Plants for Hillside Erosion Control in California

Northern California

• The North Coast chapter of the California Native Plant Society -- CNPS has 33 regional chapters -- lists grasses, shrubs, and ground covers among its "slope stabilization" recommendations. Grasses include native oatgrass, Nutka reed grass and several fescues. Buck brush, gum weed and purple or black sage are suggested as good soil-holders. Maple trees and Oregon alder are recommended as tolerant of high moisture, an important erosion-control element. A highly active northern chapter, Marin County, works on seashore habitat restoration and erosion-control structures and plantings for mountain trails.

Central California

• The Theodore Payne Foundation in Sun Valley addresses erosion-control issues with plants suited to Central and Southern California. Chamise, buckeye and manzanita lead the list of large tenacious shrubs; live oaks, pines and a native walnut are included among trees. One group of stabilizing plants, including redbud, live oak, spirea, burning bush and wild rose are highlighted for their shade tolerance, whether moist or dry.

Southern California

• An ample online source of erosion-control information in southern California is the commercial nursery Las Pilitas. Its tutorial pages on landscaping erosion-damaged slopes address a number of planting issues: native plants (noting that red fescue, recommended in northern California, is not a southern native); a diversity of plants, rather than monoculture; and an erosion issue most specific to southern California -- fire. Las Pilitas recommendations include artemesias, manzanitas and salvias for south-facing slopes and varieties of the ceanothis family (sometimes called California lilac) in all areas, even those most threatened by fire. The Los Angeles Department of Public Works recommends plants that hold soil and resist fire, like black walnut and native laurel.