Arctostaphylos osoensis SLO Valley Manzanita

(Synonym Arctostaphylos cruzensis, (Munz))A little shrub manzanita that grows to 2-3' tall and 4-5' across. A manzanita with auriculate leaves that are grey on smooth dark red stems that turn rough and brown with age.This manzanita grows on sand or clay at the west end of San Luis Valley where it gets summer fog and rainfall of about 20-30 inches. We were given one of these years ago by Austin Griffith at Native Sons. It will often grow in snarled and twisted ways, in behind boulders where the cattle cannot reach. New growth has a lot of red. In a coastal garden this manzanita forms a two foot mound of red and green colored foliage and a nice flower show that the hummingbirds like.