Rams try to get season back on track before bye week

• October 5, 2024

LOS ANGELES — Perhaps it’s fitting that the Rams find themselves facing the Green Bay Packers this week.

Last season, the Packers game represented the Rams’ rock bottom. The 20-3 road loss in which the offense failed to score a touchdown or surpass 200 total yards was the second straight “humbling” performance in head coach Sean McVay’s estimation, and dropped the Rams to 3-6. They spent the bye week in reflection, and were able to turn their season around, winning seven of their next eight to make the playoffs.

Now, as the Rams prepare to host the Packers (2-2), they hope they’ve reached their nadir. They are 1-3, coming off a different kind of disappointing offensive performance in which they turned only one of four red-zone trips into touchdowns. And they are hoping to create some kind of momentum heading into next week’s bye instead of again falling three games below .500.

But as to how much the Rams can lean on that experience, McVay isn’t so sure. NFL teams are different from year to year. But that doesn’t mean their aren’t lessons to glean as the Rams try to turn their season around.

“That team did a great job of being able to stay in the fight, play their best ball after the bye. That led to some continuity. I thought we were able to build as that season went on and I thought we played quality football even if we weren’t always getting the results,” McVay said. “That’s the thing that I want to see. … The guys that were a part of it, I think can draw some confidence from it and then bring the other guys that maybe weren’t a part of it with them to see if we give ourselves a chance to reflect the things that we’re hunting up.”

The red-zone shortcomings were an emphasis this week in practice. So was clean play in the secondary after three penalties in the second quarter allowed the Bears to take the lead last weekend heading into halftime.

“We’re past five [yards], we’re making contact, we’re grabbing outside of our frame as opposed to staying connected to a player, especially when they get in and out of phase in some of their route transitions,” McVay said. “It’s really playing with the techniques and the fundamentals that are in alignment with being able to play competitive football.”

But there’s also a sense of trying to catch up for some lost time. A year ago, McVay noted, the Rams were relatively healthy. That allowed them to grow together from the start of training camp into the heart of the season, and develop a short-hand that helped coaches effectively communicate with players, and players with each other.

That good health has obviously not carried over to 2024, with receivers, offensive line and defensive backs devastated by injuries. This has hampered some of that development, and most of the reinforcements the Rams need won’t come back until after the bye, or a few weeks later than that.

But, the NFL doesn’t wait for teams to get healthy. And the Rams can’t wait much longer to turn their season around, either.

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“I think it’s just a little bit more of a sense of urgency,” running back Kyren Williams said. “We’re fine where we’re at; we’re 1-3, we got a whole lot of season left. The things that we do moving forward are dictated on us and how we approach every day with a sense of urgency. It’s not a do-or-die, but we gotta get on that road and go make this happen. We can’t keep, ‘Oh, we’ll be better next week.’ No, we gotta go take advantage of the opportunities that we have in front of us and go on out there every single week like it’s our last week.”

GREEN BAY PACKERS (2-2) at RAMS (1-3)

When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday

Where: SoFi Stadium

TV/radio: CBS (Ch. 2)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 229, 381

​ Orange County Register 

UCLA hangs tough, can’t keep up with No. 7 Penn State

• October 5, 2024

The UCLA football team traveled all the way to Happy Valley in Pennsylvania, with many expecting it to be a sad state of affairs.

And while the Bruins did lose 27-11 to No. 7 Penn State on Saturday to remain winless in the Big Ten Conference, they can come away with some positives.

UCLA (1-4, 0-3 Big Ten) came in as a four-touchdown underdog against the undefeated Nittany Lions – and that was before it was announced before game time that redshirt sophomore Justyn Martin would make his first collegiate start in place of injured Ethan Garbers.

Going against one of the top defenses and in most hostile environments in the country, Martin finished 22 of 30 for 167 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

The former Inglewood High star ended a nine-quarter touchdown drought for the Bruins with 16 seconds left, lofting a pass to wide receiver Logan Loya near the right sideline in the end zone for a 1-yard score. Martin connected with running back Keegan Jones on the two-point conversion to close out the scoring.

