Native Plant Recommendations and Care Guidelines: Riparian Restoration

Replanting with cuttings in riparian areas

This is a summary of replanting with native shrubs and trees in riparian habitat based on the experience of the WMA to date.

Most of our experience has been in the control of invasive plants, particularly Arundo donax, in riparian habitat. Fortunately riparian habitat is generally pretty resilient, and if the hydrology is still functioning, will recover on its own once the Arundo is removed. However, this recovery depends on rainfall and flooding, and because rainfall and flooding are sporadic in southern California, the best conditions for recovery may not happen right away. If immediate native vegetation is required or if the hydrology is compromised (e.g. on a high floodplain that has been cut-off from flooding) then active restoration (i.e. planting) may be a good idea.

We try to use quick and cheap planting methods for several reasons. 1) they are quick and cheap!, and 2) if a large flooding event occurs and everything gets washed out we haven't lost too much. We do not use watering systems. Again, this is expensive, can get washed out, and can make the plants dependent on the watering source rather than allowing them to track down to the groundwater.

Many native riparian shrubs and trees can be planted using cuttings. Whip cuttings are small cuttings (~2-3 ft ) that are just shoved into the ground, and pole cuttings are long cuttings (~5-12 ft) that are placed in a deep hole in the ground with the goal of reaching areas that are wet and close to the groundwater. The plants that we have tried and had success with as cuttings include: willows (Salix species), cottonwood (Populus fremontii), mulefat (Baccharis salicifolia), and elderberry (Sambucus mexicana). For willows we have had luck with whip cuttings and pole cuttings. We have tried S. lasiolepis, S. goodinggii, S. lucida and S. laevigata – all with success. We have had less success with S. exigua. Cottonwood cuttings work well. Mulefat we have also had good success with – using whip cuttings. Elderberry we have just started trying and so far have only started cuttings in pots, not directly in the ground. We have had a high success rate so far, although the cutting took a long time to sprout.

More details on how and when to plant cuttings will be coming soon. In the meantime, feel free to contact us if you want more detailed information. Phone: (760) 943-6924 or email: wma@smslrwma.org