PlantSowGrow
How to plant and care for Ceanothus (Californian Lilac)
Ceanothus 'Concha'
🌸 Flower
🔁 Perennial
An evergreen shrub smothered in dark-blue powder-puff flowers in May — a sea of blue, buzzing with bees. Likes a warm, sheltered spot.
When to plant and care for it
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Flowers
Timed for a typical UK garden (last frost mid-April). The app uses your own town's frost dates.
Growing Ceanothus (Californian Lilac): what it needs
- Light
- Full sun · 6+ hours a day
- Watering
- Water well for the first summer, then in dry spells
- Soil
- Well-drained soil
- Spacing
- 2 m
- Height
- 2–3 m
- In pots
- Best in the ground
- Feeding
- No feeding needed
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 7–10
Step by step
- On planting day
Plant
Plant at the same depth as it was in its pot, 2 m apart, and firm in.
- 0–1 days after “Plant”
Water In Well
Give a full can of water, then keep moist for the first few weeks while roots establish.
- 7–14 days after “Water In Well”
Mulch Around the Base
Spread 5 cm of compost or bark around the plant, keeping it off the stems.
Every year
- MayIn Flower
Covered in blue — take a photo.
- JuneTrim After Flowering
Lightly trim the flowered shoots after flowering. Never cut back into old, bare wood — it will not regrow.
