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Greenbark Ceanothus
Ceanothus spinosus
  
About Greenbark Ceanothus (Ceanothus spinosus) 12 Nurseries Carry This Plant Ceanothus spinosus is a species in the Rhamnaceae (Buckthorn) family known by the common names greenbark ceanothus and redheart. It is native to the coastal strip of southern California south of San Luis Obispo County to northern Baja California, where it grows in the scrub and chaparral of the coastal mountain ranges. This is a large treelike shrub approaching six meters in maximum height. The stem is a rough-barked trunk near the base and has thorny, greenish-brown branches. The thick, firm evergreen leaves are up to 4 or 5 centimeters long and are hairless on the upper surface but sometimes lined with hairs underneath. The shrub blooms in flower clusters up to 15 centimeters long filled with clusters of white to pale blue flowers. The fruit is a smooth, round capsule about half a centimeter wide containing 3 seeds.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Plant Type
Shrub

Size
Size
10 - 20 ft tall
10 ft wide

Dormancy
Dormancy
Summer Semi-Deciduous, Evergreen

Fragrance
Fragrance
Fragrant - Pleasant

Flower Color
Flower Color
Blue, White

Flowering Season
Flowering Season
Winter, Spring

Wildlife Supported
 
Numerous insects, especially bees, are attracted to the flowers. Birds and small mammals are attracted to the fruits. Plants in the Ceanothus genus are host plants to the Spring Azure, Echo Blue, Pacuvius Duskywing, California Tortoiseshell, Pale Swallowtail, and Hedgerow Hairstreak butterflies.

 
Butterflies & moths hosted ( 8 confirmed , 69 likely * ) SHOW ALL

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
Moderately Easy

Cold Tolerance
Cold Tolerance
Tolerates cold to 5° F

Soil Drainage
Soil Drainage
Fast, Medium, Slow

Soil Description
Soil Description
Tolerates a variety of soils. Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

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

Maintenance
Maintenance
Fast growing, may require annual pruning (late summer) to restrain its expansive habit. Can be pruned into a standard tree form. One of the few Ceanothus species that re-sprouts from the burl if burned or cut back to the base.

Propagation
Propagation?
For propagating by seed: Hot water; then 2 mos. stratification may improve germination.

Sunset Zones
Sunset Zones?
7, 8, 9, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17*, 18, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Natural Setting
Site Type
Site Type
Dry slopes of the western face of the Coast Ranges, Transverse Range and Peninsular Range, usually below 3,000 ft.

Climate
Climate
Annual Precipitation: 7.5" - 36.1", Summer Precipitation: 0.14" - 1.99", Coldest Month: 40.1" - 56.1", Hottest Month: 64.0" - 83.5", Humidity: 0.72" - 33.74", Elevation: 1" - 6180"

Alternative Names
Common Names: Redheart, Spiny 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


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