Arctostaphylos parryana Snow Lodge Manzanita
Arctostaphylos parryana Snow Lodge Manzanita
Arctostaphylos parryana Snow Lodge Manzanita, red bark after a rain shower.
Arctostaphylos parryana in the area around Big bear this species becomes confusing. it looks like it has some hybridization with Arctostaphylos pringlei var. drupacea which is just over the mountain from Big Bear.
Arctostaphylos parryana Snow Lodge Manzanita
Description
Arctostaphylos parryana, Parry Manzanita, or Snow Lodge Manzanita, is a very clean, light-green, evergreen shrubby groundcover to 6 ft. wide and a couple of feet tall. Parry Manzanita has a pleasing appearance in cultivation and I expect there will be more of it used in the future. This manzanita is native from 3000-7500' north and east of Los Angeles. I think it is hardy to -30 degrees F. It is probably one of the hardiest as it grows in a terrible climate that regularly goes below zero degrees F. with bare ground, winter arrives quickly and there is no time for the plant to gradually harden off. Our experience with this species has demonstrated that it will tolerate high boron (up to 5 ppm), coastal conditions(maybe not right on the seashore), the San Joaquin Valley, parts of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. It would be a good one to try in the eastern U.S. Rainfall is about 15 inches per year with about half falling as snow. Its common companion plants are Pinus monophylla, P. jeffreyi, P. ponderosa, Fremontodendron californicum, Quercus Xalvordiana, Q. chrysolepis, and Cercocarpus betuloides.
