Sand Dune Sedge (Carex pansa) is a member of the Sedge family (Cyperaceae). It is a grass-like perennial with triangular blades and clusters of dark brown nutlets as flowers.

Butterflies and moths use Dune Sedge flowers for nectar. Small shore birds may use sedges and rushes for hiding and nesting.

Dune Sedge naturally grows in the Sand Dune plant community along the west coast.

Although this Sedge is sometimes recommended as a lawn substitute, it grows best in sandy soil, with regular water and no more than light foot traffic. Use Dune Sedge for coastal gardens with sandy soil and to create habitat for coastal wildlife.

Carex pellita is a species of sedge known by the common name woolly sedge. It is native to much of North America, including most of the United States and southern Canada. It grows in wet and dry areas in a number of habitat types, including disturbed areas such as ditches and roadsides. This sedge grows in colonies of individuals made up of clumps of stems 30 centimeters to one meter tall from a network of spreading rhizomes. The flower cluster is up to 30 centimeters long, a cylindrical body of overlapping flowers. Female flowers have dark brown or purplish, hairy scales with long tips. The fruit is coated in a fuzzy to woolly perigynium.

Clustered field sedge (Carex praegracilis) is a tough, adaptable species in the sedge family (Cyperaceae), native to much of North America, except for the southeastern region. It thrives in wet and seasonally wet environments, including meadows, riverbanks, and wetlands, and can even grow in clay hardpan soils.

This sedge spreads readily by underground rhizomes, making it useful for erosion control on slopes. It also serves as an excellent lawn alternative, requiring significantly less water than traditional turfgrass. It can be mowed, tolerates moderate foot traffic, and works well in poorly draining areas or between pavers.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Tolertates any sun exposure in coast sites, but requires part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Carex rossii is a species of sedge known by the common name Ross' sedge. It is native to much of western and central North America, from Alaska and northwestern Canada to the American southwest to the Great Lakes region. It grows in many habitat types, including wet and dry areas in forest, sagebrush, prairie, and alpine meadows. This sedge produces a dense clump or solid mat of slender stems up to about 40 centimeters tall from a shallow network of rhizomes. The pale to dark green leaves are usually longer than the stems. The flower cluster contains one or more staminate flower spikes above more rounded pistillate spikes. The fruit is three-sided and covered in a greenish or brownish perigynium.

Northern Singlespike Sedge (Carex scirpoidea) is a native grass that grows in Central California, primarily in the High Sierra Nevada region. It is moderately fast growing and long-lived. It grows in an upright form to a height of 1.5 feet, with active growth during the spring and summer. Flowers are green and bloom in the early summer. Leaves are medium green and deciduous. It tends to grow in moist rocky places, at elevations from 11500-12100 feet.

Carex scoparia is a species of sedge known by the common names broom sedge and pointed broom sedge. It should not be confused with the unrelated grass species known as broom sedge, Andropogon virginicus. It is native to much of North America, including the southern half of Canada and most of the continental United States. It is known as an introduced species in New Zealand and parts of Europe. It can be found in many types of wetland habitat, and in generally wet places from meadows to irrigation ditches. Also, adaptable to vary soils and hidrologies. This sedge produces dense clumps of stems 20 centimeters to one meter tall with narrow grasslike leaves up to about 30 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a cluster or open array of several bullet-shaped spikes of flowers. The spikes are light green and age to tan or brown. The fruit is covered in a sac called a perigynium which is light in color.

A species of sedge known by the common name San Diego sedge. It is native to the southwestern United States and far northern Mexico, where it grows in wet places, sometimes on serpentine soils. This sedge looks somewhat like a cattail. It produces angled stems easily exceeding a meter in height surrounded by leathery grey-green to reddish-green leaves (if drought stressed) up to about 1.2 meters long. The flower cluster is up to 80 centimeters long, with many long reddish brown flower spikes, each holding up to 300 developing fruits.

