Arctostaphylos (Manzanita) for hot climates

[Meangreen94z]

Arctostaphylos pungens would appear to be the obvious one for where I’m at in Central Texas. They are native to Mexico and the U.S. including a very narrow region of West Texas. Arctostaphylos pringlei is another species but may not be compatible with our level of wet cold. I’m going to try glauca and standard manzanita as well.  Any experience?

[redbeard917]

No experience but it has very pretty bark. A bit similar to a Vaccineum arboreum.

[Silas_Sancona]

2 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

Arctostaphylos pungens would appear to be the obvious one for where I’m at in Central Texas. They are native to Mexico and the U.S. including a very narrow region of West Texas. Arctostaphylos pringlei is another species but may not be compatible with our level of wet cold. I’m going to try glauca and standard manzanita as well.  Any experience?

Good Luck...  CA sps likely won't like the soil / summer rainfall out there..  A. glauca  Might be do-able in a large container though.


AZ - W. TX.- sourced A. pringlei  and A. pungens  would likely be the 2 best options since they tolerate warm season moisture.

Overall, pretty easy, once germination is mastered ..but generally slow.. ..And don't like much -if any- fertilizer.

[Meangreen94z]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Good Luck...  CA sps likely won't like the soil / summer rainfall out there..  A. glauca  Might be do-able in a large container though.


AZ - W. TX.- sourced A. pringlei  and A. pungens  would likely be the 2 best options since they tolerate warm season moisture.

Overall, pretty easy, once germination is mastered ..but generally slow.. ..And don't like much -if any- fertilizer.

Thank you

[hinovak]

Have you tried Strawberry Tree Arbutus 'Marina? Very similar look, handled Fort Worth heat/humidity and regular irrigation well here, but the recent cold below 12degrees(guessing) nuked them. I did have a tiny one in the ground survive the -1 here. No idea how, but had some survive many years. You might have better luck down south than I did.

[Meangreen94z]

On 12/9/2024 at 12:57 AM, hinovak said:

Have you tried Strawberry Tree Arbutus 'Marina? Very similar look, handled Fort Worth heat/humidity and regular irrigation well here, but the recent cold below 12degrees(guessing) nuked them. I did have a tiny one in the ground survive the -1 here. No idea how, but had some survive many years. You might have better luck down south than I did.

Thank you. I actually do have Arbutus unedo and the native Arbutus xalapensis, which grows in my area around Lake Travis. The fast draining limestone I live on allows xalapensis to grow here but no further east of Austin. That’s why I think some of these species of Arctostaphylos stand a chance.

[Chester B]

I grew many Manzanitas back in Oregon, no proper garden would be without.  Heat + water = death (Phytophora), so I'm not sure many would do well there.  Small plants are relatively cheap, so it may still be worth a try.  Cistus and One Green World both do mail order and carry a substantial number of species and varieties.  If I were to recommend one to try it would be "Howard McMinn".  This one is more tolerant of watering and can be in a non xeric garden.  I grew it and it received water often in summer with no ill effects.  One of the nicest looking is A. silvicola "ghostly", very silver.

[Josue Diaz]

Very few arctostaphylos can take summer water. A glauca is VERY difficult to grow in garden settings even here in CA. They absolutely resent summer water and will die from root rot if watered. All it takes is an accidental watering and even old plants will suddenly die. Dr Hurd is a garden hybrid that does take summer water and seems to tolerate it as long as the soil drains well. There is a hybrid of Artostaphylos viscida and Howard McMinn called "Little Sandy" which tolerates summer water - likely due to it's Howard McMinn parentage. Its other parent (viscida) has zero tolerance to summer water. Unfortunately, the nursery that discovered and propagated this hybrid is no longer open and I don't think Little Sandy is widely distributed, even among California native plant nurseries. Here are some pics of mine. It's a very slow grower. Keep in mind, viscida grows wild about 10 miles east of my house, and this hybrid was discovered some 20 miles from my place. So this is as ideal as it gets in terms of habitat, and yet it grows very slowly. This plant is about 10 years old. 

[Meangreen94z]

Thanks. Great info guys.

[Chester B]

27 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

Dr Hurd is a garden hybrid that does take summer water and seems to tolerate it as long as the soil drains well.

Yes, you are right about that Josue.  I forgot that I was growing Dr. Hurd as well, and is more tolerant as you have mentioned.

