The Blue Sapphire Ceanothus, otherwise known as the Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ or Himalayan Cedar ‘Aurea’, Deodar Cedar ‘Aurea’, Golden Himalayan Cedar, Golden Deodar Cedar, is a rather well known tree plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its low maintenance and moderate growth, this tree will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its green colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Blue Sapphire Ceanothus Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
The basic care guidelines you need to remember for your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus are the following:
- Water: The Blue Sapphire Ceanothus needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
- Light: Keep your Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus in soil with well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
And that’s practically it! If you keep these three factors in check, your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus will likely have all it needs for it to survive and even thrive.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus belongs to the Pinaceae family, the genus Cedrus and the species Deodara, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ (see-an-OH-thus).
As with other Cedrus’s, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Blue Sapphire Ceanothus is a plant native to the North Eastern Afghanistan to Western Nepal and NW. India.
You might be wondering why your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus’s native region is important. Well, if you know where your plant originally came from, you’ll know which environment conditions it prefers, and with it, knowledge on how to replicate it at home.
With this in mind, the Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ will be most used to the heat zones in the 6 – 9 region, as the plant hardiness level falls between 7b, 7a, 8a, 8b and the ideal climate zone is between 3, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But, how big does the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus actually get? What should you expect in terms of size? Let’s dive right in…
The Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ can grow up to 25′ – 40′ (7.5m – 12m) in 25′ – 40′ (7.5m – 12m) and 15′ – 30′ (4.5m – 9m) in 15′ – 30′ (4.5m – 9m).
Water
In terms of watering, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus is a fairly complicated plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a not so straightforward watering schedule and somewhat irregular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ needs evenly spread moist soil – try to avoid letting the soil dry out.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus in soil with well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage, and occasionally dry properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
But, if you want a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution to watering your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus then you should consider the famous ‘finger’ test. To perform this test, you just need to put your finger in your plant’s soil and determine if it’s moist or not. If it is, then don’t water; if it isn’t, then please do. In any case, this test will allow you to know if your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus needs or does not need water, every time.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus prefers to have soil with good drainage, and occasionally dry properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this tree will do well as long as you keep it in full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (early, mid, late), the summer (early, mid, late), the fall, and during the winter.
Flowers
In particular, this tree is well known for its showy flowers around the plant enthusiast community.
The Blue Sapphire Ceanothus produces some beautiful blue, or blue and green flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus have a beautiful green color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a needles arrangement with a whorled organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Blue Sapphire Ceanothus is well known for its tolerance to drought conditions, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ will be fine.
Garden
Does your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus have any garden recommendations? Does it serve any gardening purposes? Here’s how you can get the most out of your new plant.
Most Ceanothus X ‘Blue Sapphire’ owners agree that this tree will look great in most mediterranean gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, city and courtyard, and in traditional garden styles.
In particular, the Blue Sapphire Ceanothus’s best use for landscaping within your garden is as erosion control, specimen, coastal exposure, firescaping/fire wise, or a wildlife garden.
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Blue Sapphire Ceanothus, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