After one half, the Bruins trailed only 14-3, with Martin completing 11 of 14 passes for 116 yards. The Bruins gained 53 of those yards on a catch-and-run by running back T.J. Harden down the left sideline that got the ball down to the Penn State 10-yard line, but the Bruins managed just a field goal with 2:51 left in the first half to trim the Nittany Lions’ lead to 7-3.

That left enough time for Penn State quarterback Drew Allar to engineer an eight-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Warren with 20 seconds left.

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Penn State (5-0,  2-0) kept UCLA at bay, its defense holding the Bruins scoreless for nearly the entire second half while racking up seven tackles for loss and two sacks.

UCLA comes home to take on Minnesota in a 6 p.m. game Saturday at the Rose Bowl. Penn State will follow west days later in a highly anticipated matchup against USC at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

​ Orange County Register 

Football roundup: Newport Harbor rallies to beat Tesoro; Dana Hills, Troy, El Toro also win in Week 6

• October 5, 2024

Newport Harbor overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Tesoro 34-31 in a Bravo League game Friday at Newport Harbor High.

Jake Meer ran for a 3-yard game-winning touchdown with 1:16 remaining in the game for Newport Harbor (2-4, 1-0).

Tesoro (3-3, 0-1) attempted a game-tying field goal as time expired, but the kick sailed to the left of the goal post.

Meer threw a touchdown pass to Cade Fegel who also had an 80-yard kick return for a touchdown. Ryker Budde and Glenn Baranoski had touchdown runs for the Sailors.

Tesoro defensive back Zachary Claton returned an interception over 100 yards for a touchdown. Nic Brubaker had a touchdown run for the Titans and Cash O’Byrne threw touchdown passes to Campbell Schamel and Tanner Silber.

In other games Friday:

Epsilon League

Huntington Beach 42, Laguna Hills 3: Brady Edmunds threw three touchdown passes and ran two touchdowns in Huntington Beach’s rout of Laguna Hills.

Troy Foster had two touchdown receptions for Huntington Beach (4-2, 1-0). Micah Riola had a touchdown reception for the Oilers and Brittin Hernandez had a rushing touchdown.

Luke Whitfield made a field goal for Laguna Hills (3-3, 0-1).

Foxtrot League

Laguna Beach 7, Northwood 6: Jackson Kollock threw for 226 yards with a touchdown in a narrow win for Laguna Beach.

The Minnesota commit connected with Luke Jolley for a 78-yard touchdown. Jolley also had an interception for Laguna Beach (6-0, 1-0).

Jason Hwang had a rushing touchdown for Northwood (5-1, 0-1), but the Timberwolves missed the extra point attempt.

Dana Hills 20, Aliso Niguel 10: Vanden Dugger threw three touchdown passes for Dana Hills in a home win over Aliso Niguel.

Charlie Eckl, James Leicester and Cameron Weaver had touchdown receptions for Dana Hills (6-0, 1-0). Radley Geiss ran for 95 yards and William Reardon had an interception for the Dolphins. Thompson Foulger had 13 tackles with a forced fumble and Micah Langohr had two sacks.

Carter Vestermark had a rushing touchdown for Aliso Niguel (4-2, 0-1).

Orange 21, Fountain Valley 14: Gianni Porfilio had three touchdown receptions for Orange in its first win of the season.

Porfilio had 150 yards receiving on three catches. Star Thomas completed 12 of 20 passes for 177 yards for Orange (1-5, 1-0).

Iota League

Troy 35, Sonora 21: Ethan Mundt ran for 168 yards with three touchdowns for Troy in a win over Sonora.

Rudy Alcala completed 10 of 12 passes for 188 yards with a touchdown for Troy (5-1, 1-0). Vander Ploog had 108 yards receiving with a touchdown and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Green.

