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Littleleaf ceanothus

Ceanothus parvifolius

Littleleaf ceanothus
Photo: P Holroyd, CC BY 4.0

Littleleaf ceanothus is a low, spreading deciduous shrub from the Sierra Nevada of California, valued for its clusters of blue flowers in late spring. It does best in full sun with good drainage, and it is native to mountain conditions.

Family
Rhamnaceae (Rhamn family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry between waterings; avoid wet roots.
Soil
Well-drained, sandy or gravelly soil; tolerates poor soils.
Temperature
Hardy in cool temperate climates; protect from prolonged hard freezes below about -15 °C.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
C. California
Climate
temperate

About

Ceanothus parvifolius is a species of shrub in the family Rhamnaceae known by the common name littleleaf ceanothus or littleleaf whitethorn. This deciduous plant is characterized by its blue flowers and flat topped habit, and is endemic to the Sierra Nevada of California, where it grows on mountain flats and coniferous forest.

Where it grows

This species is distributed on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada of California from Plumas County south to Tulare County. It occurs primarily on open sites, slopes and flats and within coniferous forests from an elevation of 1255 to 2220 meters.

Other Ceanothus plants

New Jersey tea · Feltleaf ceanothus · Cerro Bola Ceanothus · Ceanothus buxifolius · Ceanothus caeruleus · Rincon Ridge ceanothus · Whitethorn ceanothus · Hoaryleaf ceanothus · Buckbrush · San Diego buckbrush · Sandscrub ceanothus · Ceanothus depressus

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ceanothus parvifolius by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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