Ceanothus, California Lilac, Wild Lilac 'Centennial'

Per the man who introduced this seed selection of Ceanothus 'Centennial,' Roger Raiche, the Designer, Naturalist, Botanist and Licensed C...Read Moreontractor at Planet Horticulture Landscape Design & Construction from Guerneville, CA. about his above pictures:

"I found this nice planting of Ceanothus 'Centennial', a selection I made back in the 80's, growing on berms in a sculpture garden at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa. A really lovely prostrate/low mat-forming species with small round foliage with impressed venation and deep blue flowers in balls or small thyrses."

Per San Marcos Growers:
"Ceanothus 'Centennial' (Centennial Ceanothus) – A low-spreading groundcover growing 6 to 12 inches tall by 4 to 8 feet wide. The tiny, dark green leaves have a glossy surface that gives a polished backdrop to the intensely blue, button-like flower clusters in spring. Plants accept considerable shade and are effective groundcovers at the outer edges of a live oak canopy. Also useful spilling down slopes or cascading over the edge of a decorative pot. This selection has proven somewhat problematic and short-lived in some mass plantings in the Santa Barbara area for reasons that are not clear. We recommend planting in well-drained soils rather than heavy or alkaline soils. In central and southern California gardens, plants will need occasional supplemental irrigation, especially when planted away from the coast. Hardy to 15° F. We originally grew this cultivar under the name 'Darkest Blue'. ‘Centennial’ was officially named and introduced in 1992 and was selected from seed collected along the Sonoma County coast by Roger Raiche, horticulturist at UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley at the time. 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."
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Planted about 3 years ago. At first it grew rather spindly. Now it is a dense, lush plant. The blue flowers are a real delight against...Read More the shiny leaves. It is growing in a slightly wet zone near the larger pond. Zone 7B-8 Grays Harbor WA