Cayleb Quiroz led Troy’s defense with 10 tackles and had an interception. Kellen Watts had three tackles for a loss and Trent Palmer recovered a fumble.

El Toro 63, Canyon 35: Jack Mckelvy threw five touchdown passes for El Toro in a high-scoring win over Canyon.

The senior completed 14 of 18 passes for 267 yards. Makya Chee ran for a school-record 383 yards for El Toro (3-3, 1-0).

Luke Doyle caught five passes for 173 yards. Cuatro Schindele had two interceptions for El Toro’s defense.

Irvine 22, Santa Ana 7: Deacon Moss had a career-high three touchdown receptions for Irvine in a road win over Santa Ana.

Khoa Bui threw for over 180 yards with three touchdowns for Irvine (4-2, 1-0). Moss had over 100 yards receiving.

Carlos Guerrero had a rushing touchdown for Santa Ana (2-4, 0-1).

Omicron League

Pacifica 42, University 0: Noah Lewis had four touchdowns for Pacifica in a blowout win over University.

Lewis had two rushing touchdowns and threw touchdown passes to Aaron Mora and Addison Adams. Pacifica (3-3, 1-0) ran for over 250 yards with Miguel Campos being the leading rusher. Armando Torres had a punt return touchdown for the Mariners and the defense had three interceptions.

— Michael Huntley

Kappa League

Esperanza 42, Garden Grove 6: Junior quarterback Travis Frazier threw for 297 yards and four touchdowns for the Aztecs (4-2, 1-0) in a league-opening win over the Argonauts (1-5, 0-1).

Edward Khutshivili (6-4, 220) had six receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Davian Franco added four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown. Esperanza linebacker Dylan Critchfield led the defense with 12 tackles.

Esperanza plays Segerstrom (4-2, 1-0) on Thursday in a league game at Yorba Linda High.

Tango League

Bolsa Grande 48, La Quinta 26: Senior quarterback Tank Britton passed for 248 yards and three touchdowns for the Matadors (3-2, 1-0) in the win over the previously-undefeated Aztecs (5-1, 1-0) in a league opener.

Anthony Bell rushed for two touchdowns and Mikey Haley ran for a touchdown. Rudy Carrillo and Marc Narvarro had touchdown receptions. Navarro returned an interception for a touchdown late in the game to secure the win.

Matadors linebacker Mouhamed Baya had six solo tackles.

Bolsa Grande has a league home game Thursday against Loara (0-6, 0-1). La Quinta plays Santiago (3-3, 1-0) on Friday in a league game at Garden Grove High.

In the Lambda League

Kennedy 35, Valencia 10: Isaac Talamantes rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown and had a touchdown reception for the Fighting Irish (4-2, 1-0) in a win over the Tigers (3-3, 0-1)

Mahseiah Banks had three receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Derek Almazan threw a touchdown pass and ran for a touchdown.

Kennedy plays at Fullerton (0-6, 0-1) on Friday. Valencia is home against undefeated Marina on Thursday.

In the Zeta League

Saddleback 25, Godinez 19: Joseph Torres rushed for 100 yards on 21 carries and Andre Raiford scored on a 91-yard kickoff return for the Roadrunners (3-4, 1-0) in their league win over the Grizzlies (3-4, 0-1).

Raiford also scored on a reception. Saddleback’s Chris Cortez had three sacks.

— Steve Fryer

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​ Orange County Register 

Angels owner Arte Moreno has sights set on contending in 2025

• October 5, 2024

Facing the offseason after a franchise-record 99 losses, Arte Moreno had specific instructions for general manager Perry Minasian.

“We have a plan to try to add players that are going to help us compete,” the Angels owner said. “Perry’s marching orders are we need to build a team that can compete for a playoff spot. When you get to playoffs, anything can happen.”

Moreno added that this is not a long-term plan.

“In 2025,” he said.

