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Ceanothus 'Cynthia Postan' (Cynthia Postan Ceanothus) - A dense shrub 6 to 8 feet tall and slightly wider with small, glossy, dark green leaves and violet blue flowers emerging from reddish buds in the late spring. The flowers can completely cover the plant at peak bloom. ‘Cynthia Postan’ is somewhat intermediate between two more commonly grown Ceanothus papillosus hybrids, Ceanothus 'Concha' and C. 'Wheeler Canyon'. It resembles 'Concha' more in form, although it is slower growing, and has flowers that are more aligned with those of 'Wheeler Canyon'.
Plant in full sun. Little irrigation required. Plants along the coast have demonstrated considerable tolerance of heavy soils. Hardy to 10° F.
We originally discovered this plant when investigating differences we had noted in plants being grown in the nursery trade labeled Ceanothus 'Wheeler Canyon.' We are thankful to Dave Fross at Native Sons Nursery for bringing this great cultivar to our attention. It was selected at the University Botanic Garden in Cambridge, England from seed collected by Lady Cynthia Postan from a plant of Ceanothus papillosus var. roweanus growing in the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in Berkeley, CA. We grw this plant from 2006 until 2012.
The genus name comes from the Greek word keanthos which was used to describe a type of thistle and meaning a "thorny plant" or "spiny plant" and first used by Linnaeus in 1753 to describe New Jersey Tea, Ceanothus americanus.
This information about Ceanothus 'Cynthia Postan' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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