Ceanothus 'Puget Blue'

Californian lilac

5 5 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star 1 star (11 reviews) Write review
2 litre pot £17.99
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Buy Ceanothus 'Puget Blue' Californian lilac: Fabulous deep blue flowers

  • Position: full sun
  • Soil: fertile, well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil
  • Rate of growth: vigorous
  • Flowering period: April to June
  • Hardiness: frost hardy (needs winter protection in cold areas)

    In mid-spring, this spreading, evergreen shrub is an arresting sight, smothered in dense clusters of dark blue flowers. It makes a superb specimen plant for a south or west-facing border among spring-flowering bulbs, and when has finished flowering, provides an excellent foil for later-flowering deciduous shrubs and perennials. It needs a protected site, as the deeply veined, dark green leaves are easily scorched by cold, drying winds.

  • Garden care: Each year after the plant has flowered, take out anyreduce the shoots by one third and apply a 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted organic matter around the base of the plant in autumn.

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Eventual height & spread

Classic, earlier flowering Ceanothus

5

This survived three snowfalls in its first winter (Oxfordshire, 2017/8) and coped with draught (2018). It has grown to over 4ft, and looks like a small mature shrub in its second summer - heaps of long lasting, intense blue flowers. .

Elomvk

Oxfordshire

true

Stunning Flowers.

4

Beautiful flowers which provide brilliant early season colour & a great source for bees. Very easy to grow, and tough. The leaves are not overly attractive...A bit bland, but few things look better when in flower around April. Does get very large, so not the best choice for a small garden.

DavidG

Essex

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Small but perfectly formed

5

The hardest thing about this bush is waiting for it to grow into the showstopper I know it will eventually be.

KP

Oxford

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Lovely evergreen shrub

5

A good quality plant that arrived in excellent condition. Very happy with purchase.

Two of Seven

Somerset

true

I would buy this again, it is growing very well

5

Great plant, very healthy and growing fast

janney

Cornwall

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Lovely healthy plant

4

I bought this as a present for my mum. It arrived on time and she said it was a lovely healthy plant. May get a plant for next years birthday too.

Tina

Ullapool

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Wonderful deep colour.

5

Full bodied, strong growth and very pleasing to the eye. A little trimming here & there to keep the attractiveness.

Bob

Ramsgate, Kent

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Excellent buy

5

Excellent shrub, lovely color arrived well packed and a nice healthy plant, has grown well, would definitely buy another if needed.

GrannyAnn

Cornwall

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Lovely reliable plant

4

Good slow growing ceanothus compared to other rarities. Very at home in my heavy clay acid soil.

barkleysmum

merseyside

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Lovely

4

Needs quite a bit of room so needs to be planted with quite a bit of room.

Kinger

Fareham, Hampshire

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Ceanothus'Puget Blue'

4.6 11

100.0

Hi, I've just bought a Ceanothus 'Puget Blue' for my front garden and I was wondering if it's possible to prune it into more of the shape of a tree than a bush, once it gets a little larger. This is partly as I've seen mature Ceanothus plants this shape (which I loved), and partly so I can plant some shade plants and spring bulbs under it. If so, how do I go about this? Thanks!

Happygardener

Hello there Yes you could shape the ceanothus into a more of a standard form by selecting a strong leader stem, and removing the lower branches as it grows, but don't remove too many of the lower branches at one time.

my house faces south and the fence at the boundary although faces the house does get partial sun.I've just planted puget blue against the fence and have read it likes full sun will it be ok.It is sheltered from the wind.

mumsie

Hello, Its hard to say really as it will depend on how much sun it gets. These plants definitely prefer a spot that gets sun for the best part of the day, although they will tollerate a little light shade - although they do tend to get leggy and dont produce many flowers.

Helen

When is the best time for planting this shrub I need it to cover a fence at the top of my garden

Scooby

Hello there As a general rule plants that are grown in containers can be planted at any time of year as long as the soil isn't frozen solid. The best time to plant is in the autumn when the soil is still warm enough to encourage root growth but the plant isn't in active growth, or the spring before the temperatures. However as Ceanothus are not fully hardy I would wait until the spring now, unless you live in a warm part of the country, with a sheltered garden and are able to protect the plant from cold weather. Hope this helps.

