UC Landscape Plant Irrigation Trials™

UC Davis Plant Index

We apologize, but bot attacks have caused part of this index to be deleted and some of the links to be broken. We are in the process of repairing it.

These are all the plants evaluated at UC Davis since 2005.

  • Plants are listed alphabetically by scientific name. Plants were evaluated in full sun or under 50% shade cloth.
  • All plants were evaluated in Davis, CA (WUCOLS Region 2).
  • The best average Overall Appearance rating a plant received during the treatment season is listed as Mean O/A Score (based on a 1-5 scale, where 5 is highest).
  • NA = not appropriate; NR = not rated; BR = trialed before O/A rating began; NC = not collected due to high plant mortality.
  • Each plant is classified according to WUCOLS IV Categories of Water Needs- H: High; M: Moderate/Medium; L: Low; NA: Not Appropriate for this region (See the Nuts and Bolts tab for details on how the recommendation was determined.)
  • * Plants receiving an overall appearance rating of less than 3 are not recommended in this area under these irrigation conditions.
  • ** Plants that performed poorly in full sun, but if used, some shade is suggested.
  • printer friendly pdf version: UC Davis Plant Index

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Scientific NameCommon NameExposureMean O/A ScoreWUCOLS CategoryTrial Year
Abelia x grandiflora 'Wevol' (Linnaea x grandiflora)Bella Donna abelia50% Shade2.5M2018
Abelia x grandiflora ‘Abelops’ (Linnaea x grandiflora)Sunshine Daydream Abelia50% Shade4.4L2011
Acacia boormaniiSnowy river wattleSun4.9L2009
Acacia cognata 'ACCOG01'Cousin Itt Little River wattleSunNCNA2016
Agonis flexuosa 'Burgundy'Burgundy peppermint willowSunNCNA2016
Aquilegia eximiaSerpentine columbineSunBRM2007
Arctostaphylos densiflora 'Howard McMinn'Howard McMinn manzanitaSun3.8M2013
Aster ‘Purple Dome’Purple Dome New England asterSun4.2M2011
Berberis aquifolium 'Compacta'Compact Oregon grape50% Shade4M2013
Bouteloua gracilisBlue gramma grassSunBRL2007
Bouteloua gracilis 'Blonde Ambition'Blonde Ambition blue gramma grassSun4.2L2016
Buddleia ‘Podaras #8’Flutterby Petite® Blue Heaven butterfly bushSun4M2011
Buddleia ‘Purple Splendor’Purple Splendor butterfly bushSun4.3L2014
Buddleia 'Podaras #13'Flutterby Petite™ Tutti Fruitti butterfly bushSun3.9H2014
Buddleia × 'SMNBDBT' Pugster Blue™ butterfly bushSun4.1L2020
Bulbine ‘Tiny Tangerine’Tiny Tangerine cape balsamSun4.6L2011
Calamagrostis × acutiflora 'Karl Foerster'Karl Foerster feather reed grassSun4.2L2013
Carex spissaSan Diego sedgeSunBRL2007
Ceanothus × pallidus 'Marie Simon'Marie Simon ceanothusSun4.4L2009
Ceanothus 'Concha'Concha California lilacSun3.9L2014
Ceanothus griseus var. horizontalis 'MATCEA01'Highlights™ ceanothus50% Shade3.8L2018
Ceanothus maritimus ‘Valley Violet’Valley Violet California lilacSunBRL2007
Cerastium tomentosumSnow-in-summerSun3.1L2013
Ceratostigma plumbaginoidesDwarf plumbago50% Shade3.3L2013
Ceratostigma plumbaginoidesDwarf pumbagoSun3.9H2013
Cercocarpus betuloides var. blancheaeIsland mountain mahoganySun4.4L2009
Chondropetalum tectorumSmall cape rushSun4.3L2015
Cordyline ‘Purple Sensation’Cabbage TreeSun2.6L2011
Correa pulchella 'Pink Eyre'Pink Eyre Australian fuchsia50% Shade4.1L2015
