EPA Level III Ecoregion
Central California Valley
570 native plants for the Central California Valley ecoregion (Sacramento area).
The Central California Valley runs from Redding down past Bakersfield and holds most of the state’s farmland, along with Sacramento, Fresno, and a string of fast-growing suburbs. Summers are long, hot, and dry, and winters bring nearly all of the rain. Natives from this valley floor, think valley oak, California fuchsia, and deergrass, are built for that rhythm and settle in well in front yards that get full sun.
Conditions: Deep alluvial soils, hot dry summers, 10–20 inches of winter rainfall, frequent summer water restrictions.
Cities and areas: Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, Davis.
570 Native Plants for the Central California Valley
HOA-friendly picks listed first. Pet-safety status varies by species; each plant page shows its sourced ASPCA status. Native range data from vouchered herbarium specimen records and regional native plant society lists.
Common Yarrow
Achillea millefolium
Soft rush
Juncus effusus
American Fox Sedge
Carex vulpinoidea
Red-osier Dogwood
Cornus sericea
Aromatic Sumac
Rhus aromatica
Prairie Junegrass
Koeleria macrantha
Golden Currant
Ribes aureum
Tufted Hairgrass
Deschampsia cespitosa
Narrowleaf Milkweed
Asclepias fascicularis
Sulfur-buckwheat
Eriogonum umbellatum
Deer Grass
Muhlenbergia rigens
California-poppy
Eschscholzia californica
California Fuchsia
Epilobium canum
Bunchleaf Penstemon
Penstemon heterophyllus
California Wild Buckwheat
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Crevice alumroot
Heuchera micrantha
Scarlet Bugler
Penstemon centranthifolius
Western Blue-eyed Grass
Sisyrinchium bellum
Foothill Lupine
Lupinus albifrons
Arroyo Lupine
Lupinus succulentus
Coastal Tidytips
Layia platyglossa
Fiddleneck
Phacelia tanacetifolia
Checker-mallow
Sidalcea malviflora
Black Sage
Salvia mellifera
Purple Sage
Salvia leucophylla
Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia
Western Redbud
Cercis occidentalis
Clarkia
Clarkia unguiculata
Blue Thimble-flower
Gilia capitata
Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus betuloides
Rose-mallow
Hibiscus lasiocarpos
California Buckeye
Aesculus californica
California Yerba Santa
Eriodictyon californicum
California Sycamore
Platanus racemosa
California Rose
Rosa californica
Four-wing Saltbush
Atriplex canescens
Woolly Sedge
Carex pellita
Douglas' Sagewort
Artemisia douglasiana
Spreading Rush
Juncus patens
Chinese Houses
Collinsia heterophylla
Blue Elderberry
Sambucus mexicana
California Sagebrush
Artemisia californica
Skunkbush Sumac
Rhus trilobata
California Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia
Bird's-eyes
Gilia tricolor
Cuneate Ceanothus
Ceanothus cuneatus
Great Valley Gumweed
Grindelia camporum
Seep Monkeyflower
Erythranthe guttata
Showing 48 of 570. Enter your ZIP for the natives matched to your yard.
Fall care in the Central California Valley
What to do right now for plants commonly grown here. Each links to the full regional care guide for that species, with sources.
- White sweet clover
Fall is when any missed seed drops and new seedlings get ready for next year.
- Fools onion
Fall is when the dormant corms wake up in Sacramento.
- Blue wild rye
Fall is the time to sow seed or let the clump perk up in Sacramento.
- California milkweed
Fall needs almost nothing from you.
- Frogfruit
Blooms continue into fall, so there is little to do.
- Splitawn sedge
Fall is when Sacramento's rain comes back, making it a good time to plant, divide, and tidy up the bed.
- Prairie junegrass
The first fall rains snap the clump out of summer dormancy, a good time to plant or divide.
- Hendersons shooting star
Fall is still dry season in Sacramento, so keep this spot bone dry until the first real rains arrive, usually sometime in October or November.
- Western blue eyed grass
Fall is the prime planting season. When the first rains arrive in October or November, the soil cools and this is the moment to set out new clumps or divide old ones so roots establish before summer.
- Sambucus nigra ssp caerulea
Fall is the prime planting season in the Sacramento Valley, and the best time to put a new Blue Elderberry in the ground. Planting now, timed to the first rains, lets roots settle in over winter before next summer's drought.
Build a plan for the Central California Valley
Pollinator Patch turns plants like these into a front-yard plan tuned for the soil, climate, and HOA expectations of the Sacramento area.