Description:

A great selection for use in smaller scale gardens; blooming is impressive with multitudes of dainty white flowers in late winter; emerging leaves are light green, maturing to sea-green and glossy; thrives in poor acidic soils

Ornamental Features

Big Sur Manzanita features dainty nodding white bell-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from late winter to early spring. It has bluish-green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The glossy oval leaves remain bluish-green throughout the winter. The brick red stems are very effective and add winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Big Sur Manzanita is an open multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and hummingbirds to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Big Sur Manzanita is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Big Sur Manzanita will grow to be about 3 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 60 years or more.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have sandy, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.

Big Sur Manzanita makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.