Although ideally suited to coastal sites, ‘Snow Flurry’ does well in hot inland areas when grown in part shade. With occasional pruning, this cultivar can be maintained as a small tree or tall screen. It is drought tolerant, particularly along the coast, but also tolerates modest summer watering and heavy soils. Reliably hardy to 15° F and can survive, with some leaf and stem damage, to 10° F. This wonderful selection is the most commonly planted of the white flowering ceanothus. 'Snow Flurry' was collected in 1975 along the Big Sur coast by Joe Solomone, who introduced it in 1977. We first started offering it in 1982.

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. The specific epithet means flowers in a thyrse, which is a compact cylindrical or ovate panicle with an indeterminate main axis and cymose sub-axes. 

The information about Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Snow Flurry' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.

Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.