This is a easy and fast growing plant for full sun and heavy, moist soils. In even part shade, it tends to get weedy and unattractive. Needs plenty of water, so best to grow this in a sunny spot along a creek, seep or other naturally moist area, or in a regularly irrigated area.

Rusty Slender Sedge (Carex subfusca) is a native grass that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in moist, open places, at elevations from 0-3000 feet. Like other wetland plants it will spread to fill any moist area. It will become deciduous in summer dryness.

Grows best in loamy, medium draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Tompkins's Sedge (Carex tompkinsii) is a rare native grass that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the Sierra Nevada Foothills and High Sierra Nevada regions. It tends to grow in open places, at elevations from 3900-5900 feet.

Foothill Sedge (Carex tumulicola) is a native grass-like herb in the Cyperaceae (Sedge) family that is found primarily along the coast from Humboldt County to San Luis Obispo County and on the Channel Island. It tends to grow in meadows and open places, at elevations from sea level to 4,000 feet. Unlike many other members of this genus, it is not a wetland plant. It prefers some moisture but can tolerate short periods of dryness. It spreads slowly by rhizomes.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Carex vesicaria is a species of sedge known by the common name blister sedge. It is native to northern North America including most of Canada and the northern United States, and it is known from parts of Eurasia. It grows in wet habitat, including many types of wetland, and areas that are soaked or submerged during the spring and dry over the summer. This sedge produces clumps of triangular stems up to about a meter in maximum height. The flower cluster is a loose cluster of flower spikes, many on peduncles. The long cylindrical flower cluster contains up to 150 developing fruits. There are several varieties of this sedge, with high diversity in northeastern Canada.

The saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea), is a large, tree-sized cactus species in the monotypic genus Carnegiea. It is native to the Sonoran Desert in the U.S. state of Arizona, the Mexican state of Sonora, a small part of Baja California in the San Felipe Desert and an extremely small area of California, U.S. The saguaro blossom is the state flower of Arizona. The common name saguaro came into the English language through the Spanish language, originating in the language of the Tohono O'odham native American nation.

The Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica), an attractive evergreen shrub, is a rare California native plant and closely related to the Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii). It has abundant bright white and yellow flowers bloom in late spring and early summer. The blooms have a pleasant fragrance and are attractive to bees and butterflies. The narrow leaves are dark green and glossy.

Bush Anemone is easy to grow and adapts to a variety of soil types, as long as the soil iswell-draining. It grows in full sun or part shade and tolerates low to moderate moisture. Pruning the stems after flowering improves this shrub's appearance. Unruly plants can be cut back to ground level (coppiced) to produce new growth from the stump. Nurseries often sell this plant's popular 'Elizabeth' cultivar.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade or shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Cassiope mertensiana is a species of flowering plant known by the common names western moss heather and white mountain heather. This heather is native to subalpine areas of western North America, from Alaska to the mountains of California. It is a small, branching shrub which forms patches along the ground and in rocky crevices. The short, erect, snakelike stems are covered in tiny leathery scalelike leaves only a few millimeters long. >From between the layers of scale leaves emerge reddish pedicels each bearing a petite, hanging, down-facing, bell-shaped flower. The leaflets are red and the contrasting flower is white.

Castela emoryi, with the common names Crucifixion thorn and Emory's crucifixion-thorn, is a shrub species in the genus Castela of the order Sapindales. The plant is native to the Mojave Desert and Sonoran Deserts of North America. It is found in southern California, Arizona, and Sonora state (México). Castela emoryi is often less than 1 metre (3. 3 ft), and occasionally to grows 4 metres (13 ft) or more. It is ranked on the California Native Plant Society Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants, as an endangered species within California, and more common elsewhere. It is threatened by solar energy development and military activities within its California range. Uses. The Yavapai people traditionally used this as a medicinal plant, making a dermatological aid from its bud's sap. Insecticide and fungicide. Castela emoryi is a plant toxin insecticide. It contains quassinoids such as glaucarubolone glucoside which has antifeedant properties against termites such as Reticulitermes flavipes, or potential fungicidal activity for the control of grape downy mildew. It also contains glaucarubol, a compound characteristic of the family, ellagic acid, betulin and (-)-syringaresinol.

