Sorry I don't have any seed, but I wonder if you would have much luck with growing any of these in Mississippi in any case, as they don't like summer rains and high humidity, and would probably not survive more than a year or two in your climate in any case. You might have better luck with hybrids of east coast species that are more tolerant of summer rain and humidity.

I believe Larner seeds sells some ceanothus varieties

wanda

Here is a link that might be useful: larner seeds

I agree, they do not grow where they get summer water.

Penny

Darlene:

I'm mostly going to chime in with a couple of the others -- Ceanothus are not plants that will reward gardeners in wet-summer climates.

I say mostly because there are a few Ceanothus that are quite wet-summer tolerant. Unfortunately, the ones on your list are not among those. Of the two dozen or so Ceanothus that do well under those conditions, almost all are hybrids. And that means no seed. Ceanothus incanus, the only wild species, is listed as summer-water tolerant.

There is one good Ceanothus that should do superbly well for you. It is the Ceanothus x delilanus hybrids such as 'Glorie de Versaille'. It is certainly the most bloomiest of all Ceanothus and it does so for much longer than any species that we grow here. These hybrids were developed in England so in addition to being wet-summer tolerant, they are also humidity tolerant and cold tolerant. They are SEMI-deciduous, dropping a volume of leaves in proportion to the cold temperature. Note, of course, that these are hybrids -- no seed. But I do think that some eastern plant mailorder companies offer this.

Joe

thank you all for your suggestions and info,, i will have to check everything yall said,,,yall have been very friendly informative.
be good
darlene

Everyone is right about ceanothus in its native environment not taking well to summer water. But you should know that these plants have been grown in Europe (esp Britain and France) for 150 years. There is a lot of knowledge about ceanothus horticulture that is known to European gardeners that is not known to us here in California. David Fross's new book Ceanothus (Timber Press) is full of pictures of ceanothus in gardens in England and France. So why not Mississippi?

On a related note, California is rich in blue colored flowers, a color prized by gardeners around the world. Consider globe gilia, delphinium, baby blue eyes, desert bluebells, ...

I've read that you actually have to boil the seeds or set them on fire for them to germanate! If I were you I would buy a small plant instead of seeds. 'Blue Mound' 'Dimond Height', any veragated variety or varieties that grow in the shade ie 'Ray Hartman' should do well where you are. 'Frosty Blue' would be excellent!

I have actually spoken to Dave Fross about the "British Paradox" (the fact that plants like Fremontia and Ceanothus do so well there) and his belief is that the most limiting factor for many California natives is warm, wet soil.

Our summers while quite warm are also very dry (and we are all very well aware of how these plants fare in irrigated beds with less than perfect drainage). Summers in the British Isles are moist, but also often cool and gloomy even by coastal California standards (although the immediate coast from Monterey northward is similarly afflicted); consequently, many fungi and bacteria that prove lethal to California natives simply don't grow well. In contrast, the southeastern U.S. is very warm and humid in the summer.

Incidentally, this can also be seen with many hardy Mediterranean plants which are widely and satisfactorily grown in the Northeast and along the West Coast but can be grown only with difficulty (if at all) in the Southern tier.

Ryan