California Lilac
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
Sheets of true-blue spring flowers on an evergreen shrub that hums with bees on the West Coast.
- Full sun
- Dry
- 6–20 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
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- California Poppy
Saturated orange
Perennial / reseeding annual
California Poppy
Eschscholzia californica
The silken orange state flower of California, painting dry hillsides every spring.
California
Growing California Poppy
Sow seed in fall onto bare, lean soil and let it reseed forever after. Flowers close at night and on cloudy days, then blaze open in sun. It’s drought-tolerant, showy, and easy to grow.
Where it grows
California Poppy is native to California. In the wild you’ll find it across California · Nevada · Oregon. Always confirm it suits your specific county with your state native plant society before planting.
Regional Garden shows California Poppy on 3 state pages.
Good for
Sourcing
Where to buy California Poppy
Seeds & live plants on Amazon
Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.
Browse on AmazonSome links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.
Plant it with
Companions & kin.
Natives that share California Poppy’s range and conditions.
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
A near-continental native with flat flower heads that feed tiny beneficial insects, tough as a weed.
- Full sun
- Dry–average
- 1.5–3 ft
- Blooms May–Aug
Hairy Manzanita
Arctostaphylos columbiana
Sculptural mahogany bark and early urn-shaped flowers that feed the West Coast's first bees of spring.
- Full–part sun
- Dry
- 3–9 ft
- Blooms Mar–May
Buttonbush
Cephalanthus occidentalis
Spherical white 'pincushion' flowers over standing water, swarmed by butterflies and bees.
- Full–part sun
- Average–wet
- 5–10 ft
- Blooms Jun–Aug