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California Gardening

any hope for my ceanothus?

USDA 9b, Sunset z15, Bay Area CA

7 years ago

The attached photos show my planter box in May 21, and also today. Is my ceanothus dead? I'm not sure what happened since all the plants are on drip and the other plants are doing fine. I checked, and the drip on the ceanothus is working fine. If it's still alive, should I increase the watering?

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kentc

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I agree Nil, a few months ago I was at the Theodore Payne Society off La Tuna Canyon in Sun Valley. They were finishing up a major renovation/addition to their buildings and grounds. When I was there they were installing drip lines for the new gardens which, since it's the TPS, are all CA natives. They used 1/2 inch inline drip tube and were laying it out in parallel lines about a foot apart. This grid covered the whole planting area. Once it was installed they planted the natives inside the grid. I don't know how often they water, maybe the next time I'm there I'll ask them. When I was there they did tell me that you need to water the ground and not water individual plants with drip. It was a revelation. I just did the same thing with my new landscape. The inline drip tube is robust and easy to work with. My first drip system, installed about 20 years ago, was a mess of spaghetti tubes going to each individual plant. It never worked well and for 20 years I swore off drip irrigation until I saw the right way to do it.

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Comments (8)

USDA 9b, Sunset z15, Bay Area CA
Original Author
7 years ago
Tried to upload the photos, but they're not showing up. Please see these links:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_VbxDyZFGwScmU4dlhySi1TOVE/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_VbxDyZFGwSOUtyVmdaWmVnY1k/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_VbxDyZFGwSdkF0Yl9TeWdfd1U/view?usp=sharing
CA Kate z9
7 years ago
It looks dead. Have you tried cutting into a stem to see if there's any green?
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
I think the question would be exactly how much water it is receiving. Ceanothus need only just enough to get established - excess water is an almost ironclad guarantee for their failure.

"Ceanothus grows in a range of soil types but often is found on steep
slopes in soils with low or marginal fertility. . . . . it is not
surprising that most California species will endure long periods of
drought, are intolerant of summer wet environment (or watering ) and
require little or no fertilization. Ceanothus is often said to be short lived, but that may be mostly in
garden that insist on drip irrigation, summer water and soil amendments.
California native plants are generally intolerant of all of these."
5birdy
7 years ago
Gardengal48 is exactly right. There are lots of ceanothus, but none should be on drip irrigation and summer water can be lethal. Check out this website for very valuable info: http://www.laspilitas.com/easy/easywatering.htm

I sympathize with your pain. Your ceanothus was beautiful! I just lost a few gorgeous Yankee Point bushes because I'm new at this. When I see the summer "death by water" symptoms, I try to prune off the offended branches and pray the rest will live.
JXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
7 years ago
If you figure out what "just enough water" is, let me know. I've killed as many ceanothus as I've started. Once they get going, they are pretty easy though.
Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years ago
What sort of drip system are you using, spaghetti lines or drip tape? How many inches of water a month are you applying to the area?
Nil13 usda:10a sunset:21 LA,CA (Mount Wash.)
7 years ago
The whole, "no drip irrigation" is bs. It really should be, "no 1/4" spaghetti line drip irrigation with drippers next to crowns". If you set up a nice drip tape circuit and know what your precipitation rate is, it's pretty easy to use drip for natives.

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