Is my ceanothus truly dead or might it come back in spring?

3 years ago

Greetings,

I live in an area of southern California, USA, where ceanothus is native and very easy to grow. We have several around our property and they generally thrive.

However one large ceanothus shrub (I think maybe "Concha"?) seems to have mysteriously died, but as I started to cut it back, I noticed there does seem to be some green on the stem, and when I cut one small branch I saw there was at least a little bit of green at the perimeter of the cross-cut. I would have expected it to be dried out and white inside if it was truly dead.

One stem coming out of the ground still seems healthy, but the only healthy foliage at all in that shrub comes out of that one stem; all the other leaves look very dead to me. If it is dead, I wondered what the cause might be. A deer grazed the heck out of it prior to its apparent demise, but it didn't strip the leaves completely. I do sometimes have a tendency to overwater some native plants (by accident...I put the hose down, walk away, and forget to come back in a timely fashion), but this partic plant is on a hillside with very loose soil. Sometimes gophers might eat plant roots from underneath and that is a distinct possibility. And though I doubt ceanothus is bothered by extreme heat, we did have a heat wave recently where temps got to around 110 degree for a few straight days. I have seen no bugs or pests on the plant.

Anyway, whatever the cause, looks dead to me. On the other hand: I recall one time a fence lizard went through the washing machine, and looked extremely dead when I found him. Rather than dump his apparent corpse down the toilet, I put him out in the sun and he eventually groggily woke up and scurried off. So ever since my experience with "Lazarus the Lizard," I have been reluctant to assume something is well and truly dead.

Opinions wanted: Any reason to leave this ceanothus as it is and see if it sprouts new foliage in Spring? What are the odds this is a "Lazarus ceanothus"? Its that green bit on the stem that makes me wonder.

Anyway, thx for any advice or insight!

Otherchuck

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Comments (4)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
3 years ago
We can't see the shrub so there's no way we can tell if it's dead or not. But ime a dry, defoliated Ceanothus is dead. However, what is there to stop you waiting to see what happens next spring?
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
in most the rest of the country.. a plant in the state described.. i would suggest no one walks around the yard in winter when its 20 below.. and the winds are howling.. so what do you have to lose by just waiting to see what happens in spring...

but in your CA.. and presuming.. you/i do risk going out back in CA winter when it dip to almost 60 ... so an ugly defoliated shrub might piss me off.. and i would be much happier.. just cutting it down.. outta sight.. outta mind as they might say ... and besides.. it might sprout from the stump in spring ...

we could probably go a lot further if you offer a pic or two ... on words alone its hard to offer any real advice ...

ken
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gobluedjm 9/18 CA
3 years ago
If there is a green on a cut, leave it. Give it a chance, what have you got to lose...another $20 to replace it? If it lives, you can use Repel-all on it, the deer and rabbits won't go near it.

I had some concha's years ago they didn't make it very long. I also had a carmel creeper that got 30 feet wide and should have never survived here with frost. It became a monster so had to take it out with the rootball being 3 feet wide, 2 feet deep of 5 inch wide roots.

I think ceanothus are hardy but some don't tolerate regular garden water.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
3 years ago
Generally, when a broadleaved evergreen shrub - like a ceanothus - loses all or 95% of its foliage, it is dead or dying. Signs of green on stems or under the bark are not always good indicators of viability as it can take some time for a dead or dying shrub or tree to lose all the internal moisture that produces the green tint, often a full growing season.

Once established, west coast native ceanothus do not need and actively dislike any summer irrigation. In fact, one of the reasons they have a reputation for being short lived in a garden setting is because they tend to receive more irrigation than is required. A number of west coast native species have a similar dislike for a cultivated garden setting. Hardy, yes, but more than a little picky about growing conditions.