Toyon or How Hollywood got its name
The town of Hollywood gets its name from a plant that grows all over the foothills wherein the iconic sign sits. The botanical name of this large shrub is Heteromeles arbutifolia. It produces clusters of bright red berries in the winter season, hence the common names Christmas Berry, California Holly and Hollywood. More often these days Heteromeles is called Toyon; a Spanish adaptation of tottcon, the Ohlone Indian word for this plant.
It is the sole species in the genus Heteromeles. Toyon is a prominent component of the coastal sage scrub plant community. It occurs throughout California in Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub and Oak Woodland habitats below 4,000 feet. Specifically in Corona, our foothills are covered with Toyon.
There are many reasons to recommend this plant. Toyon is one native that is easy to grow and widely adaptable. And by widely adaptable I am saying it survives gorilla maintenance in public parkways that receive regular irrigation.
California Thrasher picking over the berries while I was hiking along the Skyline Trail
It is a great habitat plant with an abundance of fruit in the winter months that local and migratory birds feed on. In summer, terminal clusters of small white flowers precede the red berries and provide nectar for adult butterflies.
Toyon is evergreen and grows 8 to 15 ft tall and wide, making it a great candidate for screening. This is my "go-to" plant for privacy along a fence line, with plant spacing at 5 to 6 ft on center. Toyon has a strong and much-branched root system that is deeply penetrating and wide spreading, making it useful for erosion control and slope plantings. Single specimens can be trained to make a very pretty small tree, although you may not want to plant too near patio surfaces or walkways as the litter from the berries may be considered a bit of a bother.
Young plants can be a bit gangly and will benefit from some pruning. It is important to note that Heteromeles is in the Rose family (Rosaceae), and can be bothered occasionally by a bacterial disease known as fireblight. This is a condition that gives the leaves of the affected branches an appearance of being burnt, dead and brown. Prompt removal of the infected branch will generally control this. Be sure not to add these cuttings to your compost or mulch pile. To avoid spreading disease such as fireblight, always disinfect your pruning tools with a bleach solution between cuts whenever you prune anything in your garden, but especially when dealing with members of the rose family. A mix of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water in a spray bottle works well.
A Toyon growing in the shade of Oak trees in Corona along the Skyline Trail
Sustainable, and easy care it can tolerate a good amount of shade but does well in full sun also. It is low maintenance, evergreen and suitable as a small tree or screening hedge that can feed the birds. All in all Toyon is a win-win.
