There are 50-60 varieties of Ceanothus or California wild lilac with the highest diversity found along the west coast of California. This Blueblossom variety grows into a large evergreen bush, and like most varieties it’s one of the first to flower in the spring. Important for insects, it hosts up to 80 butterflies and moths, and then later the seed pods are an important food source for birds. One large ceanothus came with our site and we have already seen blooms on several young ones that were planted a year ago.
Ceanothus like at least six hours of sun and prefer well-drained soils. Plant them in fall or winter and only water them through the first year or two, you don’t ever need to fertilize. They have the reputation of being short-lived but this is only when they get too much water.
You can grow ceanothus from 6-8 inch cuttings. It works best to take 4-6 inch cuttings from flexible non-woody stems. Remove 2-4 leaves and cut a little beneath the leaf nodes. Use rooting hormone on the nodes and plant in soil or perlite. Keep the soil moist and the air around it humid for the first couple of weeks, transplant when you see roots growing out the bottom.
