Descanso GardenClub

Garden articles written by club members

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Orchids 101

The Gopher Tale

Propagation Techniques: Starting Annuals and Vegetables from Seed

Firescape Landscaping: Trees

Vegetable Gardens

Local Gardening Conditions

Descanso's climate is mediterranean, generally USDA zone 7 with occasional colder spells. Average chill hours for fruit trees are around 500. The soil in the area is often based on decomposing granite, overlaid with many layers of leaf mold under native oaks and shrubs. Gardening requires consideration of strong winds, occasional snowstorms, extreme heat during late summer to early fall and typical California firestorms.

Area Information

Descanso, California is nestled inside the Cleveland National Forest in San Diego County. Surrounding wild areas consist of dry, rocky hillsides supporting Chaparral, Oak Grassland and Riparian Woodland plant communities. The Chaparral areas contain mostly Chamise, Manzanita and Scrub Oak, along with other typical Chaparral plants. The Oak Grassland is dominated by Englemann and Live oaks and pines. The Riparian woodland includes sycamores and other moisture loving trees and shrubs.
Wild animals such as deer, mountain lion and bob cat often visit the valley from the higher slopes. We also have a resident coyote population, as well as many wonderful birds including a growing population of wild turkeys. The smaller animals such as ground squirrels, gophers, deer mice, rabbits, snakes, toads and lizards are always around.
Residents live with regular drought, fire hazard, heavy winds and wild animals, but we love living in Descanso and treasure its resources.

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