'Ray Hartman' Ceanothus - Mother Nature's Backyard, 2017 |
It’s
been an uncommon year throughout the world in 2012.
The ‘La Niña’ climate pattern, with an unusually dry and windy
summer/fall, has local plants confused.
Some are blooming earlier than expected.
Among them is the ‘Ray Hartman’ Ceanothus (see above as it looks in 2017).
The
genus Ceanothus contains about 50-60
species. The evergreen species are
primarily from California, while the winter-deciduous Ceanothus americanus is native to the eastern U.S. and Canada. The genus is included in the Buckthorn family
(Rhamnaceae) along with California
Coffeeberry and the Redberries. Ceanothus are often known by their genus name -
Ceanothus – although another common name is California Lilac.
Several
Ceanothus species are native to
western Los Angeles County, including the Catalina/Tree Ceanothus (C. arboreus) from Santa Catalina
Island. The Ceanothus of Los Angeles
County are members of the chaparral plant community, normally growing at
elevations of 1000 ft or greater in the local foothills. None are native to lower elevations like the
Gardena area.
People
fall in love with Ceanothus and want to grow them. That’s not surprising - they
are beautiful evergreen shrubs. But
choosing a Ceanothus can be a gardening challenge. Native plants tend to do best under their
natural conditions, including light, soil characteristics, precipitation
patterns, etc. Most Ceanothus – whether
from the local foothills or the Central/Northern California Coast – grow in
conditions quite different from those in Gardena. We chose ‘Ray Hartman’ because it’s known to
be ‘garden hardy’ in our area. But we
need to remain aware that our conditions are not optimal for Ceanothus. For
example, our clay-loam soil drains more slowly than the rocky soil preferred by
most Ceanothus. We’ll have to be careful not to overwater.
‘Ray
Hartman’ Ceanothus is interesting in several ways. First, it’s a hybrid (cross) between two
parent species: our local Ceanothus
arboreus and the northern California Ceanothus
griseus (sometimes also called C.
thyriflorus var. griseus).
In scientific notation, a hybrid is denoted as follows: Parent species 1 x Parent species 2. Whenever you see a scientific name with that
format, the plant is a cross between two separate species. A hybrid can occur naturally – bees are
notorious for cross-pollinating – or be created artificially, usually by
careful hand pollination.
‘Ray
Hartman’ Ceanothus is also interesting because it’s a named cultivar. A horticultural
cultivar is simply a plant variety that’s been selected specifically for
gardens. Cultivars usually have
characteristics that make them particularly suited to gardens – nice size,
flower color, drought tolerance, etc.
Like hybrids, cultivars can be naturally occurring (in the wild), selected
by nurserypersons from plants growing in a garden or created by careful hand
pollination. Some cultivars are hybrids
– others are not. All cultivars are
denoted as follows (with the cultivar name in single quotes): Genus
name species name ‘Cultivar name’.
‘Ray
Hartman’ Ceanothus (Ceanothus arboreus
x C. griseus ‘Ray Hartman’) is a hybrid
cultivar. You can tell that immediately
by its name. It was released into the nursery trade by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in 1948. It’s one of the older California native
cultivars and has a long history of use in S. California gardens. With
a bit of luck – and carefully watering – it will succeed in Mother Nature’s
Backyard.
Hybrid
plants may exhibit characteristics of both parent species. ‘Ray Hartman’ Ceanothus inherits its size and
form from its Catalina Ceanothus parent.
‘Ray Hartman’ has a tree-like form and will grow quite quickly (2-4 ft a
year to start) to a final height of 10-15+
feet and about as wide. Technically,
‘Ray Hartman’ is a large rounded shrub,
but its large size and open, upright growth pattern make it a good candidate
for pruning up as a small tree. That’s
what we plan to do with our ‘Ray Hartman’ Ceanothus.
When
creating a ‘tree’ from a large shrub it’s important to not only choose the
right species but also to select a young plant with a good basic structure. Ceanothus species range in size from
low-growing groundcovers to large shrubs.
So, it’s essential to choose the right Ceanothus for the job. The basic
structure, evident even in a young plant, will determine the future shape of a
plant. It’s important to find a plant
with the right basic shape, even if it means searching through a number of
one-gallon plants at the nursery. Time
spent in selection will be richly rewarded with a nicely-shaped tree or shrub
in the future.
'Ray Hartman' Ceanothus pruned up as small tree. Mother Nature's Backyard - 5 years after planting |
Like
other chaparral shrubs, Ceanothus take several years to become established.
It’s best to leave them alone during the first few years, only pruning out
diseased, damaged or crossed branches. We just pruned out a few crossed branches that
would have rubbed and caused bark damage this winter.
