Ceanothus Joyce Coulter

Identification

Description

Ceanothus Joyce Coulter' is an evergreen mountain lilac groundcover , 2 foot high by 8 foot wide, with flowers of medium blue. Joyce Coulter Ceanothus blooms in March-May, has dark green foliage, and is heat and drought tolerant. One of the more reliable ground covers that deer bother only in bad years, or areas with high deer populations. We observed no damage to container stock at 8 degrees F. and they were frozen solid for 4 days. Our garden specimen froze at 0 degrees F. but recovered nicely. The only problem we've had with it is it will sometimes grow up instead of horizontal. If you want a groundcover from this, be cognizant of this and tip prune the upright stems. Ceanothus 'Joyce Coulter' is believed to be a hybrid between Ceanothus papillosus var. roweanus and Ceanothus thyrsiflorus. Joyce Coulter' is very drought resistant and can live for decades in an un-watered garden. A lilac that should be in California gardens, native or otherwise, a good garden plant. Click here for more about Mountain Lilacs.