Add Manzanita to Hot, Dry Landscapes—But Resist the Urge to Coddle It (2024)

Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) is a genus of evergreen shrubs or trees native to California, the North Coast Range, and the Sierra Nevada mountains. The name "manzanita" comes from Spanish for "little apple", a nod to the tiny apple-like fruits that follow clusters of winter to spring flowers.

There are over 100 species and subspecies of manzanita, most of which prefer Mediterranean-like climates with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters. Manzanitas vary greatly in shape and form—from low-growing groundcovers to towering 20-foot-tall plants. So, if the climate is right, there is likely a great cultivar for your landscape.

Manzanitas have a reputation for being difficult to cultivate but the truth is, most gardeners fail due to excessive care or summer watering. Instead of fussing over your plant, place it thoughtfully and resist the urge to meddle. If properly chosen and placed, manzanitas offer year-round interest in exchange for little more than room to grow.

Where to Plant Manzanita

Plant manzanitas in an area with full sun (or light, occasional shade) and well-drained soil. While placement needs vary by variety, well-drained soil is a must for all manzanitas. They will not tolerate soggy soil or standing water.

For that reason, do not place manzanitas near plants that require regular watering—especially thirsty summer perennials. In moister climates (like the Pacific Northwest), plant manzanitas on a berm or mounded hill to prevent water from draining toward the plant. The slope of a berm will improve drainage and help prevent root rot.

Manzanitas make excellent xeriscape plants and are great for erosion control on hillsides and slopes. They also draw in pollinators—like butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees—as well as birds and other wildlife. As garden accents, manzanitas range from mat-forming groundcovers to mounding shrubs, and small, upright trees. So, consider the space requirements for your particular variety when planting. The growth rate and mature size of manzanitas are highly variable and dependent on factors like climate, atmosphere, soil, sun exposure, and wildlife.

How and When to Plant Manzanita

Planting requirements for manzanita vary by type, but most should be planted in the late fall or early winter. If you live in a moist climate, like the Pacific Northwest, consider planting your manzanita on a berm or mound to avoid root rot. Once you’ve chosen a spot, dig a hole twice the width and as deep as the plant’s root ball. If possible, do not amend your soil. Manzanitas thrive in poor, infertile soils.

Loosen the surrounding soil, place your manzanita in the hole, and backfill with the displaced dirt until the crown of the roots is even with or slightly below the soil surface. Water thoroughly. If planting more than one manzanita shrub, place them 5 to 15 feet apart (depending on variety).

Manzanita Care Tips

Don't be tempted to coddle your manzanitas. The shrubs—from low-growing groundcovers to upright trees—are diverse in their preferred habitats, but almost universally thrive on neglect.

Light

Manzanitas prefer full sun, or in inland sunny locations, partial shade. Most varieties benefit from protection from the afternoon sun in bouts of extreme heat.

Soil and Water

Manzanitas can thrive in a variety of soils—including clay. However, most prefer well-drained, acidic soil (4.0 to 7.0 pH) with no amendments.

In the first year after planting, water your manzanita deeply and moderately when the top few inches of soil are dry. Preferences will differ among species, but weekly or bi-weekly watering is likely sufficient. This helps the plant build an extensive root system. Once established, manzanitas need no summer water beyond what falls from the sky. Moisture in combination with heat makes manzanitas vulnerable to fungal organisms. Even water leached from the soil of neighboring plants can be harmful, so be mindful of irrigation systems within 10 to 15 feet of your shrub.

Temperature and Humidity

Although preferences vary by type, most manzanitas prefer dry, hot summers with temperatures between 55˚ and 95˚ Fahrenheit. They enjoy moist, mild winters with temperatures above 15˚. Manzanitas do not like high humidity or soggy conditions.

Fertilizer

Manzanitas are adapted to poor, infertile soil and do not require supplemental fertilizer.