Indian Paintbrush is a species native to western North America from Washington to Baja California, where it grows on hills and mountains slopes along the coast and inland. This is a perennial herb growing an erect stem up to about 60 centimeters in maximum height. It is greenish to purple in color and may be hairless to quite hairy. The leaves are variable in shape and up to 8 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a series of leafs in shades of bright red to yellowish. Flowers appearing between the leafs are a bit longer and covered in hairs. They are green to purple lined with red or yellow. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long. There are three subspecies of this plant (ssp. affinis, ssp. litoralis, & ssp. neglecta). Ssp. affinins (Coast Indian painbrush) occurs commonly throughout western North America from Washington to Baja California. Ssp. litoralis and ssp. neglecta are quite rare. Ssp. littoralis (Oregon Coast paintbrush) grows on the coastline of northern California and Oregon and ssp. neglecta (Tiburon paintbrush) is known from only a few occurrences in and around the San Francisco Bay Area and is a federally listed endangered species. Castilleja is a hemi-parasite, meaning that it derives some of its nutrients from a host plant.

Coast Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja affinis ssp. affinis) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in sea bluffs and , at elevations from 0-3900 feet.

Castilleja applegatei is a species of Castilleja known by the common names Applegate's Indian paintbrush and wavyleaf Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States. It is a short perennial with sticky, wavy-edged leaves. It bears bright, showy paintbrush-shaped flower clusters of small red to yellowish-red tubular flowers.

Wavyleaf Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei ssp. martinii) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in dry open places, at elevations from 1000-9200 feet.

Brewer's Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja applegatei ssp. pallida) is a native perennial herb that grows in Central and Northern California, primarily in the High Sierra Nevada and Sierra Nevada East regions. It tends to grow in dry open places, at elevations from 7000-11000 feet.

Castilleja arachnoidea is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name cobwebby Indian paintbrush. It is native to northern California and Nevada and southern Oregon, where it is a resident of the local mountain ranges and the Modoc Plateau. This is a small woolly perennial herb growing up to about 30 centimeters in maximum height. Its narrow, pointed leaves are a few centimeters long and may be lobed. The flower cluster is coated in cobwebby fibers. The leafs are yellowish to dull red and the pouchlike flowers which emerge between them are greenish yellow to purplish red in color. The fruit is a capsule about a centimeter long.

Castilleja angustifolia is a species of wildflower known by the common names northwestern paintbrush and desert Indian paintbrush. It is an herbaceous perennial native to the desert scrub and woodlands of western North America. This Indian paintbrush is under half a meter in height and has bristly gray-green to purple-red herbage. It stands in a clump of erect stems, each topped with an flower cluster of somewhat tubular flowers in bright red to orange-red, sometimes tinted with purple, and usually fuzzy with a thin coat of white hairs. The centimeter-long capsule fruits contain honeycomb-patterned seeds. This plant can be red orange or yellow in color.

Purple owl's clover (Castilleja exserta) is an annual in the same species as the Indian paintbrushes. It was formerly included in the genus Orthocarpus, and some sources may still refer to it by that name. Although this species is variable in appearance and easily hybridizes with other Castilleja, it generally bears shaggy pink-purple or lavender flower clusters that resemble clover (though they are not related). The thin, erect leaves are usually tipped with the same color, giving the flower cluster the appearance of a paintbrush. It produces pods containing seeds.

The plant's showy appearance when in flower makes it a great fit for informal meadows and related landscapes. Like other related plants in the family, purple owl's clover derives some of its nutrients directly from the roots of other plants. Therefore, it is almost always planted, or grown from seed, with a perennial species from its natural plant community to serve as the host plant, such as a native grass. It takes full sun, prefers fast-draining soil but is tolerant of sand and clay. It does not need summer water.

