Californian Lilac Blue Pacific

Californian Lilac 'Blue Pacific' (Ceanothus 'Blue Pacific') is the shrub to reach for when you want true blue flowers on a plant that will also do a job. It makes a rounded evergreen roughly 2.5m tall and 2.5m wide, covers itself in dense blue flower clusters in spring, and asks for almost nothing once the roots are down. Bees work it from first light.

Why you'll love it

• Blue flowers, and plenty of them. Few hardy shrubs flower this colour, and the spring display covers the whole plant rather than sitting on the tips.
• Fast to fill a gap. It puts on size quickly, so a new boundary planting starts screening in its second season.
• Built for hard sites. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, wind tolerant and happy in poor soil, including exposed coastal blocks where salt spray carries.
• Good for pollinators. Bees and butterflies work the flower clusters, which helps anything nearby you want fruit from.

Where it works best

Informal hedging and screening. Plant 1.5m apart for a dense screen. At that spacing the canopies meet without crowding, and the row screens at around 2m to 2.5m.

Coastal gardens. Salt and wind tolerance make it a sound choice for a front boundary or a windward corner, where softer shrubs burn off.

Mass planting on slopes. At 1.5m centres across a bank it covers ground fast and needs no irrigation once established.

Growing Californian lilac in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and open air. It suits warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, and handles frost well. It dislikes summer humidity, so in subtropical gardens it tends to be short lived.

Soil. Free draining soil is the one non-negotiable. It thrives in poor, gritty ground and rots in wet clay, so on clay plant high on a mound and skip the rich compost.

Water and feed. Water weekly through the first summer only, then leave it alone. Established plants resent regular summer watering. Feeding is rarely needed and heavy fertiliser shortens its life.

Pruning. Trim lightly straight after flowering to keep it dense. Do not cut into bare old wood, because it reshoots poorly. Annual light work beats a hard renovation.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in tube stock, 140mm plants in packs of 10 and 200mm plants in packs of 6. Tubes are the value choice for a long run or a bank, and catch the larger sizes within two seasons. The 200mm plants arrive branched, with a head start on a shorter hedge.

Plants travel packed upright and settle quickly. Expect little visible growth for the first month, then a strong flush, and a first real flowering the spring after planting. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and our 30 day healthy plant guarantee on every plant.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Fast growing hedges for Australian gardens
• Compare hedging and screening plants
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal blocks
• Screening shrubs in the 2m to 4m range

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

Set plants 1.5m apart in a single row. It is a naturally rounded shrub rather than a formal hedging plant, so expect a soft informal wall instead of a clipped face.

Will it grow in the subtropics?

It will grow, but not for long. Summer humidity is the limit for this plant, and in subtropical gardens it is usually short lived. Warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean climates suit it far better.

How much water does it need once established?

Very little, and too much is the common way to lose one. After the first summer, rainfall is generally enough outside long droughts, and it should never sit in wet soil.

When does it flower?

The main display is in spring, over the whole plant. Trimming straight after flowering sets up next year's buds without cutting them off.