Pruning

Many manzanita varieties require no pruning while others benefit from judicious pruning to maintain a pleasing shape. If you wish to shape your manzanita, tip prune it after it has stopped flowering when the weather is warm, dry, and sunny. When you tip prune, you snip just the tip of each stem instead of clipping entire twigs or branches. Use sharp, sterile garden shears to remove just an inch or two, and do not prune while the shrub is still flowering. Tip pruning encourages the plant to create side shoots with new flowering buds for a more contained, compact growth.

If you wish to expose the twisty branches and showy bark of upright varieties, prune away dead stems at the surface of the trunk—but make cuts carefully. The goal is to create more air circulation and expose the lower branches, so don’t prune away more than 25% at a time. Also, when pruning wood, keep in mind that old wood (with no leaves) will not sprout. Current growth sections that contain leaves can resprout.

If your manzanita develops a burl—a swollen dome of dormant buds—radically prune the shrub back to the burl. This is a regenerative pruning. After pruning back to the burl, water your shrub, but be careful not to wet the wounded areas of the wood.

Pests and Problems

Aphids can be an issue for manzanita in some areas, especially on new growth. Scale, mealybugs, borers, madrone shield bearers, and foliage-feeding caterpillars like the western tussock moth caterpillar can also cause problems for manzanita.

In overly moist conditions, manzanita is prone to root rot, crown rot, leaf spot, rust, and blight.

How to Propagate Manzanita

The easiest way to propagate manzanita is from cuttings. To do so, look for newly sprouted terminal shoots from a woody stem that grew the previous year. This is best done in early spring as terminal shoots are just beginning to emerge. Using a sharp, sterile knife or shears, cut a 6 to 8-inch terminal shoot and dip the cut end in rooting hormone. Place the dipped end in a moist 1:1 mixture of sand and peat. Place the cutting in a bright place out of direct sunlight and keep the substrate evenly moist by misting it regularly. In about 4 to 8 weeks, after the cutting has taken root, it can be transplanted outside (ideally in the fall).

Manzanita can also be propagated from seed, but the process is tricky. To propagate from seed, you’ll need to scar the hard seed coat with a sharp knife and then expose the seeds to fire. This is sometimes done by sowing the seeds into a mix of peat moss and sand, adding a layer of pine needles, and then setting the pine needles on fire. This action mimics the wildfires that are a common occurrence in the shrub’s native habitat. After the seeds have been scarred and fire-germinated, they can be planted outside. However, they may take as long as 12 months to sprout (if they are successful at all).

Types of Manzanita

Common Manzanita

Common manzanita (Arctostaphylos manzanita) grows about 10 to 12 feet tall and wide in zones 8-10. It typically features twisted branches with leathery green leaves and clusters of white and pink flowers that hang like lanterns from their stems. The flowers give way to white berries that are loved by birds and other wildlife. Common manzanita grows best in full sun or partial shade and a wide variety of soils.

Bearberry

Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) is a low-growing manzanita shrub often used as a garden border. It can also be grown as a dense groundcover that blocks weeds. It offers year-round interest with dark green foliage, pink spring flowers, and bright burgundy-red fall berries (which are popular with bears). The cold-hardy woody shrub (also known as kinnikinnick) grows 6 to 12 inches tall (in zones 2-6) and prefers full sun or partial shade. It fares well in sandy, poor, infertile, and acidic soils.

Big Sur Manzanita

Big Sur manzanita (Arctostaphylos edmundsii) is a low-growing manzanita shrub that typically gets 1 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 6 feet wide in zones 8-10. It features dense mounds or patchy mats of glossy green leaves and occasional light pink flowers in winter. It enjoys full sun and is drought-tolerant but fares well in coastal climates.

'Howard McMinn' Manzanita

Arctostaphylos densiflora 'Howard McMinn' is a good flower producer and has striking red stems and green foliage. It is one of the most moisture-tolerant manzanitas and grows easily in most garden soils—but don't overwater it. It grows 2 feet tall and wide in zones 7-10.

