SeaWorld San Diego Landscaping Facts

• SeaWorld San Diego covers over 166 acres.
• Grows approximately 4500 taxa (different plants).
• Collection valued at millions of dollars.
• Besides the day-to-day gardening chores, in-house staff design and install new landscape construction plantings.
• Gardening staff averages 65 persons.

All major plants are labeled for the public. Each label tells the common name, botanical (scientific) name and the area of the world where the plant originated.    

SeaWorld San Diego lies in an area of the United States that has a Mediterranean climate. This climate has warm dry summers with little or no rainfall; cool winters with light frost if any, and an average annual rainfall of 8 to 10 inches.

Other major areas of the world having a similar climate are the Mediterranean region, south and southwest Australia, the tip of South Africa and a portion of Chile. Interestingly these areas are all located between 30 and 40 degrees latitude in both hemispheres and all are located on the western side of their respective countries.

In areas surrounding the Seal and Sea Lion exhibit you will find a begonia and fern garden with plants that have similar requirements and not often found in this climate: different yew (Taxus) species, Japanese plum yew, (Cephalotaxus harringtoniana) and the Japanese Torrey (Torreya nucifera) to mention a few. The Blue Garden on the east side of the Seal and Sea Lion exhibit shows plants that have blue or combinations of blue and other related colors.

We have planted different species of cycads throughout the Park; their locations determined by proper soil, potential optimal growth and visibility to guests.

Planted around our many exhibits and show areas are rare and unusual specimens. To mention a few, the bacurubu or tower tree (Schizolobium parahybum), from Mexico to Brazil; the New Guinea dinner-plate fig (Ficus dammaropsis), formerly know as (Dammaropsis kingiana); the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum), from southeastern United States; the Montezuma cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), from Mexico and Guatemala; the Torrey pine (Pinus torreyana), from San Diego County, California; the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), from western China; the coffin tree (Taiwania cryptomeriodes), from the mountains of Taiwan; and the Toog tree (Bischofia javanica), from tropical Asia.

The Southern California region is a dry area. Providing adequate water in years of low rainfall is often a serious problem. SeaWorld uses a number of plants that grow with a minimum amount of water.

back to SeaWorld San Diego Landscaping Facts