shasta daisys will grow anywhere!

I associate Seattle with rain.

I'm not sure that shasta daisies will do that will in dry areas of Southern California. Does anyone know about this?

which was 2 days short of the record! July, August and September are usually pretty dry but I don't water anything...back yard is native or drought-resistant, and it got pretty "crunchy" there this summer!

It's raining now and we're not supposed to see blue sky until Tuesday, so yeah, we get a lot of rain!

they all died.

Bedding plants don't work for me. That was the only way I got alyssum and stock to grow here. Had a difficult time finding the seeds, but they reseeded and came back and were great.

rain or other watering. It does die back in the winter. http://today.agrilife.org/2011/05/25/turks-cap-named-new-texas-superstar/ Do you want greenery or flower. There is an old lantana in the same bed. I think it is the carnival variety. Also dies back.

come back. I used ice plant for 2 years, a pretty pink variety, but a hard freeze got it and it did not return. http://www.klru.org/ctg/plant/name/Ice_Plant/

did not come back. It was large and pretty in that bed. I should have taken cuttings. Maybe next time,

It really is a great plant. Very tolerant of abuse and can be grown as a houseplant as well. I have several rooted cuttings in water in opaque vases around my house too.

Here's the Washington State Native Plant society:

http://www.wnps.org/

Native plants, once established, can cut down on water and fertiliser needs. They have also evolved to grow in the conditions you have, and they provide food/shelter for native wildlife, too. Just some thoughts.

...euphorbias are awesome in my dry, mostly shaded areas. They seem to need practically no water once they're established, and are beautiful. I have 3 euphorbias 'Tiny Tim' and 2 Amyg. Purpurea. They are unique-looking and beautiful plants- in the winter they get red/purple color. I highly recommend Larry Hodgson's book 'Making the Most of Shade' - great plant reccs and instructions on planting amid tree roots.

I need something for an area that's shaded most of the day by an avocado tree, and gets rain only in the winter. And the soil's pretty poor as well.

That's what I did in some of the trouble areas in my yard, and they did great. Lest any one think I'm a native plant purist, I also plant exotics, too, as long as they're not "badly behaved," LOL. I wouldn't give up my irises for anything! Or my tree peony! Here's a link for the California Native Plant Society. If you want to try some natives, they should be able to help you out.

http://www.cnps.org/