Moreno spoke by phone Saturday to the Southern California News Group on a wide range of topics in his first interview since spring training.

Moreno, who has owned the team since 2003, oversaw a period of success in his first decade, but has seen the Angels become a disappointment for much of the time since. The Angels haven’t made the playoffs since 2014 – the longest drought in the sport – and they haven’t had a winning season since 2015. Moreno has often come under fire for his decisions that led to the losing seasons.

Even though his critics grew even louder during this nightmare season, Moreno nonetheless has an optimistic view of where the franchise is headed. He’s encouraged by the progress of the young players, and he’s committed to supporting them with an increased payroll.

“It’s going to go up,” Moreno said.

This season the Angels slashed about $40 million from the 2023 payroll, which nearly exceeded the luxury-tax threshold. Most of that was having Shohei Ohtani’s $30 million salary come off the books. Moreno said the Angels would be spending more in 2025 than they did in 2024, although not as much as they did in 2023.

“We won’t go there again,” Moreno said. “It’s just an automatic loss. If I start piling up (financial) losses, then the next year I’m going to cut.”

While there are different ways to measure a team’s payroll, the Angels have consistently been above average, but not one of the top spending teams. Moreno seems content to keep the Angels below the level of the sport’s biggest spenders.

“The teams that are spending the money they’re spending, they’re losing a lot of money,” Moreno said. “Not a little bit of money. They’re losing a lot of money. And some teams are selling equity to keep their payroll up.”

After losing Ohtani last winter, the Angels mostly sat out the free-agent market. Their biggest deal was a three-year, $33-million contract with right-handed reliever Robert Stephenson.

Moreno said as they got into spring training they made a run at J.D. Martinez before he signed with the New York Mets.

Moreno said the Angels offered Martinez a one-year deal worth “somewhere around $12 million, nothing deferred.” Martinez signed a deal with the Mets that paid him $12 million, but he received only $4.5 million in 2024, and the rest was deferred, some until 2038.

“We thought he was coming,” Moreno said. “We thought he would really fit well into our DH.”

Without Martinez, and with Stephenson, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon missing all or most of the season with injuries, the Angels were essentially a low payroll team.

The result was the most losses in franchise history.

“I hate to say it’s a terrible year because we had so much growth with our young people,” Moreno said, “but from wins and losses, it was a terrible year. Obviously, the worst year.”

Moreno nonetheless rewarded Minasian with a two-year contract extension. He said he appreciates the “communication” with Minasian and manager Ron Washington. Moreno said he and Minasian talk “every day.”

Moreno said his satisfaction with Minasian is largely because of what he perceives to be a strong young core.

“I feel we had a lot of growth with our young players,” he said. “We are really showing a lot more talent available going forward than we have for quite a few years. We’ve been trying to patch holes with free agents, and it has been working. It hasn’t worked in the way we want.”

Although various publications have consistently ranked the Angels’ farm system as one of the worst in the majors, Moreno disagrees with that assessment.

“Look at a roster and see how many homegrown players we have playing for us,” Moreno said. “When people look at our system, they say, ‘Oh geez, they’ve got a low-rated system.’ Why do we continue to produce major-league players? We need to find the mix of players that are going to win. We have to win. At the end of the day. It’s all measured in wins and losses.”

To that end, Moreno said he wants to “supplement” the young core.

“We have make sure we’re deep enough,” Moreno said. “We have to make sure our bench is deep enough if somebody gets hurt. It’s a little bit hard to be in a situation where there’s $72-73 million and they give us no production. It’s hard for me to just sit here and tell you, honestly, that I’m going to put $73 million more money on this payroll next year.”

That figure is a reference to the combined salaries of Trout and Rendon, who have been hurt for much of the past four seasons.

Although Moreno doesn’t seem willing to crank up the payroll to that degree, he said he wants to win again in 2025, with some additions and the current young players.

“That’s our goal,” he said. “We’re looking at ’25-’26, because of the young people coming, but our goal is to be in the playoffs in ’25.”

