Because your first efforts didn't pay off, you put off replanting and weeds begin to grow and grow. Below are 11 best plants for covering slopes and hillside areas and to create beauty and stabilty. Pine trees also help to control erosion with their deep roots, particularly the lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. This Asian native is good for erosion control and will grow under trees, including pines. 636 Myers Cove Road Beautiful and robust ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) is a great erosion control plant for low-light graded areas. Using water requirements is a great idea that I didn't think to do. My thoughts are Coast Live Oak, Valley Oak, Toyon, Salvia and Sage, and maybe Ceanothus Blue Jeans or Bearberry. I've read the Las Pilitas Nursery website and others and it sounds like a variety of different sized plants, shrubs, and trees works the best. Dense evergreen foliage. Soil testing labs vary in the types of tests they offer and the recommendations they provide, if any. Grows in sun & shade. Those classified as “low” should require a relatively small amount of water once established. HOrT COCO-UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa, Planting a Steep Hillside for Erosion Control, http://casoilresource.lawr.ucdavis.edu/gmap/, http://www.laspilitas.com/garden/howto/slope.html, http://www.contracosta.watersavingplants.com/, http://www.orchardnursery.com/pdfs/nurserycare/10-deerlist.pdf, http://ucanr.edu/sites/scmg/Sonoma_Gardener_Articles/Gardening_on_a_Hillside/, http://www.phgsc.com/mgcc/FAQ_Landscape_Designers_Oct15.pdf, http://hydroseedingandbarkblowersinc.com/erosion-control/, http://www.geotechsolutions.com/Rockfall_Control_Waipahu_HI.html, Fertilizing Fruit Trees and Information on Chill Hours. Low growing. Bright yellow flowers appear in spring and early summer when planted in full sun. They grow about the same rate and will attain the same height range. Olive and fig or other fruit bearing trees would be interesting. The Spruce / Autumn Wood. Instead, we usually consider the best plants for erosion control to be grasses and other low-growing plants that are cost-effective to install, quick to establish and readily colonize an area. Deciduous. Big Blue Liriope is good for difficult sites. They would create such an argument between themselves. Creeping Raspberry is a fast growing ground cover but not invasive. This can be done by covering them with netting or a light layer of straw (not hay). White flowers with tiny fruit. Evergreen. For example, vinca and wintercreeper would not be good companion plants. Deer Resistance - Orchard Nursery in Lafayette has a “deer resistant plant guide” based on observations in the Lamorinda area http://www.orchardnursery.com/pdfs/nurserycare/10-deerlist.pdf . Great for walkway edges and lawn subsitute. I hope you find this helpful to the completion of your project. The hill overlooks Highway 24 on the north side of the highway and faces west. I have done some research on plants which might be successful on your slope with particular concern for very low water use requirements once established, plants which may be less attractive to deer, and plants which are moderate or fast growing. Great suggestion... will be interesting to learn from you how much "drought" survival mode they can endure. In areas with lots of deer, such as along the Hwy 24 corridor, fencing or caging may be the only way to get plants large enough to withstand deer browse. I'm sure there are more methods than just plants. Advice from the Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County   Client's Request: I have a grass/thistle covered steep hillside I need to get planted with erosion control shrubs/trees and want some advice on plant choice.