California native plants in Palo Alto

Before orchards and suburbs, the Palo Alto flatlands were oak savanna and grassland cut by creeks, with chaparral and woodland in the hills. The plants that grew there are adapted to exactly what local gardens face now: wet, mild winters and long, dry summers. Planted in the right spot, many natives need no summer water at all once established. They also support the insects that birds feed their young, which is why the bluebirds at Arastradero and the hummingbirds in Midtown yards depend on them.

Buying natives takes a little more planning than a trip to a big-box store. The best local sources are small, sell out of popular species and run sales on set dates. This page lists where to buy, the 2026 sale calendar as published and a starter list. For general shopping, our garden centers guide covers every nursery near town.

Grassroots Ecology nursery

Grassroots Ecology is a local nonprofit that restores habitat in preserves around Palo Alto. It grows native plants at a nursery inside Palo Alto's Foothills Nature Preserve and sells them to the public as well as using them in its own projects.

Its nursery sales page explains how buying works:

1. Download the current inventory list from the website.
2. Email NurserySales@grassrootsecology.org with each plant's name, size and quantity.
3. Wait for a reply, which the group says comes within 1 to 3 business days.
4. Pick up at the nursery. Directions come after you order.

The minimum online order is $50. The nursery is not open for in-person shopping; it lists pickup as 7 days a week from 8 a.m. to sunset, subject to the preserve's hours. Grassroots Ecology also sells at CNPS chapter sales and offers the book San Francisco Bay Area Native Plants for the Garden for $30. If you would rather plant on public land, the group runs volunteer workdays; see our volunteering guide.

CNPS Santa Clara Valley chapter

The Santa Clara Valley chapter of the California Native Plant Society runs a volunteer nursery at Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road in Los Altos Hills, just past the Dana Center. Its nursery page says volunteers propagate natives all year, mostly straight species rather than cultivars. Open work sessions at the nursery have been canceled indefinitely, so buy through the chapter's sales and online store.

The chapter's 2026 sales, as announced in its newsletter and event listings:

The Peninsula Conservation Center is in Palo Alto at 3921 East Bayshore Road. The chapter also holds a Seed and Cutting Exchange there, with the January 2026 session on a Saturday afternoon. Dates for 2027 had not been posted when we checked in early November 2026. Sign up for the chapter's newsletter to hear first; popular plants go in the first hours of online sales.

Canopy and free trees

Canopy is a Palo Alto nonprofit focused on the urban forest, based at the same 3921 East Bayshore Road address. Its website has a free tree sign-up, a Tree Library with more than 600 species and guides to caring for young trees. Canopy also runs volunteer planting days. Its fall 2026 calendar included:

• A Palo Alto neighborhood planting at Palo Verde on Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to noon, part of the South Palo Alto Tree Initiative. No experience needed.
• Weekday plantings on Friday afternoons in November in Mountain View or Palo Alto.

Native oaks are the backbone of Palo Alto's canopy. Coast live oak and valley oak are both protected once they reach 11.5 inches in diameter, so plant with long-term space in mind. Our tree permits guide explains the rules and our urban forest guide covers the bigger picture.

Garden centers

SummerWinds Nursery at 725 San Antonio Road is Palo Alto's full-service garden center and keeps a native plant section. Because it is open every day, it is handy for filling gaps between the nonprofit sale dates. Hours and other options, including specialist native growers farther away, are in our garden centers guide.

Easy natives for Palo Alto yards

These are widely grown in local gardens and tolerate clay soil once established. Check sun and size before buying.

CNPS's Calscape website lets you search by address for plants native to your exact area. Valley Water's qualified plants list matters if you want a lawn conversion rebate; see our lawn replacement rebates guide.

See native gardens first

It helps to see mature native gardens before you design your own. Spring is the season for that. The CNPS chapter's January 2026 newsletter mentioned a 2026 garden tour, with volunteers preparing a San Jose park for it. Check the chapter's site for 2027 tour dates. Our garden tours guide collects the spring tour dates near Palo Alto as they are announced.

Public places work too. Gamble Garden in Old Palo Alto mixes natives with traditional borders. The trails at Pearson-Arastradero show how sages, coyote brush and bunchgrasses look in late summer without any irrigation, which is a useful reality check: many natives go partly dormant and turn gray-green in August. Plan a few summer-blooming plants such as California fuchsia so the garden still has color.

Planting and care

1. Plant in fall. October to early December gives roots the whole wet season.
2. Go small. One-gallon plants usually catch up with larger sizes within a couple of years and cost far less.
3. Skip the compost. Most natives prefer unamended native soil. Amend only vegetable beds.
4. Water the first summer. Deep watering every week or two through the first dry season, then taper.
5. Mulch, but not too close. Keep wood chips a few inches from stems. Manzanitas and some sages prefer gravel mulch.
6. Prune lightly after flowering, not in summer heat.

Our water-wise gardening guide covers drip irrigation and the city's watering hours. To see natives in the wild before you plant, walk Pearson-Arastradero or the Foothills in spring; our wildflowers guide says where and when.

Frequently asked questions