The flowers attract bees and butterflies. It is a crucial host plant for the Bay Checkerspot butterfly, a threatened species in California, and hosts a likely total of 12 species of butterfly and moth.

Castilleja foliolosa is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common names woolly Indian paintbrush and Texas Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and northern Baja California, where it grows in coastal sage scrub, chaparral and rocky desert and mountain slopes. Despite its common name, it does not occur in Texas. It is a parasitic or semi-parasitic plant on a variety of small shrubs such as Chamise, Golden Yarrow or Sagebrush. This perennial wildflower grows up to 60 centimeters tall and is coated in woolly white or gray branching hairs. The leaves are linear in shape and up to 5 centimeters long. The flower cluster is made up of layers of leaves tipped in bright orange-red to dull yellowish green. Between the colorful leaves appear the nondescript flowers, which are greenish in color and pouch-shaped. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.

Sierra Woolly Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja lanata) is a native perennial herb that grows in California, primarily in the Channel Islands region. It tends to grow at elevations from 100-1000 feet.

Castilleja latifolia is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name Monterey Indian paintbrush. It is endemic to the coastline of California between the San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey County. Its range extends from about Point Reyes to Big Sur. It is a plant of the immediate coastline, growing in sand dunes and coastal scrub. This wildflower is a perennial herb growing up to about 60 centimeters tall and spreading into a shrublike form as it ages over the years. It is bristly and hairy with green, gray-green, purple or purple-tinted herbage. The fleshy leaves are rounded or oval and up to 2 centimeters long. The flower cluster is made up of layers of greenish leafs tipped with dull to very bright shades of red, orange, or yellow. Between the leafs appear the flowers, which are often similar in coloration. The fruit is a capsule up to 2 centimeters long.

Castilleja linariifolia is a perennial plant, native to the United States and is the state flower of Wyoming. It has a number of common names including Wyoming Indian paintbrush, Narrow-leaved Indian paintbrush, desert paintbrush, Wyoming desert paintbrush, Wyoming paintbrush, linaria-leaved Indian Paintbrush, and Indian paint brush. It grows up to 1 meter in height and has linear leaves which are between 20 and 80 millimeter in length and have up to 3 lobes. The flowers, which consist of a red to yellow calyx and yellow-green floral tube, appear in panicles or spikes between June and September in its native range.

Castilleja minor is a species of flowering plant in the broomrape family known by the common name lesser Indian paintbrush. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to New Mexico, where it grows in moist habitats such as spring meadows. This is an annual herb growing a mostly unbranching slender stem to heights from 30 centimeters to well over a meter. The leaves are lance-shaped and several centimeters long. The top of the stem is occupied by an flower cluster of green leafs tipped with bright red and smaller, yellowish flowers. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimeter long.

Lesser Paintbrush (Castilleja minor ssp. minor) is a native annual herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow in wet places, at elevations from 3900-7200 feet.

Castilleja nana is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name dwarf alpine Indian paintbrush. It is native to the western United States from the Sierra Nevada of California east to Utah, where it grows in dry, rocky alpine habitat. This is a small, hairy perennial herb growing up to about 25 centimeters tall but often remaining much smaller. The leaves are narrowly lance-shaped and up to about 3.5 centimeters long. The flower cluster is a cluster of pointed yellow-green, pink, or pale purple, hairy leafs. Between the leafs appear the small purple-spotted yellow flowers, which are pouched with tiny, protruding stigmas.

Castilleja rubicundula is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name cream sacs. This wildflower is native to northern California and southern Oregon, where it lives on coastal and inland grasslands. It is a hairy, hairy annual growing to about half a meter in height, the stem leafy with lance-shaped foliage. It produces a terminal flower cluster and sometimes branches off several more flower clusters. The white, pink, yellow, or bicolored flowers are divided into usually three pouches, making them look inflated. Each pouch is about a centimeter wide and half a centimeter deep. Each flower has a beak extending about half a centimeter above the pouches. The fruit is a capsule containing tiny seeds less than a millimeter long. Under magnification the seed's honeycomb-patterned coat is visible.

