Blueblossom
Ceanothus thyrsiflorus
The showiest California lilac, smothered in fragrant sky-blue flower clusters that hum with bees in spring. A fast, nitrogen-fixing evergreen for dry, unwatered slopes.
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 6–20 ft
- Spacing
- 6–15 ft apart
- Light
- part shade
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, alkaline, neutral
- Bloom
- March, April, May, June
- Bloom colors
- white, blue
- Wildlife value
- butterflies, hummingbirds, mammals, songbirds, larval host
- Caterpillar hosts
- ~45 butterfly & moth species
- Landscape uses
- border
- Native states
- CA, OR
Related native plants
More Ceanothus species
- Buckbrush (Ceanothus cuneatus)
- Snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus)
- New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)
- Chaparral Whitethorn (Ceanothus leucodermis)
- Deerbrush (Ceanothus integerrimus)
- Mountain Whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus)