This polygon shows the area of the vegetative screen: it will be south of the school's parking lot, so that when the plants are mature, it will be dificult to see the parking lot when you are on the Joe Rodota trail.

There is already a double row of redwood trees on the north side of the trail. These were planted by Sonoma County Parks perhaps 20 years ago, and are 20' or 30' high. Most of the planting area is shady because of these redwoods. There is a gap of 60' on the west side where there are no redwoods, and therefore much less shade.

According to the NRCS SSURGO soil survey, the soil of the whole campus site is acidic, with a typical pH of 5.0. At the west end of the planting area, the pH dips to 4.6.

Plants selected for this planting area need to handle the acidic soil. Except for those planted in the sunny gap, they will also need to handle shade.

The redwoods and the fence	The sunny gap

Method. We searched for Sonoma County native shrubs that can stand a pH of 5.0, and then tried to pick those that were

• relatively easy to grow (exception: Rhododendron), and
• already growing wild somewhere near the site.

Here is the preliminary list, which includes both shade tolerant and full sun plants. The heights given below are suggestive. Some of the shade tolerant plants on the list (such as Morella californica and Ceanothus thyrsiflorus) will tend to grow wide and bushy in a sunnier location, and sparse and tall in a shadier location.

Native shrubs that grow in Sonoma County, are commercially available, and will tolerate a pH of 5.0:

Search / Results

The possible plant list with bloom period for each plant:

List

Nearby records of plants on the list:

Search

Soil pH of the immediate area:

Map

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October 29, 2016 There is a new Calflora application called the Planting Guide just for doing this kind of appropriate-plant research. (See also Planting Guide Help.) You pick a location in California, and it will suggest plants that are compatible with the elevation, climate, and soil of that location.

Here are

• shade plants recommended by the Planting Guide for this new campus location, and
• low-water plants recommended for this location.

The Planting Guide results include many more plants than are listed on this page!