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Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
Also called Blue Blossom Ceanothus, California Lilac, Blueblossum, Bluebrush
Blueblossom is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to Oregon, California and Baja California, grown for its spring clusters of blue to near-white flowers. It needs full sun, a warm sheltered spot and good drainage.
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus, known as blueblossom or blue blossom ceanothus, is an evergreen shrub in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae that is native to Oregon and California in the western United States and the state of Baja California in northwestern Mexico. The terms 'Californian lilac' and 'Mountain lilac' are also applied to this and other varieties of ceanothus, though it is not closely related to Syringa, the true lilac.
Two varieties are accepted:
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus has been used in gardens extensively. It prefers a warm, sheltered position in full sun. Several cultivars have been selected, including:
'Blue Mound' which can grow to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) tall
It is popular with birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. It is often visited by honeybees for its pollen.
New Jersey tea · Feltleaf ceanothus · Buckbrush · Fendler's ceanothus · Point Reyes ceanothus · Carmel ceanothus · Jersey tea · Vail Lake ceanothus · Redroot
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 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.