Cream Sacs (Castilleja rubicundula ssp. lithospermoides) is a native annual herb that grows in central and northern California. It tends to grow in open grassy places, at elevations from 0-3000 feet.

Castilleja schizotricha is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name splithair Indian paintbrush. It is native to the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in rocky soils in temperate coniferous forests. This wildflower is a perennial herb growing not more than about 15 centimeters tall and coated thickly in light-colored hairs, giving it a gray or white color. The woolly flower cluster is made up of layers of dusty red or pink leafs. Between the leafs emerge pouched dull reddish flowers.

Castilleja subinclusa is a species of Indian paintbrush known by the common name longleaf Indian paintbrush. It is native to California and Baja California, where it grows in a number of habitat types. It is divided into two subspecies which generally do not occur together; one is widespread across the mountains of the two states, while the other is limited to the coastline surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. In general, this is a spreading perennial herb which can exceed a meter tall. It is gray-green to purple in herbage color, and usually hairy. The lance-shaped leaves are up to 8 centimeters long. The flower cluster is up to 40 centimeters long and is made up of long, pointed leafs tipped in bright red-orange to deep red. Between the colorful leafs appear lighter flowers, which are yellow-green to pinkish and hairy.

Long Leaf Paintbrush (Castilleja subinclusa ssp. subinclusa) is a native perennial herb that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-7200 feet.

Wight's Indian Paint Brush (Castilleja wightii) is a native perennial herb that grows in Northern, Southern and Central California, primarily in the North Coast, the Central Coast and SF Bay regions. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-1000 feet.

Caulanthus crassicaulis is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name thickstem wild cabbage. It is native to the western United States where it is a member of the flora in sagebrush, woodland, and desert scrub habitats. This is a perennial herb producing a stout, inflated stem from a woody caudex base. The leaves form a basal rosette and occur at intervals along the stem. They are broadly lance-shaped on the lower stem and much smaller and linear in shape farther up. They may have smooth, toothed, or deeply cut edges. The rounded flower has a coat of thick, pouched sepals which part at the flower tip to reveal narrow dark purple or brown petals. There are two varieties of this species: var. crassicaulis generally has hairy flowers, while var. glaber has hairless. The fruit is a long, thin silique which may approach 13 centimeters in length.

Guillenia flavescens is a species of mustard plant known by the common name yellow mustard, but it is not the only species known by that name. Sinapis alba is probably the plant more widely known as yellow mustard. G. flavescens is a thin-stemmed annual herb growing large, lobed or toothed leaves up to 22 centimeters long around its base, and smaller, less toothed leaves along its gray-pink to brown stem. At intervals along the upper stem appear cream, yellowish, or very pale purple flowers, each somewhat cuboid in shape and about a centimeter long. The tips of the petals around the mouth are curled, flared, or clawlike. The fruit is a thin silique up to 9 centimeters long. This species is endemic to California, where it grows in the valleys and mountains surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area.

Desert Candle (Caulanthus inflatus) is a spectacular drought adapted annual flowering plant. Its most striking feature is its thick swollen yellow stems, which rise from a base of green leaves and look like candles. They can reach 3 feet in height. Small flowers appear on the stem in spring or fall and are reddish-purple.

This is a desert plant that does best in full sun and well-draining soil. It germinates readily from seed and works well in containers.Desert Candle is a great butterfly, moth, and native fly host.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden by John Dourley at Rancho santa Ana Botanical Garden and introduced in 1979. parents are thought to be C. papillosus and C. thyrsiflorus.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Selected by Louis Edmunds in 194. Believed to be a C. impressus x C. Spinosus hybrid.

Hybrid of undetermined Ceanothus species. Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected by Louis Edmonds, from his Danville, CA nursery and introduced in 1958. Believed to be a C. dentatus x C. thyrsiflorus var. thyrsiflorus hybrid.