'Monterey Carpet' Manzanita

Arctostaphylos hookeri 'Monterey Carpet' makes a great plant for coastal sites. This cultivar grows 1 foot tall and about 4 feet wide in zones 8-10. It demands well-drained soil and little to no watering.

Shagbark Manzanita

Arctostaphylos rudis grows about 3 feet tall and 6 feet wide and tolerates pruning well. It has light pink flowers. Grow shagbark manzanita as a low hedge or tall groundcover in coastal areas.

Eastwood Manzanita

Eastwood manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa) typically grows 3 to 10 feet tall and 5 to 8 feet wide in zones 8-10. It features deep red bark, grey-green leaves, pinkish-white spring flowers, and large reddish-brown berries. Eastwood manzanita prefers full sun or partial shade and well-drained soil with a pH of 5.0 to 7.0. It grows wild on rocky outcrops, ridges, and slopes, so it’s a great option for hillscapes and slopes where erosion is a concern.

Hooker's Manzanita

Hooker’s manzanita (Arctostaphylos hookeri) is a low-growing, often mounding shrub that typically grows approximately 1 foot tall and 6 feet wide. There are, however, upright forms of hooker’s manzanita that can grow 6 feet tall. In early spring, it offers bell-shape, white-pink flowers that precede glossy red berries. Hooker’s manzanita is hardy in zones 7-9 and fares best in sandy or loamy soil with a pH between 5.0 and 6.0. It’s an excellent choice for edge plantings and rock gardens.

La Cruz Manzanita

La Cruz or Arroyo de la Cruz manzanita (Arctostaphylos cruzensis) is a low-growing species that is rare to find in nurseries but is often found growing along the coastlines of southern California. It typically grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide in zones 7-10. La Cruz manzanita bears red bark with bright green leaves and urn-shape pale pink flowers in late winter or early spring. If you can find it, it makes a stunning addition to coastal gardens.

Companion Plants for Manzanita

California Lilac

California lilacs (Ceanothus) are deceptively rugged nitrogen-fixing shrubs and trees. Their tough roots that make them excellent candidates for areas in need of erosion control. California lilacs are popular with pollinators and feature white, pink, blue, or purple flowers (depending on variety). There are over 50 species available from low-growing groundcovers like Ceanothus 'Centennial' or dense shrubs (like Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Dark Star' or Ceanothus ‘Concha’. Most California lilacs prefer full sun to partial shade and are hardy in zones 7-10.

Euphorbia

Euphorbia is a large genus of plants that contains thousands ofannual and perennial species, many of which are suitable for landscapes that include manzanita. Nearly all euphorbia speciesare succulents and they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some even boast cacti-like leaves and colorful striations of red, white, orange, green, and yellow. Euphorbias are hardy in zones 5-10 and, like manzanitas, thrive on a little neglect.

Ice Plant

Its name may evoke images of a plant growing in the tundra, but ice plant is made for hot, dry garden spots with full sun and well-drained soil. It is a popular choice for slopes, rock gardens, and the cracks of retaining walls. Ice plant features green, needlelike succulent foliage that is covered with purplish-pink or yellow flowers from late spring to early summer. Ice plant is hardy in zones 5-10 and grows just 6 to 12 inches tall and 3 feet wide in favorable spots.

Lemonade Berry

Rhus integrifolia (also known as lemonade sumac, lemonade berry, or lemonadeberry), is a native of Southern California and extremely drought-tolerant. The wide, evergreen shrub is hardy in zones 9-10. Inland, it grows up to 10 feet tall and 10 to 15 feet wide. Near the coast, it may remain under 3 feet tall. Lemonade berry shrubs feature lumps of pinkish-white flowers that develop into reddish-pink fruits.

Matilija Poppy

Matilija poppy is a pretty perennial native to the American southwest. From early spring to midsummer, it bears fried egg-like flowers comprised of tissue-thin petals. Matilija poppy is hardy in zones 7-10 and, like manzanita, is extremely drought-tolerant. It prefers well-drained soil with a pH between 5.0 and 8.0.