Greenleaf Manzanita
Arctostaphylos patula · Ericaceae
- Form
- Shrub
- Height
- 3–7 ft
- Sun
- Full Sun
- Water
- Very Low
- Blooms
- Apr, May, Jun
- Habitat
- Montane
🌿 California native
Quick facts
- Habitat: Montane conifer forest openings (Big Bear, Sierra)
- Form / size: Rounded evergreen shrub, 3–7 ft
- Sun: Full sun · Water: Very low
- Blooms: Spring (pink urns) · Pollinator value: High
Description
The manzanita of the mountains — rounded, evergreen, with smooth, polished mahogany-red bark and bright, rounded, light-green leaves held upright (paler and greener than the grey-green coastal manzanitas). Clusters of pink-white urn-shaped flowers in spring become the little “manzanita apples.” A common shrub of montane forest openings and burns.
Wildlife & pollinators
Early flowers feed bees and hummingbirds; berries feed bears and birds.
Habitat & range
Montane conifer forest, openings, and burns of the Sierra, Cascades, and higher SoCal mountains (San Bernardinos around Big Bear).
In the garden
A handsome, bark-forward evergreen for cold, sunny, sharply drained mountain gardens. Full sun, very low water; resents summer irrigation.
Propagation
Tricky like most manzanitas — semi-hardwood cuttings (with hormone/heat) or seed needing a heat/smoke fire-cue. See Propagation Basics.
Where to see it near you
- iNaturalist — observed across California (map)
- Montane forest around Big Bear and the Eastern Sierra.
