South Coast REC Plant Index

All the plants evaluated at South Coast REC since 2018.

  • Plants are listed alphabetically by scientific name
  • Plants were evaluated in-ground in full sun or under 50% shade cloth
  • All plants were evaluated in Irvine, CA (WUCOLS Region 3) at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center
  • All plants were irrigated with reclaimed water. These rates may be lower for potable water
  • Avg. O/A is the mean of all monthly Overall Appearance ratings collected during the deficit season for the recommended irrigation category. Key: 5 = excellent; 4 = good; 3 = acceptable/average; 2 = poor; NR = not recommended, NC = no data collected
  • Plants receiving an overall appearance rating of 3 or less are not recommended in this area under these irrigation conditions
  • Irrigation recommendations for each plant are classified according WUCOLS IV Categories of Water Needs - H: High; M: Moderate/Medium; L: Low; NA: Not Appropriate for this region; U: Unknown (See the Nuts and Bolts tab for details on how the recommendation was determined)
  • Plants receiving an overall appearance rating of 3 or less 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: 

Scientific NameCommon NameExposureMean O/A ScoreWUCOLS CategoryTrial Year
Abelia × grandiflora 'Bailbeliaone'Vanilla Brandy™ abeliaSun3.2H2021
Acacia cognata 'ACCOG01'Cousin Itt Little River wattleSun3.1M2019
Agapanthus 'MP003'Ever Amethyst™50% Shade3.4L2021
Buddleia × 'SMNBDBT'Pugster Blue™ butterfly bushSun3.6L2020
Camellia sasanqua 'Green 02-003'October Magic® Ruby™50% ShadeNRU2021
Cotinus coggygriga 'NCCO1'Winecraft Black® smokebushSun3.1L2020
Dianella revoluta 'Allyn-Citation'Coolvista™ dianellaSun3.1L2019
Elaeagnus × ebbingii 'Viveleg'Olive Martini™ elaeagnusSun3.7L2019
Eremophila glabra 'EREM1'Grey Horizon™ emu bushSun3.5L2020
Grevillea 'Kings Celebration'Kings Celebration grevilleaSun2.9L2019
Grevillea 'Kings Fire'Kings Fire grevilleaSunNCU2019
Hamelia patensSierra Red™ firecracker bushSun3.1M2020
Hesperaloe parviflora 'MSWNPERED'Sandia Glow® red yuccaSun3.3L2020
Hibiscus syriacus 'JWNWOOD4'Pink Chiffon Rose of SharonSun3.5L2022
Hibiscus syriacus 'ORSTHIB5x1'Petite Pink Flamingo Rose of SharonSun3.2L2022
Hibiscus syriacus 'Gandini Santiago'Purple Pillar Rose of SharonSun3.8L2022
Hydrangea quercifolia 'BIV01'Tara™ oakleaf hydrangea50% Shade2.9L2020
Hypericum kalmianum 'Deppe'Sunny Boulevard® St. John's wortSunNRNA2020
Ilex crenata 'Farrowone'Sky Box® Japanese holly50% ShadeNRNA2020
Lagerstroemia indica 'Conlagras'Bellini ® Raspberry crape myrtleSun3.2M2019
Lagerstromia indica 'SMNLCIBF'Center Stage Red crapemyrtleSun3.5L2022
Laurus nobilis 'MonRik'Little Ragu® sweet baySun3.2L2020
Lavandula × allardii 'Meerlo'Meerlo lavenderSun3.6L2019
Ligustrum × vicaryi 'NCLX1'Golden Ticket PrivetSun3.3L2022
