
• Mass for windbreak or screen
• Resists cypress canker
• Form ‘Blue Ice’ (shown) and
others
Eriobotrya japonica, loquat
rose family, Rosaceae
Eriobotrya japonica, loquat
• 15-30 ft high and wide, full
sun to part shade, moderate
to regular water (more water
if growing for fruit)
• good in containers or
espaliered
• subject to fireblight
• if planting for fruit, buy a
named form, and check to
see if a second tree is
needed for pollination.
Eriobotrya japonica, loquat
• ID: leaves rusty-woolly
underneath, ovate, toothed,
with obvious pinnate veins
• Blooms in winter; white
flowers in pyramid-shaped
clusters, fragrant
• Fruit a pome, ripening in
spring, apricot-colored
Fireblight
Bacterial disease affecting
pome-producing members of
the rose family (apple, pear,
loquat, quince, cotoneaster,
pyracantha)
Shoots blacken and die,
appearing burned; appears in
moist spring weather.
Disinfect pruners after every cut,
remove damaged material 8
inches below the blighted
tissue.
Eucalyptus camuldulensis,
red river gum, Myrtaceae
Large tree, to 150 ft.
tall; adult leaves
slender, lance-shaped;
“unimportant” pale
flowers; “a tree for
skylines”
In hot years, leaves
have “lerp psyllid”
insect tents on leaves
Parasitoid wasp of red gum lerp psyllid
Red gum lerp psyllid
Lerp psyllids are small
insects that suck sap from
leaves; nymphs look like
tents, excrete honeydew
which makes sooty mold;
cause leaf drop; discovered
in S. Cal in 1998, attack
many eucalypts
Parasitoid wasps have been
released to control psyllids,
so do not spray trees
Eucalyptus polyanthemos
silver dollar gum
myrtle family, Myrtaceae
Eucalyptus polyanthemos
silver dollar gum
myrtle family, Myrtaceae
• Juvenile leaves rounder,
adult leaves more lanceshaped; susceptible to
wind and snow
• Leaves one per node
(alternate) with a definite
petiole (leaf stalk)
• Flowers white
• Prune if you want juvenile
foliage
• Bark is fibrous, brown
Heteromeles arbutifolia
toyon, hollywood
rose family (Rosaceae)
Heteromeles arbutifolia
toyon, hollywood
rose family (Rosaceae)
• Shrub native to CA, including
Redding area—common
around Whiskeytown
• White flowers, red winter
‘berries’ (actually pomes)
• takes part to full shade
Heteromeles arbutifolia
toyon, hollywood
rose family (Rosaceae)
• ID: Leaf teeth point out, not
forward; not painfully spiny to
touch; margins flat, not wavy
• White flowers, red winter
‘berries’ (actually little
pomes),
• Berries in pyramidal, not flattopped clusters
Heteromeles arbutifolia
toyon, hollywood
rose family (Rosaceae)
• More ID: medium to large
shrubs; branches erect, not
arching
• New leaf growth not bright
red
• Ten stamens per flower—
photinias have 20 stamens
per flower
This is the plant that the city of
Hollywood was named after
Original Sign in 1920’s
Sign as it looks today
Juniperus procumbens
Japanese garden juniper
cypress family, Cupressaceae
• Low spreading
ground cover,
blue-green
• Leaves are all awlshaped, sharp
• procumbens
means low,
trailing, lying down
Mahonia lomariifolia,
Chinese barberry
barberry family, Berberidaceae
Mahonia lomariifolia,
Chinese barberry
barberry family, Berberidaceae
•Native to China, Z 7-9
•Large “architectural”
shrub, 6-12 x 6 ft, erect
stems branch only
slightly
•leaves compound, 19-41
very stiff, thick leaflets
•flowers midwinter
•afternoon shade
recommended, regular
water
M. lomariifolia on left, M. aquifolium
on right
Pinus sabiniana
Gray Pine
Pinus sabiniana
Gray Pine
• 3 needles in a bundle
• Native Americans
used pine nuts for
food
• Only known food of
the catepillars of the
gelechid moth
Pinus sabiniana
Gray Pine
• Found in foothills
surrounding the
central valley
Pinus wallichiana,
Himalayan white pine
pine family, Pinaceae
Pinus wallichiana,
Himalayan white pine
pine family, Pinaceae
• 50-ft. pine from the
Himalayas (can reach
150 ft in the wild)
• Keeps branches to the
ground
• 5-needles per bundle
• long, soft, droopy
needles
• cones like a small
western white pine—
long and narrow
Xylosma congesta, xylosma
flacourtia family, Flacourtiaceae
Xylosma congesta,
xylosma
• Arborescent
• Grown for shiny green
foliage
• Alternate, ovate to
lanceolate, serrate leaves
• Dioecious—flowers small,
in congested clusters,
greenish
• Older plants with shaggy
gray bark
Pinus halepensis, Aleppo pine,
pine family, Pinaceae
Pinus halepensis, Aleppo pine,
pine family, Pinaceae
•Mediterranean
native, adaptable
to poor conditions,
“rugged character”
•Cone not armed
•2 needles per
bundle
Pinus mugo, Mugho pine, Pine family
Pinus mugo, Mugho pine, Pine family
• arborescent shrub pine, size varies
• 2-needled
• cones small, with prickle on each umbo
• Native to Alps, Europe
Sequoiadendron giganteum
Giant sequoia
Sequoiadendron giganteum
giant sequoia
• awl-like leaves,
• woody cones much larger than coast
redwood cones
Cycas revoluta, Sago “palm”
cycad family, Cycadaceae
NOT A PALM, A
GYMNOSPERM
Sexes on separate
plants, making either a
pollen cone or seed
cone
Cycas revoluta, Sago “palm”
cycad family, Cycadaceae
•Native to Japan, Z 8-24, hardy to 15
degrees, so grow where sheltered or in
movable container, too much cold
makes speckled foliage
•grows very slowly to 10 x10 ft; tough
and tolerant, and even good for bonsai
•ID: feather leaf very flexible, deep
green
• Cycads, including Sago “Palm” are extremely
poisonous to animals (this includes humans) if
ingested.