Among off the field topics, Moreno, 78, reiterated that he has no immediate plans to sell the team, echoing his stance from spring training.

He put the team on the market for a few months in 2022, but then reversed course early in 2023.

“I can’t tell you about the future,” Moreno said. “If someone makes some stupid, crazy offer, I’ve got to do what’s best for the family. I do the best I can to run it as a business.”

Moreno also said there is no current plan to revisit the ballpark development deal with the city. In 2022, Moreno had agreed with the city of Anaheim on a deal to purchase the ballpark and develop the surrounding area. The deal was killed when former mayor Harry Sidhu became embroiled in a corruption scandal.

“I’m not telling you we don’t have plans to revisit it, but I just felt there had to be a cooling period,” Moreno said. “They’re the ones that shot me down. It wasn’t like I did something. The mayor did something.”

Asked how long the “cooling period” would last, Moreno said: “I have no idea. There’s a new mayor (Ashleigh Aitken) and a new thought process.”

Moreno also said he wasn’t expecting any significant impact on the team or the fans from the bankruptcy proceedings involving Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports West.

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The Angels are currently “in talks to restructure” the deal, a source said earlier this week. Moreno conceded that “there’s a possibility that (the revenue from the deal) may be a little lower,” but he said it wouldn’t have a significant impact on the way the team is operated or the payroll.

He also said, as the sports TV landscape shifts more toward streaming than traditional broadcasts, he wants to make sure the games are accessible for a reasonable cost.

“I don’t want to get in a situation where in order to get all the games (fans) have to pay so much more,” Moreno said. “I don’t want to do that. I want to make sure all our opportunities are affordable.”

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers carry 4 rookies on NLDS roster versus Padres

• October 5, 2024

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers announced their roster for their National League Division Series against the San Diego Padres and it includes four rookies.

Pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Landon Knack and Edgardo Henriquez are included on the 13-man staff. Yamamoto will start Game 1 on Saturday. Rookie outfielder Andy Pages also made the team.

Not on the roster are veteran reliever Joe Kelly and injured pitcher Clayton Kershaw. Veteran outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, who was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays at the trade deadline, was also left off the NLDS roster. He dislocated a finger during the final series of the regular season.

The 22-year-old Henriquez made the roster despite making his big-league debut just 11 days ago and pitching a total of 3⅓ innings. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out five. The hard-throwing right-hander touched 104 mph with his fastball in the minor leagues and averaged 98.7 mph with the Dodgers.

Here are the full rosters for the Dodgers and Padres:

DODGERS

PITCHERS (13) — LH Anthony Banda, LH Alex Vesia, RH Yoshinobu Yamamoto, RH Walker Buehler, RH Landon Knack, RH Jack Flaherty, RH Daniel Hudson, RH Evan Phillips, RH Michael Kopech, RH Ryan Brasier,  RH Michael Grove, RH Edgardo Henriquez, RH Blake Treinen

CATCHERS (2) — Austin Barnes, Will Smith

INFIELDERS (5) — Freddie Freeman, Gavin Lux, Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernandez, Max Muncy

OUTFIELDERS (5) — Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman, Andy Pages, Chris Taylor

DH (1) — Shohei Ohtani

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PADRES

PITCHERS (13) — RH Yu Darvish, RH Dylan Cease, RH Bryan Hoeing, RH Robert Suarez, RH Alek Jacob, RH Jason Adam, RH Michael King, RH Jeremiah Estrada, LH Tanner Scott, LH Martin Perez, LH Adrian Morejon, LH Wandy Peralta, LH Yuki Matsui

CATCHERS (2) — Kyle Higashioka, Elias Diaz

INFIELDERS (6) — Luis Arraez, Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Xander Bogaerts, Tyler Wade, Donovan Solano

OUTFIELDERS (5) — Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jurickson Profar, David Peralta, Brandon Lockridge

​ Orange County Register 

Green Bay Packers at Rams: Who has the edge?

