Arctostaphylos Ian Bush Manzanita

'Ian bush' manzanita is fast to four feet and seems to stabilize at five feet with a very open form. The green foliage and smooth red bark make the whole bush a great mini-specimen.

'Ian Bush' manzanita is a seedling of Arctostaphylos densiflora, and is a probable hybrid with the other parent being Arctostaphylos wellsii. But it also could be Arctostaphylos pungens and wellsii. All the manzanitas are pretty friendly plants.

For such a small manzanita it is incredibly fast! Make a manzanita hedge or use as single plant in a small garden. This is the manzanita you want to plant in a small garden for the smooth red bark. Flower show can be nice. The flowers are like pink fireworks exploding at the end of the stems(I know, I know, but it was the best I could describe them.)

This one is a seedling that came up in the shade, BUT we planted seven of them in full sun, watered once (in February, not summer!) and they ALL lived.'Ian bush' also seems to tolerate regular garden conditions well. 

Very drought tolerant. In 2013 we got about 2 inches of rainfall and the 'Ian Bush' actually looked ok. Then we had a week of below 10F and this manzanita looked ok.

We named this selection after  Ian, who is the programer behind the Las Pilitas website. Click here for more about California Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos).