Ceanothus 'Julia Phelps'

Common Name:
Wild lilac
Plant Type:
Evergreen shrub
Family:
Rhamnaceae (The Buckthorn Family)
Geographic Origin:
California
California Native?:
Yes

Plant Size:
5-8 feet
Landscape/Garden Uses:
banks
Flowering Season:
Spring

Flower Color:
Violet
Exposure:
Full sun
Soils:
Well-drained soil

Suggested Irrigation:
Occasional to no watering
Estimated Hardiness:
Hardy to 15-20 degrees F.

Even the most discriminating native plant buffs are sometimes hard put to distinguish this old timer from 'Dark Star'. It is similarly large (6 feet by 12 feet or even more, if left to its own devices), dense and small-leaved. The leaves are perhaps just a little darker, and the flowers just a touch more purple in color. Both make a dazzling spring display. Both are, unfortunately, among the touchier and shorter-lived of the popular hybrids.