• October 5, 2024

GREEN BAY PACKERS (2-2) at RAMS (1-3)

When: 1:25 p.m. Sunday

Where: SoFi Stadium

TV/radio: CBS (Ch. 2)/710 AM; 93.1 FM; 1330 AM (Spanish); Sirius 229, 381

Line: Packers by 3.5

Notable injury designations

Packers: OUT: DL Devonte Wyatt (ankle); DOUBTFUL: WR Romeo Doubs (personal), WR Christian Watson (ankle); QUESTIONABLE: CB Jaire Alexander (groin), OL Elgton Jenkins (knee), TE Luke Musgrave (ankle), CB Carrington Valentine (ankle), OL Jordan Morgan (shoulder), LB Edgerrin Cooper (hip), DT Jonathan Ford (calf).

Rams: OUT: WR Cooper Kupp (ankle).

What’s at stake? The Rams are already in dangerous territory in regards to a potential playoff spot. Only three teams have started 1-3 and made the playoffs since the NFL expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021. A loss to the Packers would put them deeper in the hole and could be detrimental to team morale heading into the bye week.

Who’s better? The Packers have the more complete team; quarterback Jordan Love returned last week after missing two games with an MCL sprain and has a nice group of weapons around him, from running back Josh Jacobs to receiver Jayden Reed to tight end Tucker Kraft. The defense is ninth in DVOA against the run and the Packers lead the NFL in interceptions forced, averaging two per game to start the season.

Matchup to watch: Rams QB Matthew Stafford vs. Green Bay secondary. As illustrated above, the Packers are ball hawks, and their forced turnovers have resulted in 104 points for the offense this season. Stafford threw one interception last week, and nearly a second if the defensive back hadn’t failed to reestablish himself in bounds. He will need to be more careful with the football against the opportunistic Packers to give the Rams the chance to win.

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Rams win if: They don’t turn the ball over. … RB Kyren Williams runs for more than 120 yards. … The pass rush sacks Love three times. … The Rams limit themselves to five penalties or fewer.

Fantasy sleeper: Packers WR Dontayvion Wicks. Reed is still Love’s primary read, but with Doubs and Watson doubtful for Sunday, Wicks figures to be the biggest beneficiary for the Packers.

Prediction: Packers 35, Rams 17. Beat reporter’s record: 2-2 for the season; 1-3 against the spread.

​ Orange County Register 

Can the Fed heat up Southern California’s chilly real estate job market?

• October 5, 2024

Southern California real estate hiring slowed by two-thirds in a year where property-related businesses were throttled by the Federal Reserve’s tight-money policy.

My trusty spreadsheet, reviewing state employment stats for August, found 921,800 property-linked workers in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. While local real estate employment grew locally by 9,500 positions in the last 12 months – that’s 65% slower than the 27,000-a-year growth pace in pre-pandemic, cheaper-money 2015-19.

Next, contemplate other industries across Southern California, where jobs are up 133,800 over the past 12 months. That’s a 1.6% gain vs. real estate’s 1% increase.

Do not forget that the Fed in March 2022 began cooling an overheated economy with higher interest rates. So, it’s not that surprising that Southern California’s property-related jobs are running 9,300 jobs below their peak set in July 2022. Please note that many people who work in the real estate world are self-employed and are not tracked by traditional government job counts.

In September, the Fed reversed gears and started lowering the rates the central bank controls. If those moves make real estate financing cheaper, how will the industry’s employers react?

By the slice

Consider how real estate-related employment niches in Southern California fared since the Fed’s war on inflation upped mortgage rates to highs not seen in two decades. Look at how far some professions have slipped …

Lending: 104,100 folks in various slices of the long-suffering credit industries. Employment is off 40,800 from the post-Great Recession high hit in December 2012. In the past two years, refinancing disappeared and homebuying slowed dramatically, further slashing the need for mortgage makers.

Building supplies: 61,800 sellers of equipment and materials – 5,800 below post-Great Recession high (June 2021). Home remodeling has significantly slowed down.

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Real estate services: 143,900 people handling transactions – 3,300 below post-Great Recession high (December 2022). Fewer purchases require fewer processors.

Trade construction specialists: 318,100 employed by contractors – 1,600 below post-Great Recession (October 2023). Numerous local projects have been put on hold awaiting cheaper financing.

Building services: 138,900 jobs in commercial property operations – just 200 below the post-Great Recession high set in July. Workers returning to offices has helped this niche.

Project construction: 155,000 work at firms building homes to highways – a post Great-Recession high. A push to improve infrastructure, notably roads, boosts this niche.

Geographically speaking

August’s real estate employment breakdown by metro area reveals the Fed’s cooldown, too …

Orange County: 219,400 real estate jobs – 11,000 below post-Great Recession high (August 2018) as its mortgage lenders took a big hit.

Los Angeles County: 348,400 real estate jobs – 7,000 below post-Great Recession high (February 2020).

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Inland Empire: 184,100 real estate jobs – 2,000 below post-Great Recession high (October 2023).

San Diego County: 169,900 real estate jobs – a post-Great Recession high.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com

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​ Orange County Register 

These lovely ornamental plants are actually on invasive species list

• October 5, 2024

If the birth of a child is one of life’s highlights, the sprouting of seeds is gratifying in a similar way. In both cases, you are a partner in the creation of life. 

But what will that child or that seedling turn out to be? There is an ongoing controversy whether nature or nurture plays a more prominent role in personality development. In other words, is it the genetic makeup of the child (nature) or the way a child is raised (nurture) that determines their character? 

With plants, the answer to this question is simple. Without the proper conditions for growth, a plant will perform below its capacity. For example, a plant that needs a sunny exposure to flower may never bloom if planted in the shade. Or take a plant that needs a cold winter in order to bloom in the spring: If you plant it in a warm winter climate, it could give plenty of vibrant green growth throughout its life, but never flower.

It is especially pleasing to see plants self-sow in your garden since it means you have provided optimum conditions for growth and the nature or genetic potential of the seedling in question can be fully expressed as it develops into a mature plant. 

Seeds that sprout on their own might be dispersed from parent specimens you personally planted or from seeds blown in by the wind or deposited by a bird. About a year and a half ago, I saw a seedling of a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) begin to grow in my front yard and it has already reached four feet in height. It is located on one side of a pathway, directly across from a mature butterfly bush on the other side, which is obviously its parent. But just when I wanted to gloat about my horticultural prowess in creating the perfect environment for butterfly bushes to flourish, the following thought came to mind: “If a butterfly bush sprouted in my garden without human assistance does that mean that this species could just as easily sprout in lots of other gardens and, for that matter, could it leap the garden fence and make the list of California invasive plants?” Sure enough, it did.

There is a nonprofit organization known as the California Invasive Plant Council (cal-ipc.org) whose mission is “to protect California lands and waters from ecologically damaging invasive plants.” The state of California currently spends $82 million annually in an ongoing effort to control invasive plant proliferation. Invasive plants not only upset ecological balance, but are financially damaging to farmers and ranchers, add fuel to wildfires, displace native plants, and clog waterways. The council has created a list of more than 300 plants used in horticulture — including butterfly bush — than are considered invasive or on the verge of being invasive. These species are pictured on their website in alphabetical order. You will be in for a few surprises — I know I was — when you find some of your favorite plants, including some not so easy to grow, that are listed there

Take Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), popularly known as annual vinca. It’s actually a perennial but is typically grown as a summer annual. Flowers are pinwheels of pink, white, red, or apricot. This bedding plant has a reputation for being finicky since it is highly susceptible to soil fungus and can quickly perish if the soil is not perfectly drained or if overwatered. I have, however, seen it thrive in perennial fashion when watered no more than once a week in sandy soil. The fact that it is invasive is instructive since invasives, by nature, thrive on neglect; otherwise, how would they be so successful in thriving without any human attention? 

