Whiteleaf Manzanita

Cowboys riding through the chaparral in the Sierra Nevada were not men who needed beauty. There wasn't much they needed other than a steady horse and a good strong cup of coffee in the mornings. (Or so Hollywood Westerns would have us believe!)

But riding through the chaparral, they were sure to notice the beautiful native Whiteleaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita)! It grows naturally from Southern California up to Oregon and brings its wild rustic beauty to bear in unlikely places!

Whiteleaf has pendulous white early-summer flowers the pollinators adore, but it is the striking red twigs that make it such a knock-out in the garden. They practically sing against the pale silver-gray broadleaf evergreen leaves which give the Whiteleaf its name!

Heat and sun-loving throughout USDA planting zones 8 through 10, this large shrub or small tree grows 15-20 feet in height and can spread 8-10 feet wide. Deer and rabbit-resistant, these large shrubs are wonderfully xeric and hardy natives!

Planting and Application:

As a tall shrub, keep the limbs intact to the ground for a luscious hedge or screening plant! You'll block the view (even from second-story windows) and block the wind while shading your outdoor spaces! You can even plant the Whiteleaf Manzanita 5-8 feet apart to create outdoor garden room walls and envelop your seating areas in year-round greenery!

These plants can be 'limbed-up' and transformed into a tree form, exposing the multi-trunked lower branches! With its gray foliage and red bark, it makes a showy planting if you put it in a modern Rock Garden around boulders and with a thick layer of mulch. Plant it with Oaks or Pines and you quickly have an Instagram-worthy garden!

It lives in red clay and in decomposed granite in the wild, so you know it will handle any poor garden soil you may have like a champ. Plant in the hot and sunny locations around your property like the hell strip along the road or sidewalk as a street tree, or en masse as a long hedge that defines your property while adding year-round privacy!

This beautiful shrub always has a bit of 'cultivated wildness' to it, so plant it where you can enjoy that aspect. It's not meant to look formal but can be a real standout in a modern western and southwestern landscape.

• Pink & White Bell-Shaped Blooms
• Silvery Green Broadleaf Evergreen Foliage
• Large-Sized Shrub Or Small Tree With Striking Red Bark!
• Tough Water-Wise Native Plant
• Tall Hedges, Windbreaks, Specimens & Focal Points!

#ProPlantTips for Care:

Arctostaphylos need full sun and grow beautifully despite the heat and relentless sun. Manzanita will tolerate clay and poor soil, but it prefers rich, well-draining soils with mulched beds to support its root systems through the heat and hold moisture more consistently through the seasons. Water new plants just enough to establish, and then grow them dryer, providing supplemental moisture during prolonged drought and heat. Prune or shear your Manzanita after the flowers fade, and you can train these smaller if needed. For hedges, keep the tops narrower than the bottoms to avoid the bottoms being shaded out.

• Full Sun Shrubs
• Water-Wise & Drought Tolerant Once Established
• Tolerates Almost Any Well-Drained Soil
• Prune or Shear After Flowering
• Salt, Deer, & Rabbit Resistant

Great native for West Coast gardens! Don't be shy with this rugged native, go big and fill your world with the water-wise beauty of these large shrubs. It won't be shy for you. Order yours today at NatureHills.com!