Californian Lilac 'Italian Skies'

Planting Advice for your Ceanothus

• Grow Ceanothus in a sunny, sheltered site in fertile, well-drained soil.  Protect from frost and winds.
• Dig a planting hole 3 x wider than the roots of the shrub you're planting and mix some well-rotted compost or manure with the soil from the hole and use this to re-fill once the shrub is in place.
• We've found that a square hole is better than a round one as the new roots, once they reach the edges tend to grow in a circle round the circumference of the hole whereas when they reach the corners of a square hole, they find it easier to grow through.
• Before planting soak container-grown shrubs thoroughly and allow to drain.
• Remove the plant from its pot and tease out a few of the roots. Add Mycorrhizal fungi to the roots when planting to help plants establish quicker.
• Place your shrub in the hole at the same level at the pot and refill the hole with the earth removed (backfilling).
  Firm in the soil with your heel, avoiding the root ball and water well.
• Mulch around the base of the plant with a collar, compost, gravel, bark etc.
• If you're planting into pots, place some old rocks, stones or gravel in the bottom of the pot for drainage and ballast.
• Use the best compost you can buy and some sand or grit for drainage.

Aftercare Advice for Ceanothus

• Keep plants well-watered while they establish, especially if planted up in a pot.
• Hardy to -10°C, protect from cold winds as it is these that tend to cause the most damage to young plants.

Pruning Advice for Ceanothus

• Ceanothus requires no special pruning; only occasional maintenance is needed to remove any growth that has been damaged over winter.