Description:

A rare plant, native to San Diego and Baja California, that features long, narrow, leathery green leaves and reddish young branches; lantern shaped white flowers in winter to spring on drooping pedicels; great for hot, dry areas; tolerates heavy soils

Ornamental Features

Baja California Birdbush features dainty clusters of lightly-scented white bell-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from mid winter to mid spring. It has green evergreen foliage. The recurved narrow leaves remain green throughout the winter. The smooth gray bark and brick red branches add an interesting dimension to the landscape.

Landscape Attributes

Baja California Birdbush is a multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a more or less rounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. It is a good choice for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Baja California Birdbush is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Baja California Birdbush will grow to be about 15 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 10 feet. It has a low canopy with a typical clearance of 1 foot from the ground, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 50 years or more.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. This plant does not require much in the way of fertilizing once established. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is native to parts of North America..