Plant library · Shrubs
Arctostaphylos spp.
Manzanita is a broad, evergreen western native that brings smooth red bark and small urn-shaped flowers to the garden from late winter into early spring. At about 6 feet tall and wide, it has enough presence for a sunny foundation bed, dry slope, or open planting among other drought-adapted shrubs. Its low water needs make siting more important than routine irrigation.
Give manzanita an open, full-sun position where its branching form and bark can be seen from a path, terrace, or window rather than buried behind denser shrubs. Use it as a structural anchor in a dry border, setting the plant back far enough that its eventual spread does not narrow circulation. Keep it out of regularly watered lawn edges and mixed beds that receive summer irrigation; it belongs in a separately managed, sharply drained zone.
Set plants 5 feet apart, center to center, for a linked planting with limited room between mature canopies. A single manzanita can reach about 6 feet across, so reserve a clear 6-foot-wide footprint where its full outline needs to remain distinct. Keep paths, steps, and low windows outside that spread, especially where access is needed year-round.
Full sun and excellent drainage are the essential site conditions. Place manzanita on raised ground, a slope, or another freely draining part of the bed rather than in a low spot where water collects. Once the planting plan is established, avoid routing summer irrigation through its root zone; this shrub is intended for very low-water landscapes and no summer water.
The evergreen canopy holds the planting together through the year, while late-winter to early-spring flowers give the shrub an early-season role before many warm-season plantings fill out. Leave sightlines open around its base so the red bark remains visible in winter. Its flowers also add pollinator-friendly interest during that early window.
Manzanita is best planned as a long-lived shrub rather than a gap-filler. Its 6-foot height and width can shade nearby low plantings as it matures, so place shorter sun-loving plants beyond its canopy edge. Use it within USDA hardiness zones 7 through 10, and avoid assigning its space to plants that require frequent summer watering.