I was equally surprised to see foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) on this list. It’s one of the more expensive bedding plants but you don’t mind paying more for its opulent display of flowers that resemble fingers on a glove. (Why “fox” came to be associated with this plant’s name is an etymological enigma.) I would never think that pincushion flower (Scabiosa purpurea) would make this list but it does. It’s one of the most charming selections for the flower garden whose multitude of stamens sticking out of a raised central disk really do resemble a pin cushion. Colors range from deep purple and dark red to lavender, pink, and white. A final flower bed favorite on the list is perennial yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), a smaller-flowered version of snapdragon, to which it is related. 

A number of my favorite trees are listed as invasive. Fernleaf acacia (Acacia baileyana) is a wonderful small tree with bipinnate blue-grey leaves and fragrant yellow spherical flower puffs. Its form is a shapely dome. Persian lilac or Chinaberry (Melia azederach) possesses two qualities common to trees that tend to make you catch your breath and stand in silent awe: lush, deep green foliage and a perfectly domed canopy. Even in a drought, Chinaberry maintains its fresh and vital look, needing no water other than an average dose of Los Angeles winter rain. It grows rapidly to a height of 30-40 feet. 

Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum) produces a cloud of perfume from its white flowers in the spring and shows off orange fruit containing red seeds in due course. Although typically grown as a specimen tree, it is also utilized for a hedge or as a screen. In the manner of the Chinaberry, its leaves are iridescent, with a rare radiance, especially when observed at a distance. The Mayten tree (Maytenus boaria) is my final arboreal favorite that happens to be invasive. Some people consider it a compact alternative to weeping willow due to its pendant aspect, more narrow form and slower rate of growth than that classic weeping tree. The key to successful cultivation of a mayten tree is to simply let it grow; pruning is an afterthought and may be put off for years as it reaches 20 feet in height only after a decade or more. 

As for invasive bulbous or rhizomatous perennials, be aware of African cornflag (Chasmanthe floribunda), yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), bulbil Watsonia (Watsonia meriana), and calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica). And before leaving this subject, I have to mention Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus), whose sweet fruit I have tasted on many occasions. Unfortunately, it crowds out native plants when it jumps over the garden fence.

I must admit to being wistful at the thought of these and many other desirable ornamentals having invasive qualities. If nothing else, this list is instructive in letting us know which plants are probably not as fussy when it comes to their care as we may have previously thought. Invasive plants are highly opportunistic and they don’t need much help from us to thrive.

California native of the week: Engelmann, mesa or Pasadena oak (Quercus engelmannii) is the rarest and most endangered of our native oaks. Although it may grow to 80 feet with a spread of 120 feet, as one specimen in Pasadena has done, it will generally stay under 40 feet in height and is thus a suitable selection for a moderate-sized backyard. There is a breathtaking grove of 250 Engelmann oaks at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia. These oaks have an unpredictable growth habit and do not produce a neatly domed or other symmetrical canopy like other oak species. Their blue-or grey-green leaves are distinctive and if you want their acorns to sprout, you do not have to bury them in the ground since they will germinate when left on the soil surface. These acorns were consumed by the local Gabrielino-Tongva tribes living in what would become Los Angeles County. A tribe further south made a sweet chewing gum from pounded and washed Engelmann oak bark. This oak is named for George Engelmann, a German physician who lived in St. Louis but was a botanist of considerable repute who made a tour of the forests of the Pacific West in 1879 when he was 70 years old. You can find Engelmann oaks for sale at the Tree of Life Nursery (californianativeplants.com) in San Juan Capistrano and at the Theodore Payne Nursery (theodorepayne.org) in Sun Valley,

If anyone has experience with an invasive or out-of-control plant that they would like to share, please send it along to joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions and comments, as well as gardening conundrums and successes are always welcome.

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