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Products > Ceanothus Tuxedo ['FIT02'] PP20,754   Ceanothus Tuxedo ['FIT02'] PP20,754 - Tuxedo California Lilac Note: This plant is not currently for sale. This is an archive page preserved for informational use.   [2nd Image] Habit and Cultural Information Category: Shrub Family: Rhamnaceae (Buckthorns) Origin: Garden Origin Evergreen: Yes Red/Purple Foliage: Yes Flower Color: Lavender Blue Bloomtime: Summer/Fall Fragrant Flowers: Yes Synonyms: [C. 'Plum Purple'] Parentage: (sport of Ceanthothus 'Autumnal Blue') Height: 6-8 feet Width: 6-8 feet Exposure: Full Sun Summer Dry: Yes Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs Winter Hardiness: 0-10° F Ceanothus 'Tuxedo' (Tuxedo California Lilac) - A open evergreen shrub to 6 to 8 feet tall and wide with an upright fan-shaped profile and dark, near black, glossy foliage. Lavender-blue flowers bloom in terminal clusters 1½ inches wide by 3 inches long in late summer to fall, far later than any of our west coast native species. Plant in full sun. Water occasionally to infrequently. Hardy to 0° F (USDA Zone 8). This plant responds well to pruning and it can be sheared or shaped to keep it smaller. Its dark coloration makes it a great choice to use with contrasting silver foliage plants. Though this plant has quite attractive foliage, we have seen that it gets a fair amount of powdery mildew, both in the garden and as a nursery crop here in our cool coastal climate particularly in full sun while several people have noted that the plant does not have this problem when grown in part sun or light shade. One gardener in San Leandro (East SF Bay) had 4 plants in the garden and the 3 in full sun had this problem while the one in part shade did not. Ceanothus 'Tuxedo' originated as a branch sport discovered by Pat Fitzgerald in 2001 on Ceanothus 'Autumnal Blue' within a crop of Ceanothus 'Autumnal Blue' at Fitzgerald Nursery in Kilkenny Ireland. It was noticed as unique from the rest of the crop as it had distinctive deep plum-purple to black leaves. The parent plant, Ceanothus 'Autumnal Blue', an older cultivar introduced in England in the 1920's, is a complex hybrid between the California native Ceanothus thyrsiflora and Ceanothus x delilianus, a plant long popular in Europe that itself is a hybrid between the eastern North American Ceanothus americanus and a Mexican species, Ceanothus caeruleus. Ceanothus Tuxedo first made its debut to the US market in the spring of 2009 and is marketed by Tesselaar Plants. It received US Plant Patent 20,754 in February 2010. We loved the look of this plant until we noted the powdery mildew problem. We regretfully have concluded that Tuxedo is not best suited to our climate and we discontinued production of it in 2012.  This information about Ceanothus Tuxedo ['FIT02'] PP20,754 displayed is based on research conducted in our library and from reliable online resources. We will also note observations that we have made about it as it grows in the gardens in our nursery and those elsewhere, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others, and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing it.     [MORE INFO]