Garden Roots: Manzanita dreaming

"I often lay on that bench looking up into the tree, past the trunk and up into the branches. It was particularly fine at night with the stars above the trees." Georgia O'Keeffe

With its signature rich mahogany-colored smooth bark and intricate branching, our native manzanita is one of the loveliest residents of our local chaparral, and can also look beautiful in the home landscape.

An early performer, the blooming season is happening now, with delicate white and pink lanterns hanging profusely from the the first branch to the last.

Manzanita is the common name for the genus Arctostaphylos in the family Ericaceae. There are more than 40 species of all sizes in California, not to mention all the cultivars, subspecies and hybrids. Manzanita species grow from two inches in some of the sandy coastal areas, to large shrubs and small trees further inland. They are evergreen, keeping their tough small leaves in shades of green and grey all year round.

Winter blossoms give way to spring fruit: tiny hanging red apples, giving them their Spanish name of manzanita or little apple." Native Americans ate them both raw and dried, often pounding them into a flour.

Today, the strong, dense wood is highly prized for wood-fired grills, and the graceful branches are often used as decorative centerpieces. The flowers are also a critical winter nectar source for Annas Hummingbird, our year-round Central Coast resident.

Manzanitas have evolved and adapted over thousands of years to thrive in our specific California plant communities: all but three species are found only in California.

Several local endemics include A. purissima from Lompoc and Refugio manzanita (Arctostaphylos refugioensis) growing in the Santa Ynez Mountains. Eleven different species can be found growing in the Los Padres National Forest, but sadly, many others are at risk of extinction due to habitat loss.

Many manzanitas, such as the greenleaf (Arctostaphylos patula), common in areas of heavy snow at higher elevations, vertically orient their leaves, exposing only the edges to the sun. Since plants undergo transpiration (losing moisture through evaporation), they can limit stress by growing vertical leaves. Some manzanitas actually track the sun, shifting their leaf angles throughout the day to stay parallel to the sun.

Manzanitas, like most native plants, are very versatile and can be used to replace non-natives in the water-wise home landscape. Low-growing and spreading varieties like Carmel Sur' are excellent for ground covers and slopes, and the shrub-sized Howard McMinn can create a beautiful hedge when planted in rows. Not only do they add privacy, but also supply cover for quail, flowers for native pollinators, and berries for small mammals in a wildlife garden. Most need very little water once established, and some dont even need drip irrigation.

Originally posted here:
Garden Roots: Manzanita dreaming