Pt. Reyes Ceanothus
Pt. Reyes Ceanothus is easily the most widely planted Ceanothus ground cover, and for good reason! This beautiful evergreen is as tough as they come, excels in hot dry situations, on slopes, and delights the bees when the plant gets absolutely covered in violet blue flowers each March. Stems root as they touch the ground making it a valuable erosion control ground cover. And it fixes nitrogen too! Perfect for the parking strip.
A very useful and beautiful genus of shrubs native to the West Coast, mostly in the California and Southern Oregon Coast Range, Ceanothus boast evergreen foliage, gorgeous purple to blue, sometimes white, flowers and can tolerate the worst soil conditions so long as they are well draining. As nitrogen fixing shrubs they also fix nitrogen in the soil and are excellent companion plants for other woody plants.
Latin Name: Ceanothus gloriosus ‘Pt. Reyes’
Site and Soil: Well draining unamended soils in full sun
Hardiness: Hardy to about 0 F.
Size at Maturity: 1-2′ high by about 3-4′ wide
Bloom Time: Late winter into spring
Pests & Diseases: None that we have observed
USDA Zone: 7