Carried by 60 nurseries
View Availability at NurseryData provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria
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The Bush Anemone (Carpenteria californica), an attractive evergreen shrub, is a rare California native plant and closely related to the Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii). It has abundant bright white and yellow flowers bloom in late spring and early summer. The blooms have a pleasant fragrance and are attractive to bees and butterflies. The narrow leaves are dark green and glossy.
Bush Anemone is easy to grow and adapts to a variety of soil types, as long as the soil iswell-draining. It grows in full sun or part shade and tolerates low to moderate moisture. Pruning the stems after flowering improves this shrub's appearance. Unruly plants can be cut back to ground level (coppiced) to produce new growth from the stump. Nurseries often sell this plant's popular 'Elizabeth' cultivar.
Shrub
6 - 10 ft Tall
10 ft Wide
Rounded, Upright Columnar
Moderate
Evergreen
Pleasant
White, Yellow
Spring, Summer
Containers, Hedge
Full Sun, Partial Shade
Low, Moderate
Max 3x / month once established
Easy
Tolerates cold to 10° F
Medium
Tolerates a variety of soils but prefers faster-draining soils such as decomposed granite.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 8.0
Prune as need to eliminate floppy branches
Seed or cuttings. For propagating by seed: No treatment. Sow thinly. Seedlings damp-off readily.
Chaparral or woodland along streambanks, gullies, moist soils, wooded slopes of the foothills of the Sierra.
Chaparral, Foothill Woodland
Common Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita), Sticky Whiteleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida), Spice Bush (Calycanthus occidentalis), Pinemat (Ceanothus diversifolius) or other Ceanothus species, Interior Live Oak (Quercus wislizeni), California Blackberry (Rubus ursinus), Blue Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana), California Wild Grape (Vitis californica), and Bay Laurel (Umbellularia californica).
Calscape, Bornstein, C., Fross, D., O'Brien, B. (2005). California Native Plants for the Garden. Cachuma Press.