![]() In most species, the thin bark buckles and splits, rolls up into ribbons, and then exfoliates in early summer the new bark becomes darkened and streaked before achieving its final smooth texture by mid-summer. ![]() Smooth and muscular trunks and branches twist and turn with the illusion of motion. Its bark is the most spectacular feature of a manzanita. Though showy, they are often quickly consumed by birds and other wildlife, even in home gardens. The fruits range in color from rust orange to brown, red, and maroon. Resembling tiny apples, they were christened “manzanita” (little apples) by the Spaniards when they first visited California. Small rounded fruit follow and ripen by summer, often with a blush on one side. On some, the new growth takes on dramatic tints of orange, coral, and red, adding to the appeal of the plants.įrom midwinter into spring, clusters of pink to white, urn-shaped flowers appear in profusion at the branch tips and persist for weeks in the cool air. The foliage comes in a fascinating array of colors, from felted gray and silver to sage and bright glossy green. The upright, symmetrical leaves of manzanita are distinct among evergreen shrubs: rounded and waxy, many with a sharp apical tip, they are nearly always held perpendicular to the sun’s face, an adaptation that helps plants limit moisture loss during the West’s dry summers. Their urn-shaped flowers resemble those of such related and common Northwest garden shrubs as Pieris and heaths ( Erica and Calluna) as well as our native Vaccinium and Gaultheria. The genus Arctostaphylos is part of the large rhododendron family ( Ericaceae). sonomensis in a garden with Osmanthus and Cupressus macrocarpa ‘Wilma Goldcrest’ Their distinctive bark and sinuous branching habit might even suggest a dwarf version of our beloved-and related-native madrone ( Arbutus menziesii).Īrctostaphylos canescens subsp. Handsome evergreen shrubs, they combine picturesque bark, showy flowers (early in the season), and food for wildlife they are useful as both specimens and transitional shrubs to meld with neighboring wild areas. What they offer to gardeners in the Pacific Northwest is another component in the movement towards low-maintenance and low-water gardens. In California-where the majority of species are native, and where a multitude of cultivars are readily found in nurseries and at plant sales-they have long been recognized as valuable garden shrubs and have gained a staunch following among native plant enthusiasts. Once thought of as finicky in our region, it turns out that many, including those native to California, are ideally adapted to our naturally dry summers, and are surprisingly tolerant of winter cold as well. We have been cultivating a wide variety of shrubby manzanitas at our nursery in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and have been delighted to see them capture the imagination of Northwest gardeners. Comprising more than fifty species and dozens of cultivars, they are one of the most distinctive shrubs of the far West, familiar to campers and hikers but little known in Pacific Northwest gardens-beyond the ubiquitous groundcover kinnikinnick ( A. From British Columbia to Baja, one species to many are endemic from the beaches to the mountains. No other shrub is more symbolic of the Pacific Coast than manzanita ( Arctostaphylos). ![]() Photographs by Joshua McCullough, PhytoPhoto, except as noted Hairy manzanita ( Arctostaphylos columbiana) in habitat above the Columbia River.
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