Grooming a short coyote probably is not a task that many of us
need to be concerned with. Although finding a tough ground or bank
cover for a harsh exposure might be.
Grooming a short coyote probably is not a task that many of us need to be concerned with. Although finding a tough ground or bank cover for a harsh exposure might be.
Dwarf coyote brush, botanical name Baccharis pilularis, happens to be one of the toughest ground covers that will be quite happy almost anywhere that is not shaded. It is native to the coast between Monterey and Sonoma counties, where it thrives without any attention or watering. Away from the coast, it looks better with not much more than monthly watering through summer.
Mature plants may spread more than six feet and can get as high as two feet. Crowded plants may get even deeper if they have no more space to spread. If space is still available after mature plants have spread as far as they can, outer stems simply root where they lay on the ground to form new plants that can spread as far as the original plants did.
The half-inch long, coarsely textured foliage is forest green. Aggressive shearing or pruning in early spring, promptly followed by application of a nitrogen fertilizer, limits height and keeps foliage fresh looking. Foliage can rot if watered too much from above.
The unremarkable male and female flowers are produced by different plants. In the wild, female flowers produce fluffy seeds that can be somewhat messy. Fortunately, the plants that are available in nurseries are produced by cuttings from male cultivars. ‘Twin Peaks’, the most popular cultivar, has smaller, darker green leaves, and more manageable, compact growth. ‘Pigeon Point’ has larger, lighter green leaves, with faster and slightly more open growth. Tall, shrubby coyote brush is so rarely planted that it is only found in nurseries that specialize in native plants.
Tony Tomeo is a consulting horticulturist and arborist for New Image Landscape of Fremont. His weekly radio broadcast, “New Image Garden Report,” can be heard at 8:10am on Friday mornings on KSCO, 1080 AM of Santa Cruz. Tony can be reached at (888) 226-9191 or tt****@***************pe.com.