• Pets are at particular risk since they seem to find
the plant very palatable.
• Clinical symptoms of ingestion will develop within
12 hours and may include vomiting, diarrhea,
weakness, seizures, liver failure.
• The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
estimates a fatality rate of 50 to 75 percent when
ingestion of the Sago Palm is involved.
Propagate cycads from pups
Cut off or dig pups in
late winter
Remove leaves and
allow to dry
Pot in well-draining
mix, in a pot that
matches size of pup
Roots and leaves will
take time to grow (18
mos)
www.rhapisgardens.com/sagos/
sagopups.htm
Feather Palms
(pinnately lobed fronds)
Phoenix canariensis
Canary Island date palm
palm family, Arecaceae
• Native to Canary Islands
• Big, heavy trunked, to 60 ft.
• Hardy to 20 degrees,
tolerates seacoast conditions
where warm enough
• Dying in Los Angeles;
succumbing to Fusarium wilt,
a fungal disease
• Brought to California by the
Mission Fathers
Phoenix canariensis
Canary Island date palm
palm family, Arecaceae
• Fronds deep
green with
many leaflets
• no petiole -spiky leaflets
all the way to
base of frond
• Young fronds
very stiff-spiny
• Young fronds
very stiff-spiny!
Fan Palms
(palmately lobed fronds)
Chamaerops humilis
Mediterranean fan palm
palm family, Arecaceae
Clumping palm, to 20
x 20 ft
Survives 0 degrees
briefly
Use in containers,
mass under trees,
hedge; takes poor soil
and strong winds,
regular water
Chamaerops humilis,
Mediterranean fan palm
“piranha teeth”
Chamaerops humilis
Mediterranean fan palm
ID: fan leaves cut at
least 2/3 of way to
stalk—palmately
lobed
teeth on frond stalk
are long and widelyseparated (piranha
teeth)
Washingtonia robusta, Mexican fan palm
palm family, Arecaceae
Washingtonia robusta, Mexican fan palm
palm family, Arecaceae
• Tall plant, to 100 ft., trunk
slim and maybe curved,
compact head of foliage,
good for large properties,
avenues, parkways
• Hardy to 20 degrees;
damaged in the cold winter,
but OK if in ground
Washingtonia robusta, Mexican fan palm
• ID: Palmate leaf divided about
1/3 to ½ of way to leaf stalk
• Leaf stalk heavily toothed,
teeth often golden (“shark
tooth”)
Washingtonia robusta, Mexican fan palm
palm family, Arecaceae
“ Washingtonia palms are well
known for being a large
apartment complex for all sorts
of vermin from rats and mice,
spiders and scorpions and all
sorts of birds”
Most widely grown
palm tree
Pinus pinea, Italian stone pine
pine family, Pinaceae
Pinus pinea, Italian stone pine
pine family, Pinaceae
Needles in bundles
of two, but juvenile
foliage on potted
Christmas trees
Pinus pinea, Italian stone pine
pine family, Pinaceae
• Thick trunk with umbrella
of branches, curved
canopy
• cone heavy like a stone,
with scales round-tipped
• tolerates heat and salt,
makes pine nuts, good for
largish gardens
• Pine depicted in
Renaissance paintings of
Italy
Euryops pectinatus, yellow bush daisy,
sunflower family, Asteraceae
• Native to South Africa
• Blooms all winter in
warmer microclimates
around Redding
• Hardy to maybe 16
degrees
• Cut back in late spring
to keep compact form
Euryops pectinatus, yellow bush daisy,
sunflower family, Asteraceae
• ID: leaf deeply
cut—’pectinate’ like
a comb
• Long-stemmed
single yellow daisy
heads
Cupressus sempervirens, Italian cypress
cypress family, Cupressaceae
Cupressus sempervirens, Italian cypress
cypress family, Cupressaceae
Ligstrum japonicum
Privet
Ligustrum japonicum
Privet
• Native to Northern
China, Korea and
Japan
• Excellent for hedges,
screens and topiary