Description:

A handsome groundcover selection that is low, compact and dense, with small, glossy green leaves; small pink to white flowers in late winter, followed by red fruit; great for coastal gardens, protect from midday sun when planted inland

Ornamental Features

Buxifolia Hooker's Manzanita features dainty nodding shell pink bell-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from late winter to early spring. It has attractive bluish-green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The tiny glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain bluish-green throughout the winter. It produces red berries from mid to late summer.

Landscape Attributes

Buxifolia Hooker's Manzanita is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

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 butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Buxifolia Hooker's Manzanita is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Buxifolia Hooker's Manzanita will grow to be about 12 inches 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 approximately 30 years.

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 considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. 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.