Lippia nodiflora 'Campagna Verde'KurapiaSun3.6L2018
Lippia 'ECOLOPIA2'Pink Kurapia®Sun3.1 / 3.5L / M2021
Lippia nodiflora 'New White'New White kurapiaSun3.8L2018
Lomandra confertifolia 'LOLTCS08'Del Sol lomandra Sun3.7L2021
Lomandra confertifolia ssp. pallida 'Pom Pom' syn. 'PomPom'Shorty lomandra Sun3.9L2021
Lomandra longifolia 'Katrinus Deluxe''Katrinus Deluxe' mat rushSun2.5L2020
Muhlenbergia capillaris 'Irvine'Plumetastic® pink muhly grassSun3.3L2019
Nandina domestica 'ZHNAN102'Cool Glow™ Lime nandinaSun3.0M2021
Nandina domestica 'ZHNAN28'Cool Glow™ Peach nandinaSun3.3M2021
Nerium oleander 'ATXNOKHP'Austin Pretty Limits oleanderSun3.4L2022
Pennisetum spathiolatumSlender Veldt GrassSun4L2022
Pennisetum spathiolatumSlender Veldt Grass50% Shade3.9L2022
Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard'Blizzard mock orangeSun3.6M2022
Philadelphus lewisii 'Blizzard'Blizzard mock orange50% Shade3.9M2022
Philadelphus 'ORSTPHILx2'Swan Lake mock orangeSun3.3M2022
Philadelphus 'ORSTPHILx2'Swan Lake mock orange50% Shade3.8L2022
×Pyracomeles 'NCXP1'Juke Box® pyracomelesSun3.3L2020
Rhagodia spinescens 'SAB01'Aussie Flat Bush™ saltbushSun3.7L2020
Rhaphiolepis indica 'Parhap'Oriental Pearl Indian hawthornSun3.5L2020
Rhaphiolepis indica 'sPg-3-003'Redbird™ Indian hawthornSun2.9L2020
Rhaphiolepis umbellata 'RutRhaph1'Southern Moon® yedda hawthornSun3.2M2019
Rhododenron 'Robleza'Autumn Bonfire™ Encore® azalea50% ShadeNRNA2020
Rosa 'Baillim'Chi™ roseSun3.3L2020
Rosa 'ChewPatout'Oso Easy® Urban Legend® rose Sun3.3L2022
Rosa 'KORfizzlem'Lemon Fizz Kolorscape® roseSun3.1M2020
Rosa 'Meibenbino'Petite Knock Out® roseSun3.1L2022
Rosa 'Meiggili'Peach Drift® roseSunNRNA2020
Rosa 'Meijecycka'Limoncello™ roseSun3.2L2019
Rosa 'Meijocos'Pink Drift® roseSun3.2H2019
Rosa 'Meimirrote'Apricot Drift® roseSun3.5L2020
Rosa 'Meiradena'Icecap™ roseSun3.5L2019
Rosa 'MEIRIFTDAY'Rosa Easy® Double Pink roseSun3.3L2022
Rosa 'Meiswetdom'Sweet Drift® roseSun3.3L2021
Rosa 'Meitraligh'Brick House™ roseSun3L2019
Rosa 'NOA168098F'Flower Carpet® Pink Supreme roseSun3.6M2020
Rosa 'Overedclimb'Cherry Frost™ roseSun3.7L2022
Rosa 'Radbeauty'Sitting Pretty roseSun3.1L2022
Rosa 'Radral'Coral Knock Out® roseSunNRU2020
Rosa 'Radtkopink'Pink Double Knock Out®Sun2.8NA2021
Rosa 'Radwhite'White Knock Out®Sun3.1L2019
Rosa 'Sprogreatpink'Brick House® PinkSun2.9L2021
Rosa ‘Zlepolone’Pretty Polly® PinkSun3.7L2021
Rosa 'Zlepoltwo'Pretty Polly® WhiteSun3.5L2021
Ruschia lineolata 'Nana'Ruschia 'Nana'Sun3.2L2020
Tecomaria capensis Riot Red® Cape honeysuckleSun3.8L2020
Tecoma 'Red Hot'Red Hot trumpetbushSun4L2022
Vitex × 'Bailtexone'Flip Side® chastetreeSun3.4L2019
Vitex agnus-castus 'Bailtextwo'Galactic Pink® chastetreeSun3.5M2020
Vitex agnus-castus 'SMVACBD'Blue Diddley® chastetreeSun3.2L2022