[Silas_Sancona]

44 minutes ago, Josue Diaz said:

A glauca is VERY difficult to grow in garden settings even here in CA

Can be ..But wasn't when i grew the species from seed...  Watered -very lightly-  once or twice during the summer.

First " difficult " plant from seed trial done -ever-  Germinated another sp. that same winter as well.

Of the 2,  it was seedlings of Arctostaphylos crustacea, collected near Loma Prieta,  that croaked soon after germination.

1993:





1995 or 6..




Seed on the picture is from a collection i thought i'd exhausted made in 2008 ..Either east of Morgan Hill, or somewhere near Uvas ( Reservoir )

 

[hinovak]

I have wanted to try arbutus xalapensis here in Fort Worth. Any idea if the cold will smoke check it? Off subject, but meangreen, have you seen any cork bark oaks being grown down there? I’m growing two at my place, slow, but doing well, took -1 like a champ

[amh]

On 12/8/2024 at 3:58 PM, Meangreen94z said:

Arctostaphylos pungens would appear to be the obvious one for where I’m at in Central Texas. They are native to Mexico and the U.S. including a very narrow region of West Texas. Arctostaphylos pringlei is another species but may not be compatible with our level of wet cold. I’m going to try glauca and standard manzanita as well.  Any experience?

Thank you for starting this thread. I've been looking at the manzanitas for years and have been tempted to try growing them. Phytophthora and other root rot diseases do not seem to be that bad on the escarpment, but during strong el ninos they can become a problem. Has anyone grown lavender for more than 10 years in your area?

[Meangreen94z]

On 12/10/2024 at 11:49 PM, hinovak said:

I have wanted to try arbutus xalapensis here in Fort Worth. Any idea if the cold will smoke check it? Off subject, but meangreen, have you seen any cork bark oaks being grown down there? I’m growing two at my place, slow, but doing well, took -1 like a champ

I don’t think Arbutus xalapensis will do well there based on soil type. They handle 0°F fine but won’t survive in soggy clay or slow draining soils . They grow in the limestone of the elevated Edward’s Plateau but disappear once you drop into the Blackland Prairie east of I-35 in Austin.  The soil in my yard is usually only 6-12” thick before hitting limestone. It drains rapidly and dries quickly, unlike the clay I had in Houston that would hold standing water for days and take weeks to dry.

[Austinpalm]

@hinovak I was able to grow Arbutus xalapensis in south Austin (Slaughter & Manchaca) over black clay and limestone soil by creating a mound with cinder blocks, limestone blocks, gravel, pea gravel, and decomposed granite worked very well.  The plant survived February 2021 without problem.  I sold the house back in 2020, but went back and saw it last year.  Just keep it out of the wet clay soil and I expect it would survive in Fort Worth. 

[Meangreen94z]

8 hours ago, amh said:

Thank you for starting this thread. I've been looking at the manzanitas for years and have been tempted to try growing them. Phytophthora and other root rot diseases do not seem to be that bad on the escarpment, but during strong el ninos they can become a problem. Has anyone grown lavender for more than 10 years in your area?

I don’t know anyone personally that’s had it going for that long. I have a couple varieties in my yard currently. 

[amh]

2 hours ago, Meangreen94z said:

I don’t know anyone personally that’s had it going for that long. I have a couple varieties in my yard currently. 

The Lavandula genus is a great bellwether for various root rots, so if you can grow lavenders on wet years, you are in good shape.

[hinovak]

15 hours ago, Austinpalm said:

@hinovak I was able to grow Arbutus xalapensis in south Austin (Slaughter & Manchaca) over black clay and limestone soil by creating a mound with cinder blocks, limestone blocks, gravel, pea gravel, and decomposed granite worked very well.  The plant survived February 2021 without problem.  I sold the house back in 2020, but went back and saw it last year.  Just keep it out of the wet clay soil and I expect it would survive in Fort Worth. 

Good to know! It’s crazy because most of my agaves grow great in the clay with regular irrigation, cycads not so much, and I was guessing the xalapensis would hate it. I have been really surprised with agaves tolerating clay and irrigation here. They just grow exponentially fast, like a 1’ diameter ovatifolia will flower in 5-6 years here. My nolinas seem to be fine in straight clay as well. Weird. There is someone smarter than me on here that knows the reason for this.