Transplanting Ceanothus and I.D. Guide

Hello All,

Today I learned that we've got a beautiful, 5' tall ceanothus on our 3+ acre grove. It is down by a seasonal streamthat has not seen a decent flow of water in at leasttwo years. I'd like to move the ceanothus where itcan be seen and appreciated.

Is now a good time to transplant it? If not, whenIS the best time? Secondly, can anyone recommend aI.D. guide for these beautiful trees/shrubs?

Many thanks for taking the time to respond!

Alain</p>

I've given my comments on this elsewhere, but will repeat them here in case any other readers have similar questions:

It would be way too risky to transplant so large a shrub - especially since Ceanothus are known for having extensive root systems. There are plenty of books and articles that will tell you how to make cuttings. Even in a home setting, it justmight work. Seeds could work, too - consult Dara Emery's book on starting California natives from seeds.

As for a guide to Ceanothus, McMinn's classic on California shrubs is a good one. There is an older book called Ceanothus that is good, but some of the information will be out of date. You have to get it from a rare book dealer try some online searches - the cyberbook dealers have a wide range in their prices!. Someone is working on a new treatment of Ceanothus - does anyone know who it is? I'm thinking it's Dave Fross, but not sure. That would be the book to wait for!

Cheers,

Lori Hubbart