Ceanothus, California Lilac 'Dark Star'

Planted this one at about 1300 feet above sea level just outside of Portland Oregon. Planted it along a gentle slope, full sun, native (i...Read More.e. unamended) soil that drains well and the thing shriveled up and died and looked like a tumbleweed. No idea why. I planted it in Fall so no water was needed since we got enough rain and I did not water it during hot days as I know ceanothus abhors heat and water. Very disappointed in this one. I think they look beautiful but it does not like this area I suppose.

Update Spring of 2017:

We had some extended cold/snowy/icy weather this winter in the Portland, OR area. Several weeks in...Read More the 10s-20s. I must have about 15-20 Dark Stars, none have shown any damage from the cold, they are growing fine. (A bunch of them are now bent down a bit from being covered by ~8" of snow for 1-2 weeks. But they're healthy and the bend should just wind up giving them an interesting kink in their trunks as they get older.

Addendum: The snow that got on them weighed the branches down enough that I lost two of these and some branches off others. One big problem is I have them on a slope and the trunks grew somewhat horizontal, so the weight of the snow put a lot of force on the trunks & larger stems. That was an unusual weather anomaly and I'm not real concerned about that happening again. (plus, they will be bigger and sturdier and should hold up to something like that better if it does happen again.

I did have a time in the fall of 2016 when deer chomped on some of them heavily.

Addendum Sep 2020: I had that one year where deer chomped heavily on them but I think that was the only time. I think normally deer probably don't eat these. Deer seem to be a bit unpredictable: I have some camellias they chomped on heavily one time- but that's the only time they went after the camellias. (over 8 years that I've had my garden) So I think normally deer are not an issue for this plant.

Another thing I wonder: Mine have grown super fast, becoming 6-8 foot trees in about 3-4 years. I wonder about their longevity. I believe I've seen them quoted as having a rather short lifespan. however, my oldest one seems to have slowed down a lot in its growth, so maybe they slow down as they get older and then stay alive for a lengthy time. Time will tell. Definitely do not water these after they are 1-2 years old and established. They need no watering even here in Portland OR area where there is virtually no rain in the summer. I suspect they will be quite unhappy if you water them.

This ceanothus is the one I find the prettiest- vivid blue flowers and and I like the way it branches.

They say here zone ...Read More9 but I believe that is incorrect- nurseries show ceanothus as being good to zone 7 or 8. I am in zone 8 and it dipped to 9F a couple of winters back and my darkstar did not get damaged.

Ceanothus do seem to be very drought tolerant. I have a couple of the Victoria variety in a corner of a big asphalt area in front of a retaining wall, that spot gets incredibly dry in summer and I did not water those all summer, and they are still green.

I have planted a bunch of them and the ones in shadier spots haven't grown super fast but the ones that have grown best have grown a ton in a short time. A couple I planted this spring I pulled out to move to a different part of the yard and the roots have grown really fast. They remind me of roses in that regard. So if you want to move them, don't wait too long or they are going to be too hard to transplant. One of mine got mangled by a deer the other day, but I don't think it is a plant that appeals much to deer, I think the deer was just testing it out to see what it tasted like.

Wonderful deep blue flowers in spring. Grows on a dry clay bank. Needed little water to establish.