Description:

An attractive selection that is low and compact, with pointy, dark green leaves that are held perpendicular to the sun; small white flowers in spring, followed by red fruit; great for rock gardens, dry borders; protect from midday sun when planted inland

Ornamental Features

Wayside Hooker's Manzanita features dainty nodding white bell-shaped flowers at the ends of the branches from early to mid spring. It has attractive dark green evergreen foliage which emerges light green in spring. The small fuzzy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter. The fruits are showy tomato-orange drupes carried in abundance from mid summer to early fall. The brick red stems are very effective and add winter interest.

Landscape Attributes

Wayside Hooker's Manzanita is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting birds, bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Wayside Hooker's Manzanita is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Border Edging
• Groundcover
• Naturalizing And Woodland Gardens

Planting & Growing

Wayside Hooker's Manzanita will grow to be about 24 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 6 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 30 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. This plant should not require much in the way of fertilizing once established, although it may appreciate a shot of general-purpose fertilizer from time to time early in the growing season. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have sandy, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.