Home
Advanced Search Map Locator
View Settings
Nurseries Carrying this Plant Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

About Calscape Nurseries
California Garden Planner Bay Area Garden Planner (NEW) Planting Guide
Butterflies My Plant Lists
Contact Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Island Ceanothus
Ceanothus arboreus
  
About Island Ceanothus (Ceanothus arboreus) 23 Nurseries Carry This Plant Ceanothus arboreus is a species of shrub endemic to California, especially to the Channel Islands. It is known commonly as feltleaf ceanothus. It is a species of what are sometimes called California lilacs, and may be referred to as the California mountain lilac or island mountain lilac. It is one of the tallest of the genus, growing up to 25-30 ft. in height, bearing glossy dark green leaves which are leathery or felt-like on their undersides. It is sometimes planted as a fast-growing ornamental for its showy bright blue flowers, which grow in plentiful panicles, or bunches, of tiny five-lobed blossoms. Some varieties and cultivars have light, powder blue blooms, and others bear darker blue flowers. One named variety is known as 'Owlswood Blue'. The species is used as a parent in popular ornamental hybrids such as 'Ray Hartman'. The fruits are three-lobed, triangular capsules. As a native of dry California, the plant is drought-tolerant and may be found in chaparral ecosystems. It has a reputation for being short lived, but life span is improved by not overwatering, withholding summer water and replicating natural conditions as much as possible.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
20 - 30 ft tall
10 ft wide

Form
Form
Rounded

Growth Rate
Growth Rate
Fast

Dormancy
Dormancy
Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Blue

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Insects, especially bees, are attracted to the flowers. Birds such as quail and towhees are attracted to the seeds. Plants in the Ceanothus genus are host plants to the Spring Azure, Echo Blue, Pacuvius Duskywing, California Tortoiseshell, Pale Swallowtail, and Hedgerow Hairstreak butterflies.

Landscaping Information
Sun
Sun
Full Sun

Moisture
Moisture
Very Low

Summer Irrigation
Summer Irrigation
Never irrigate once established

Nurseries
Nurseries

Ease of Care
Ease of Care
Very Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils but does best and lives longest in well drained soil. Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0

Common uses
Common uses
Bank Stabilization, Bird Gardens, Butterfly Gardens, Bee Gardens

Companion Plants
Companion Plants
Ideal companions are other island plants such as Catalina Cherry (Prunus ilicifolia ssp. lyonii), Island Mallow (Malva assurgentiflora), Island Live Oak (Quercus tomentella), and Island Ironwood (Lyonothamnus floribundus ssp. aspleniifolius), but any chaparral plants will also work.

Maintenance
Maintenance
Ceanothus are susceptible to aphids, white fly and a stem gall.. Prune in dry season to reduce chance of infection through the wound

Propagation
Propagation?
Because Ceanothus species hybridize freely, propagation by cuttings is usually recommended in order to obtain a true representative of a given taxa.  For propagating by seed: Hot water; then 2 mos. stratification may improve germination.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes among chaparral, primarily on the Channel Islands. Does best near the coast (within about 20 miles) where island conditions can be replicated.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 12.1" - 19.2", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 0.32", Coldest Month: 46.3" - 57.1", Hottest Month: 63.0" - 72.9", Humidity: 1.34" - 16.94", Elevation: 4" - 2066"

Alternative Names
Botanical Names: Ceanothus arboreus var. glabra
Common Names: Catalina Ceanothus, Feltleaf Ceanothus


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


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In