Hi, I have a west facing very brick wall with trellis on top as the garden boundary. (13meters long) I would like some evergreen climbers provide some colour and act as privacy hedge that grow to 2 to 2.5m high. I heard that Ceanothus can be trained to grow as climbers. Could you please advise on which variety of Ceanothus would work best? and also which other climbers would mix well with Ceanothus? Thank you, Alice

Alice

Hello, Ceanothus make excellent wall shrubs provided you keep them tied in securely. I would recommend using the following.. Ceanothus Concha http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/ceanothus-autumnal-blue/classid.709/ C. Autumnal Blue http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/ceanothus-autumnal-blue/classid.709/ You could plant these with Pyracanthas (also excellent for wall training http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.pyracantha/sort.0/ or if you have a relatively sheltered garden, one of the Clematis cirrhosa cultivars http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.cirrhosa/sort.0/ or C. armandii all of which tend to keep most of their foliage throughout the winter. I also have to recommend my all time favourite, Trachelospermum jasminoides http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/trachelospermum-jasminoides/classid.1728/ I hope this helps,

Helen

There is a lot of dead growth at lower part of my ceanothus puget - the flowering branches are al to the top rear of the schrub - should I prune all the dead areas now or wait until flowering has dies away? Thank you My name: Diana - location central Suffolk

Diana

Hello, Ideally any pruning should be tackled after flowering in midsummer, but if the lower growth is completely dead, then it can be removed at any time of the year. These plants flower on the current seasons growth, so to keep them looking their best, you should reduce the shoots that have flowered by one third. This will encourage fresh new growth. It is worth keeping in mind though, that these plants tend to be relatively short-lived, so if it starts to look old and woody after 10 years or so, it may be better to replace it.

Helen

Photinia 'Red Robin' has black spots on leaves? Also shrubs for sunny border please Hello Crocus Can you tell me why my Photinia 'Red Robin' has black spots on its leave - and how to treat it please! Many thanks Linda

Linda Binfield

Hello again Linda, Viburnum tinus 'French White' is an evergreen shrub that flowers in late winter and spring, so you could get too seasons of interest - just click on the following link to go straight to it. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/viburnum-tinus-french-white/classid.4484/ Mahonias will flower in winter too http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.mahonia/ while Daphne odora Aureomarginata is pretty early in the spring http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/daphne-odora-aureomarginata/classid.3751/ For shrubs that flower throughout the summer, then here are some of my favourites:- Ceanothus http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.ceanothus/ Lavender http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.lavandula/ Hebe http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.hebe/ I hope this gives you a few ideas. Helen Plant Doctor

Crocus Helpdesk

I'll try that Helen - thank you. Also I have a lovely Crocus voucher to spend! I have just cleared an old sunny border in front of an ornamental wall. I have kept a large Hydrangea at the end of the border but would like a couple of shrubs to put alongside to give some winter colour. Do you have any suggestions that would complement the Hydrangea? Thank you for your prompt reply. Linda

Crocus Helpdesk

Hello Linda, The most likely cause of these black spots is Fungal Leaf Spot. This can be caused by a number of things, but is usually a result of the plant being stressed in some way. It may be that it was slightly too cold in winter, or if it is in a pot it may need to be moved to a larger one, or planted out into the ground. Keep an eye on the watering and try to improve the general growing conditions and you should start to see new growth. If the black spots are really unsightly, you should pick off the affected leaves (being careful not to defoliate it completely) and give it a feed with a general purpose fertiliser like Growmore. I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

Linda Binfield

Ceonothus 'caught' by cold weather.... Hi, I wonder if you could help me! I have a large, established low-growing Ceanothus that has never had a problem with the cold weather before, but this year's snow has caused most of the usually evergreen foliage to turn brown and take a turn for the worse. There is still some foliage towards the bottom of the plant that's still green. Do I leave it be, trim it back or has it died? Many thanks, Gareth

