Lemmon's Ceanothus, Ceanothus lemmonii

About Lemmon's Ceanothus (Ceanothus lemmonii) 6 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Ceanothus lemmonii is a species of shrub in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae known by the common name Lemmon's ceanothus. It is endemic to California, where it grows on the wooded slopes of the Inner North Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada foothills to the west and east, respectively, of the Sacramento Valley. This is a spreading shrub approaching a meter in height and slightly more in width. The woody parts are gray when aged and new twigs are green, hairy, and sometimes hairy. The evergreen leaves are alternately arranged. Each is oval in shape and dull green, densely hairy on the underside and more thinly hairy on the upper surface, and the edge is lined with tiny hairy teeth. The abundant flower clusters are clusters of pale to bright blue or purple flowers. The fruit is a smooth capsule a few millimeters long.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

1.6 - 3.3 ft tall

Dormancy

Evergreen

Flower Color

Blue, Purple

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported

Native bees; Butterflies: Spring Azure, Echo Blue, Pacuvius Duskywing, California Tortoiseshell, Pale Swallowtail, Hedgerow Hairstreak
Bird gardens

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 73 likely * ) SHOW ALL

Gray Hairstreak Strymon melinusStrymon melinus

Pale Tiger Swallowtail Papilio eurymedonPapilio eurymedon

Lorquin's Admiral Limenitis lorquiniLimenitis lorquini

California Tortoiseshell Nymphalis californicaNymphalis californica

The Brown Elfin Callophrys augustinusCallophrys augustinus

Pacuvius Duskywing Erynnis pacuviusErynnis pacuvius

Hedgerow Hairstreak Satyrium saepiumSatyrium saepium

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun

Moisture

Very Low

Nurseries

Carried by 6

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Soil Description

Soil PH: 5.4 - 6.8

Common uses

Bank Stabilization, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: Hot water and 3 mos. stratification. Alternative treatment: boil in water 1 min.; then, instead of stratification, soak in 400 ppm GA, 13 hrs.; air dry 4 days; soak in 3% thiourea 5 mins. Seeds may then be sown or dried again and stored. In this quick treatment gave 48% germination for Ceanothus lemmonii. (Adams et al. 1961).

Sunset Zones?

7*, 14, 15, 16, 17

Natural Setting

Site Type

Open, wooded slopes

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 20.7" - 82.0", Summer Precipitation: 0.39" - 2.87", Coldest Month: 29.4" - 52.3", Hottest Month: 53.4" - 75.7", Humidity: 0.51" - 25.79", Elevation: 42" - 6957"

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Lemmon's Ceanothus

Ceanothus lemmonii

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Lemmon's CeanothusCeanothus lemmonii

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Lemmon's Ceanothus

Ceanothus lemmonii