Hybrid of Ceanothus gloriosus and Ceanothus masonii. This glorious hybrid Ceanothus is as attractive as it is useful. It has brilliant violet flowers that start to bloom in early spring and small, holly-like leaves. It is very tough, drought tolerant and yet will tolerate heavy, clay soil. For those living in the mountains you'll be happy to note that the deer tend to stay away from this lilac. It is a great option for a hedge or barrier reaching about six feet high and with a similar spread. It will also respond well to pruning for a more formal hedge. Plant this lilac in full sun to appreciate its brilliant blooms at their best.

C. gloriosus x C. masonii introduced by Rancho santa Ana Botanic Garden Tolerates almost any soil type. Hybrid introduced by Rancho santa Ana Botanic Garden in 1979.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Selected by Nevin smith. A hybrid of C. 'Ray Hartman' and C. 'Dark star'.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Selected for the garden.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Originated from seeds collected near Hurricane point by Louis Edmunds.

Ceanothus hybrid. Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Hybrid introduced by Bert & Celeste Wilson from Las pilitas Nursery in the 199's. parentage is unknown but hybrid could include C. impressus var. nipomensis.

Hybrid of Ceanothus foliosus and Ceanothus griseus. Centennial is a low-growing ceanothus with deep cobalt-blue flowers are concentrated in clusters which, when viewed against the glistening green surface of the leaves the flowers sparkle like water. An evergreen sub-shrub, Ceanothus 'Centennial' reaches to 1' tall to 5' wide. The deep blue flowers occur in late spring to early summer, attracting pollinators such as bees. A tough low maintenance groundcover it is well suited to small gardens, median strips, and slopes. This plant thrives in the dry shade or the understory of oak trees.

Plant in full sun if coastal, and part shade inland. If you live in the hills or mountains you'll be glad to know that the deer do not like this plant. Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Centennial Ceanothus is drought tolerant and frost hardy to 15-2 degrees F.

Ceanothus 'Centennial' is a hybrid of C. foliosus x C. griseus introduced by Roger Raiche of U.C. Botanic Garden in 199. Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Naturally occuring hybrid (C. foliosus x C. thyrsiflorus var. griseus) collected at salt point (sonoma Co) in 1985 and introduced by Roger Raiche in 1992.

Tolerates almost any soil type. Prefers sun or part shade in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Seed collected from C. papillosus (C. p. var. roweanus) collected at Tilden Botanical Garden in 1965 by Lady Cynthia postan. Other parent thought to be C. thyrsiflorus var. griseus.

Dark star mountain lilac (C. impressus x C. papillosus var. roweanus) is an evergreen shrub in the Buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). This hybrid ceanothus was introduced by Ken Taylor in 1971. In spring the small, dark green leaves are covered in pinkish-purple buds followed by light blue flower clusters.

All ceanothus are attractive to deer, birds and pollinators. Deer eat the flowers and leaves; birds eat the small, black fruits; bees, butterflies, and moths feed from the flowers. Once mature, its branches also create a safe haven for birds and small wildlife.

Dark star grows well in dry, infertile soils on slopes or where drainage is excellent. Ceanothus species are naturally found in sunny, dry locations in chaparral and sunny woodland openings.

In the home garden, this is a show-stopper when it is in bloom, and an evergreen backbone the rest of the year. Place this medium-large shrub where it will not receive supplemental irrigation during the summer after its first year. Overwatering it will decrease its longevity. Surround young shrubs with tall chicken wire for the first year or so after planting, to protect them until they are large enough to tolerate deer grazing.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Introduced by Native sons Nursery. Selected for the garden. parentage unknown but has characteristics of C. impressus var. impressus.

Grows best in sandy, coarse-grained or other fast draining soil. Prefers sun in coastal sites, and part shade in inland sites. Discovered as a seedling at Rancho santa Ana Botanic Garden.