Ceanothus americanus

Sizes available: Landscape plug

Basics: zones 3-9, 2-3' x 3', full to part sun, fragrant panicles of numerous tiny white flowers in late summer to early fall, dry to medium moisture soils, sandy, loam-based, or rocky soils, perhaps on the calcareous side, deep-rooted, adaptable, drought tolerant

Common names: New Jersey Tea, Redroot, Wild Lilac, Mountain Snowbell

Family: Rhamnaceae

Origin/Distribution: From Quebec to Florida, west to Minnesota, eastern Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. Native to Maine.

Habitat: oak savanna, dry or medium moist prairie, open deciduous woodland, wood's edge

More: New Jersey Tea is an attractive, compact shrub and an excellent nectar source for tiny insects. Tiny insects are a good protein source for hummingbirds. See how that works? This plant fixes nitrogen, flowers on new stems (so can be cut back hard in the spring), is tap-rooted (so takes awhile to get going) and does not like to be moved. The seeds are eaten by turkey and quail. The dried leaves can be used in tea and historically this plant has been used as a substitute for Camellia sinensis. This plant is NOT deer and rabbit resistant. It is the larval host for, among others, the Spring Azure, aka Echo Blue, Celastrina ladon, and the Summer Azure, Celastrina neglecta, both native to Maine. It is also of value to the Yellow-banded Bumblebee, Bombus terricola, which is a Maine species of Special Concern. Since it blooms on new wood, it makes a good foundation plant. If it gets flattened by snow sliding from the roof, it can be cut back hard in the spring and still bloom later that year. I can also imagine a dry hillside of New Jersey Tea used as a ground cover and for erosion control. If you have an acid soil, it may be worth adding lime, or a good handful of marble chips to the planting hole.

Nursery: Landscape plugs from New Moon

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons; Frank Meuschke of Shelterwood Gardens