Ceanothus caeruleus

When I was visiting friends in Oregon a few years back, I took a trip to Cistus nursery (a name that ensured that I go). It's not a commercial nursery, with rows of Monrovia plants for sale. Instead, there were theme areas, plants in a bit of disarray, some needing repotting, and benches of mixed plants with only one or two of some gems present. This is clearly a independent nursery, and just as clearly, owned by someone who loves plants. You know this as soon as you get into the parking lot, which is less a lot than a couple of rows of parking areas, divided by a heavily planted median. And oh! the plants in the median. Not your usual fare, if you know what I mean. Sure there was the namesake Cistus, but there was also Eucalyptus, Echium, and a host of other plants that I can only remember as being surprising for Oregon.




Owner Sean Hogan gave me a tour of the nursery, showing me some of his prized plants. When I lamented the fact that I couldn't grow Ceanothus, one of my favorite California plants, in Albuquerque, he showed me a ceanothus growing under a large tree, pulled off a few dried berries, and said, "Here, try this Ceanothus caeruleus." Now, most of us know Ceanothus caeruleus as a very frost tender plant, and I must have shown my doubt. He told me that it does fine in Oregon, and should be fine for me. He had collected it at a particularly high altitude in Mexico, where snow is not uncommon.

At home, I heat stratified some of the seeds, and grew out four or five plants. They were prone to root problems in the seed mix that I had them in, not too surprising given that it was peat based. I planted them in the garden as tiny two-leafed seedlings. Only one survived.

Each spring, I think it has died also, suffering from severe freeze damage. The leaves are supposed to be evergreen, but they are completely brown and branches crispy brown by spring. It has surprised me each year by coming back.

Last year, in late summer, it even produced one cluster of flowers. This year, the explosive new growth has exceeded 3 feet in length. It is starting to bloom, with a number of buds visible. While the flowers are not the glowing dense dark blue of varieties such as 'Concha' that I remember from California, It is a delightful powder blue. It does remind me of my youth.

Thanks, Sean. I wear my Cistus t-shirt proudly.