Known as “America’s Finest City,” San Diego has a highly desirable Mediterranean climate and a stunning landscape of various types of trees. The city is famous for its steadily ideal temperature of primarily sunny days throughout most of the year, averaging nearly 300 days of sunshine with mild winters and comparatively low annual precipitation levels. Due to the scant amount of rain, San Diego’s natural landscape is scrubland, typified by shrubs, bushes and grasses without many tall trees.
However, despite the considerably dry climate, many types of trees can thrive in San Diego if they receive proper care. Trees that are suited to warmer, drier climates such as palms, pines and eucalyptus tend to grow very well there.
The Importance of Routine Tree Care
Due to the sometimes soaring temperatures and consecutive days on end without a single drop of rain, it is critical to regularly care for trees in San Diego. Considering just how important trees are to the city’s aesthetic, and air quality along with the other major advantages they provide, it is a wise undertaking to invest in professional services.
Regardless of whether you need tree pruning, tree planting, an annual health check, or tree removal, finding the best tree service San Diego has to offer will keep your trees healthy and thriving. Certified arborists, consultants and ground crews form part of the team at professional tree services that have impressive knowledge concerning the proper care and maintenance of trees.
A Wide Diversity of Different Species in America’s Finest City
The majority of Los Angeles’ iconic palm trees were planted in a large-scale project to get the city dolled up in preparation for the 1932 Olympics. The enthusiasm for palm trees spread from Los Angeles down south to San Diego, which accounts for the city’s large numbers of tall, elegant trees.
There is quite a diversity when it comes to palm tree species in San Diego, which includes the Mexican fan palm, the king palm, the queen palm, the date palm, the Pygmy date palm and the Canary Island date palm. Along with palm trees, pines are also a common sight, and also present various subspecies in the pinus family, such as the singleleaf pinyon, parry pinyon, Jeffrey pine, sugar pine, ponderosa pine and Torrey pine.
The Torrey pine is quite an uncommon species, being the rarest native pine in the United States as well as in North America, and even possibly the rarest pine in the entire world. This unique pine is a critically endangered species and only native to two areas on the globe – which are Santa Rosa Island and near San Diego.
Six of the Best Trees for San Diego Communities to Plant
As a general rule of thumb, drought-resistant, sun-loving plants are the ideal choices for San Diego residents. Due to the relatively low levels of precipitation, it is essential to ensure that your trees get ample water, especially when they are just starting out as saplings. Here are some popular choices of trees suited to the San Diego climate:
- Shoestring Acacia: An evergreen tree that favors drier climates and does not require much water to thrive. In the spring, the tree sports beautiful yellow and off-white flowers.
- Western Redbud: Western Redbud is a smaller, fairly compact deciduous tree that is also drought-resistant. It blooms hot pink colored, edible flowers.
- Deodar Cedar: The deodar cedar resembles the trees used for Christmas and is yet another one that does not require much water and does well even in higher temperatures.
- Crape Myrtle: A small deciduous tree, the crape myrtle is sometimes referred to as the “lilac of the South” for its beautiful purple, pink and white flowers in the late summer.
- Lemon Bottlebrush: The lemon bottlebrush tree is another evergreen tree that is often grown as a bush with red flowers that resemble bottlebrushes.
- Angel’s Trumpet Tree: This tree gets its name from its massive white flowers that resemble the shape of a trumpet. The flowers bloom in the summer and fall and open at night, producing a sweet and delicious scent but are poisonous if eaten.
