Ray Hartman Ceanothus, Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'

About Ray Hartman Ceanothus (Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman') 47 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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Ray Hartman Ceanothus (Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman') is a cultivated hybrid of Ceanothus arboreus and Ceanothus griseus. It originated by chance in 1929 at the Leonard Coates Nurseries in Morgan Hill and is now widely grown in nurseries throughout California. It has dark green glossy leaves, and grows quickly to full size. Its blue flowers range from powder blue to dark blue.

Ray Hartman Ceanothus is one of the easiest to grow of all the Ceanothus cultivars in California. In general, it's best to grow Ceanothus species native to your area. Ray Hartman Ceanothus may be the exception that proves the rule. Though its parents are native to the Channel Islands and the coast of north-central California, it grows reliably throughout the state in both coastal and interior areas, as long as temperatures stay above 10-15 degrees.

It tolerates fairly dry soil and naturalizes well in areas with just a little more than average soil moisture during the dry season, such as slope bottoms and north-facing slopes. It also tolerates supplemental irrigation up to once per week, though still better not to water directly during the summer or early fall once established, or it will likely have a shortened life. It will get all the water it needs as it stretches its roots out to nearby irrigated areas.

The biggest problem with this plant is that deer love it. Rats also seem to be attracted to this plant and can strip smaller branches and shoots to make their nests.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Shrub

Size

15 - 30 ft tall
5 - 10 ft wide

Form

Upright

Growth Rate

Fast

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Slight

Flower Color

Blue

Flowering Season

Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported

Bees, deer
Butterfly gardens

Landscaping Information

Sun

Part Shade, Full Sun

Moisture

Low

Summer Irrigation

Never irrigate once established, Irrigate ~ 1x / mo once established

Nurseries

Carried by 47

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance

Tolerates cold to 10 - 15° F

Soil Description

Tolerates a wide variety of soils, including loam, light clay and sand.. Soil PH: 5 - 6

Common uses

Butterfly Gardens, Hedges

Maintenance

Tolerates light pruning

Sunset Zones?

5*, 6*, 7*, 9*, 14*, 15*

Site Characteristics

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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

Ray Hartman Ceanothus

Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'

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Ray Hartman CeanothusCeanothus 'Ray Hartman'

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Ray Hartman Ceanothus

Ceanothus 'Ray Hartman'