Louis Edmunds manzanita

Arctostaphylos bakeri ‘Louis Edmunds’

Description

Louis Edmunds manzanita grows into a tall evergreen shrub with an upright branching habit, 8-10 ft. tall and 6-8 ft. wide. Foliage is comprised of 1″ large pale green leaves; late winter flowers are light pink and attract hummingbirds. It’s distinctive bark is very dark purple.

The Louis Edmunds manzanita is a popular landscape cultivar selected from a stand of Arctostaphylos bakeri growing in Sonoma County. The combination of dark bark color and light foliage make it a highly attractive shrub for background and specimen uses, particularly when pruned to reveal its structure. When grown in the Inland Empire, it needs protection from hot afternoon sun and careful summer watering. It grows well with toyon, sugar bush, buckwheats, coast live oak and other California natives.

Plant Type: Shrub, Native
Foliage Character: Evergreen
Habit: Upright, Open, Low-branching, Graceful
Growth Rate: Slow
Foliage Color: Pale green
Flower Color: Pink
Flower Season: Winter
Soil Adaptations: Well-draining soil, Clay, Acidic soil
Exposure Adaptations: Morning sun, Partial sun
Function: Wildlife value, Specimen, Hummingbird plant, California native
Height: 8 ft. – 10 ft.
Width: 6 ft. – 8 ft.

Watering Schedule: Low 1

For most situations, we recommend watering deeply every 3-4 weeks after establishment.

Learn how to apply this watering schedule to your landscape on our How to water waterwise and California native plants page.

Important Notes

These are general guidelines. Always observe and adjust as necessary for your landscape.
If it rains over 1” you will likely not need to water for at least another 3-4 weeks. Before watering again, check the soil. It should be significantly dry at least 4” below the soil surface before watering.
If you have a “smart timer” or weather sensitive irrigation controller, it is best not to use the automatic weather adjusting features for plants in this category. While very useful for watering higher water demanding plants, those in this category have natural drought adaptations which mean they do not need to be watered more in warm weather. Using the weather adjusting features will result in either overwatering in summer or underwatering in fall and spring.
It is important to group plants with the same water needs together in the landscape to avoid needing to over or under water plants when running your irrigation system.

In general Manzanitas do not need much pruning. Carefully select the right species or cultivar for a fully mature size that fits your space well. Carefully thin or “skirt up” manzanitas to expose beautiful branches in November, after risk of sunburn from long summer days has passed (1). Manzanitas occasionally get bright red growths on the edges of leaves. This is manzanita leaf gall aphid, a small insect that causes the plant to create this reaction. It is generally not threatening in healthy plants, but can spread. Growth affected by leaf gall aphid may be pruned out after winter-spring flowering (4). References

Louis Edmunds manzanita

Description

Watering Schedule: Low 1

Important Notes

Plant Lists

Flowering Shrubs

Songbird and Hummingbird Plants

California Native Plants

Plant Finder

Garden Designs

Helpful Lists

Set your preferred view

Welcome to the Waterwise Garden Digital Tour

Move around

Locate your sign

Refer back to these tips

Louis Edmunds manzanita

Description

Plant Lists

Flowering Shrubs

Songbird and Hummingbird Plants

California Native Plants

Sign Up For Free

Plant Finder

Garden Designs

Helpful Lists

Set your preferred view

Welcome to the Waterwise Garden Digital Tour

Move around

Locate your sign​

Refer back to these tips

Locate your sign