Start
pruning a fast-growing Ceanothus in the second or third summer after planting,
after bloom is finished and the weather is dry. If training a slower-growing type,
you may want to wait until the 4th or 5th summer. Start by removing several of the lowest
branches. Trim these off all the way to
the main trunk, being careful not to prune into the bark ‘collar’ where the
branch connects to the trunk. When
pruning a Ceanothus, never prune a branch greater than 1 inch diameter and
never prune out more than ¼ of the branches.
Over
the next several summers continue to select for upright growth by pruning out
branches that grow down or out. Most
Ceanothus have pleasing natural shapes;
your goal is to accentuate the natural shape. After the first few years you’ll mostly be pruning
out damaged, diseased or crossed branches.
Another
trick to producing a well-shaped Ceanothus tree or shrub is to tip-prune young branches
during periods of active growth. In
nature, deer ‘prune’ the delicate (and tasty) ends of branches in spring/summer. The plant responds with increased growth of
side branches, creating a fuller plant. Since
we’ve no deer in Mother Nature’s Backyard, we’ll have to ‘be the deer’ with our
pruners for a while.
Like its C.
griseus parent, ‘Ray Hartman’ Ceanothus has shiny rounded leaves that are
large for a Ceanothus (up to 1 inch). Because
it’s evergreen with minimal summer water it looks good year-round. It’s most often used as a small tree or
large shrub, but can also be planted as a large hedge/hedgerow or screen plant.
Like most Ceanothus, ‘Ray Hartman’ can be grown in full sun to part-shade.
The medium blue flowers grow in rather long (3-5”) spike-like
clusters. While individual flowers are
small, there are hundreds of sweet-scented blooms per cluster. In a good year,
‘Ray Hartman’ will literally be covered in blooms (see below). Like many Ceanothus, ‘Ray Hartman’ may
flower both fall-winter and spring (the main bloom season).
‘Ray Hartman’ is among the most garden-tolerant of
all Ceanothus cultivars. It adapts to a wide range of soil types from sandy to clay
and is a bit more tolerant of summer water than other Ceanothus. It can take inland summer heat and is very
drought tolerant once established (after the first year). We recommend occasional deep water (or none
nearer the coast) once established. With
our clay loam we plan to water ‘Ray Hartman’ deeply once a summer - in August,
when summer monsoons often provide water to our local mountains.
In addition to their other attributes, Ceanothus
provide excellent habitat for birds and insects. All Ceanothus are good for attracting bee and
fly pollinators. Ceanothus species are
larval host plants for the beautiful Ceanothus Silkmoth (Hyalophora euryalus (Boisduval, 1855)) along with manzanita
(Arctostaphylos), gooseberry (Ribes), willows (Salix), alder (Alnus),
and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus
betuloides).
Ceanothus seed is readily eaten by Mockingbirds,
Bushtits and finches. Larger Ceanothus
species also provide important cover and nesting sites for local birds. Planting a Ceanothus can be an important step
to attracting more birds to your garden.
We’ll discuss ‘Ten Natural Ways to Attract Birds’ in our next posting
(December, 2012).
'Ray Hartman' in Dec. 2012 - 10 months after planting |
Our 'Ray Hartman' in December, 2013 (20 months after planting) |
'Ray Hartman' in 2015 - 3 years after planting |
'Ray Hartman' in 2017 - 5 years after planting Note that all 5 years were drought years in our garden. |
Comment on your experiences with 'Ray Hartman' Ceanothus below. Send your gardening questions to us at: mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
Hi! How does the Ceanothus Ray Hartman do in windy areas? 20 to 40 mile an hour winds? I would like to have two as my new sidewalk trees.
ReplyDeleteI know they'll probably have an angled shape and I'm thinking that is fine...for now.
I think they will do fine. But they will be shaped by the wind. In our garden, winds mostly come from the west. Our tree bends a bit to the east as a result.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to water requirements, how long does it take to 'establish' a Ceanothus Ray Hartman ? We just planted a young, 1 gallon sized, plant. Our soil is sandy and well drained. Should I water once a week for the first year during late spring and summer ?
ReplyDeleteIf you live in S. California (or other dry region) I'd water once a week through Aug. this year, then go to every 10 days for fall. You'll probably need to water every other week, during dry period (including winter), for the next two years. Even after that, you'll likely do best deep summer watering every month with sandy soil.
ReplyDeleteGreat post thanks. I'm happy to report that Ray Hartman grows well up in Seattle proper, 5 feet during the fist year in the ground. I've had to stake it because it grow too fast. It's also about to start blooming even though it's January. Two thumbs up.
ReplyDelete