Plant in full sun in a well-drained soil with no supplemental irrigation required once established. Summer irrigation will initially speed growth on this plant but will also greatly shorten its lifespan so best not to water when in doubt. It is frost hardy to at least 10°F and useful in USDA zone 8 and above (some report it hardier and useful down to zone 7). A great plant for planting on a slope or on other well-drained sites and its smaller size and better garden tolerance than most other cultivars, makes is useful in the garden as well and it makes a good an espalier subject as well and responds well to pruning. As with all of the flannel bushes, it has irritating stellate hairs on the leaves and stems that can cause skin and eye irritation and for this reason should also be situated where it will not be brushed against. Its flowers are attractive to beneficial insects, bees and butterflies.

Fremontodendron 'Ken Taylor' is a second generation (F2) hybrid between Fremontodendron californica ssp. decumbens and Fremontodendron 'Californica Glory' that was created in the late 1970s by Ken Taylor of Taylor Nursery, a native plant nursery and garden in Aromas, CA and Richard Hildreth, then Director of the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation. Taylor was noted as having a fondness for bonsai and this smaller flannel bush would likely have been very appealing to him. It was introduced into the nursery trade in a joint effort between Nevin Smith of Wintergreen Nursery and the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum in a plant introduction program funded by the Elvenia J. Slosson Endowment for Ornamental Horticulture.

The name of the genus was named in combination with the Greek word 'dendron', meaning "tree" as a dedication to John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) who first collected Fremontodendron californicum during an 1846 expedition to Alta California. The leaves have a leathery and fuzzy texture reminiscent of flannel that gives these plants their common name. We have grown this great cultivar since 2007 and also grow Fremontodendron mexicanum, Fremontodendron 'California Glory' and Fremontodendron 'Dara's Gold'. 

The information about Fremontodendron 'Ken Taylor' displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.