Hello Gareth, Ceanothus are not fully hardy, and they are quite short-lived too, so they usually only last around 6 - 8 years. Therefore I suspect that the combination of old age and freezing temps have taken their toll and it is time to replace it. I'm sorry not to be more help. Helen Plant Doctor

Crocus Helpdesk

Growing plants for a wedding Dear Crocus, I am a very happy customer ..... I love your site, plants and service. I learnt about you first from Arabella Lennox-Boyd. But now I am writing for some advice please. My sister is getting married in Oxfordshire on the last weekend of May. I would love to grow the flowers for the wedding. I have a big garden with empty beds and a green house at my disposal. Could you give me some advice on types of cut flowers that would be in bloom at the end of May? Some pointers as a place to start my research and buying would be fantastic. Thank you very much, Best wishes, Kate

Kate Olivia Higginbottom

Thank you so much Helen - amazing! I'll send you photos of the finished results. Best wishes and thanks again, Kate

Crocus Helpdesk

Hello Kate, It will be a little hit and miss as a lot will depend on the weather, but the following plants should be in flower around that time. Choisya ternata http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/choisya-ternata-/classid.825/ Osmanthus x burkwoodii http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/osmanthus-%C3%97-burkwoodii-/classid.4171/ Syringa http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.syringa/ Viburnum x carlcephalum http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/viburnum-%C3%97-carlcephalum-/classid.4460/ Convallaria majalis http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.convallaria/ Iris http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.iris/ Paeonia http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.paeonia/ Euphorbia palustris http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/perennials/euphorbia-palustris-/classid.2794/ Aquilegia http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.aquilegia/ Ceanothus Skylark http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/ceanothus-thyrsiflorus-skylark/classid.728/ and if we have a hot start to the summer a couple of roses or some of the earlier lavenders may have started too. I hope this gives you lots of ideas. Helen Plant Doctor

Kate Olivia Higginbottom

Clay loving evergreen plant for covering a wall Sir, I need to hide an ugly brick wall. I would prefer to have all year cover, meaning evergreen, and not over 6` or so tall, and able to thrive in my clay rich soil. I thought of a blue lilac but am not sure if the roots could cope. A variety of plants might look nice and would breakup the monotony of the wall, but your advice would be much appreciated. Sincerely, Dorothy.

dorothy

Hello Dorothy, There are several plants you could consider, including the Ceanothus if your soil is not too heavy. Alternatively any of the following would work well Aucuba http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.aucuba/ Elaeagnus x ebbingei http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/elaeagnus-%C3%97-ebbingei-/classid.3772/ Garrya http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/_/shrubs/garrya-elliptica-james-roof/classid.3880/ Pyracantha http://www.crocus.co.uk/search/_/search.pyracantha/ I hope this gives you a few ideas. Helen Plant Doctor

Crocus Helpdesk

Specimen Ceanothus or another large bushy shrub.... Good afternoon, When I was first looking for a Ceanothus to replace the one we have in our front garden, I looked on your website, but you only had small ones. Our once lovely Ceanothus has been pruned out of all recognition again this year, as I planted it a bit too near our boundary when it was a baby. I know it may come back, but it is getting ridiculous as every time it grows back it has to be cut back again severely and then ooks a mess for most of the year. Have you got a nice, tall, bushy Ceanothus to replace it? I love my Ceanothus but perhaps if you don't have a big one, do you have another large, flowering shrub as an alternative? Hope you can help Regards Margaret

D DRAKETT

Hello Margaret, it is rare to find larger sized Ceanothus as they are usually quite short-lived and don't normally live longer than 6 - 8 years. We do have a selection of larger shrubs on our site like Hamamelis, Hydrangeas, Magnolias, Acer, Cornus, Cotinus, Philadelphus, Syringa and Viburnum, so you may find something of interest. They will be listed in this section. http://www.crocus.co.uk/plants/ I hope this helps. Helen Plant Doctor

Crocus Helpdesk

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