Cotinus coggygria 'NCC01' Winecraft Black® smokebushSun3.3L2020
Cyrtomium falcatumJapanese holly fern50% Shade3.7L2013
Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata'Variegated Daphne50% Shade3.3L2013
Delosperma cooperiHardy ice plantSun4L2013
Dianella caerulea 'DBB03' Cassa Blue flax lilySun4M2015
Dianella caerulea 'John316' King Alfred flax lily50% Shade4M2015
Dianella revoluta 'Allyn-Citation'Coolvista™ DianellaSun4.2L2019
Dianella revoluta 'DR5000'Little Rev™ flax lilySun3.6L2018
Dianthus 'KLEDG10119'EverLast™ Orchid dianthusSun3.6M2014
Dietes bicolor 'African Gold'Pure Gold® African irisSun4.1L2018
Distylium 'Vintage Jade'**Vintage Jade distyliumSun2.3M2018
Distylium 'Vintage Jade'Vintage Jade distylium50% Shade3.8M2019
Elaeagnus x ebbingii 'Viveleg'
Olive Martini™ elaeagnusSun4.5L2019
Epilobium 'Sidewinder'Sidewinder California fuchsiaSun4.2L2014
Epilobium 'Sierra Salmon'Sierra Salmon California fuchsiaSun3.7L2014
Eremophila glabra 'EREM1' Grey Horizon™ emu bushSun3.0L2020
Escallonia fradesi ‘Jamie’ Pink Whisper EscalloniaSun2.7M2011
Eucomis 'Leia'Leia pineapple lilySun3.2L2016
Fallugia paradoxaApache plumeSunBRM2007
Festuca californicaCalifornia fescue50% Shade3.7L2013
Geranium 'Gerwat'Rozanne geraniumSun3.7M2014
Geranium x cantabrigiense 'Biokovo'Biokovo cranesbill50% Shade3.3L2017
Grevillea 'Kings Celebration'Kings Celebration grevilleaSunNRNA2019
Grevillea 'Kings Fire'Kings Fire grevilleaSun4.8L2019
Hamelia patens Sierra Red™Sierra Red™ firecracker bushSun3.8M2020
Helichrysum amorginum 'Blorub'Ruby Clusters strawflower Sun3.6M2014
Helleborus ‘Red Lady’Red Lady Lenten rose50% Shade3.3M2011
Hesperaloe parviflora 'MSWNPERED' Sandia Glow® red yuccaSun3.7L2020
Heuchera maximaIsland alum root50% Shade4L2011
Heuchera 'Rosada'Rosada coral bellsSunBRM2007
Hydrangea paniculata 'LeeP1'White Wedding® hydrangea50% Shade3.3M2020
Hydrangea paniculata 'Renhy'Vanilla Strawberry™ hydrangea50% Shade3.7M2019
Hydrangea quercifolia 'BIV01'Tara™ oakleaf hydrangea50% Shade3.1L2020
Hypericum androsaemum ‘Seifire'Ignite Red St. John's wort50% Shade4.2L2011
Hypericum kalmianum 'Deppe'Sunny Boulevard® St. John's wortSun4L2020
Illicium parviflorum ‘PIIIP-I’BananAppeal® small anise tree50% Shade2.4H2018
Iris 'Canyon Snow'Canyon Snow Pacific hybrid irisSun3.9M2009
Isomeris arboreaBladderpodSun3.6L2013
Kniphofia 'Christmas Cheer'Christmas Cheer red hot pokerSun3.3M2013
Kniphofia 'Elvira'Elvira red hot pokerSun3.3M2014
Lagerstroemia indica 'Conlagras'Bellini® Raspberry crape myrtleSun3.8L2019
Lagerstroemia indica 'Deleb'Delta Eclipse™ crapemyrtleSun4.1L2018
Lagerstroemia 'Purple Magic'Purple Magic crapemyrtleSun4.1L2018
Laurus nobilis 'MonRik' Little Ragu® sweet baySun2.4L2020
Lavandula allardii 'Meerlo''Meerlo' lavenderSun4.4L2019
Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Lynn's Legacy'Lynn's Legacy Texas rangerSun4.8M2009
Ligustrum sinense ‘Sunshine’Sunshine privet50% Shade4.8L2011
Lippia 'ECOLOPIA2' Pink Kurapia®Sun4.5L2020
Lippia nodiflora 'Campagna Verde'Kurapia Sun4.2L2014
Lippia nodiflora 'New White'New White kurapiaSun4.5L2018
Lomandra confertifolia ‘Finescape’*Finescape mat rushSun2.2L2017
Lomandra confertifolia 'Seascape'Seascape mat rushSun3.2M2011
Lomandra confertifolia 'Seascape'Seascape mat rush50% ShadeNRNA2017