Friday, December 18, 2009

Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Paradise' or more simply a colorful manzanita

I bought this manzanita variety at the annual plant sale at the Botanic Garden in Tilden Park this spring.  Ryan over at Dry Stone Garden was volunteering at the sale and is pretty sure this was A. pajaroensis 'Paradise'.  I'm not as good at remembering the specific varieties of plants as I should be.  If he's right, and who am I to argue, this baby is supposed to get up to 10' wide.  Not ideal for it's location, but it's unirrigated, so it should take a while to get there.  It seems to be a fast grower though.  The first pic was taken when I planted it in front in late April/early May.  And the second one yesterday.  It's at least doubled in size.


It has a beautiful blueish/greyish-green color on mature leaves, but a bright red on the new growth. Spectacular on more mature specimens.  Here are pictures with rain and without.


Two more pics after the jump.


A very striking and unusual manzanita.


6 comments:

  1. Looks beautiful, especially with the raindrops. I can't wait to see it more mature. I've always been partial to red new growth.

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  2. That's the one Mr. Manzanita was saying to get, so that's the one I sold you. It's looks great. I think I will declare you a satisfied customer and tell people to look here for a testimonial if they are skeptical of my advice during next year's sale.

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  3. I have one in my front garden and it's growing very slowly. Maybe a half a foot a year. If you don't water, you probably don't need to worry too much.

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  4. There is a gorgeous A. pajaroensis at Rancho that I think is Paradise, though it isn't labeled that way. It is 5+ ft. tall and 8+ ft. wide, with wonderful pink flowers. Some of the other A. pajaroensis are really different in shape (taller and thinner) and not as pink. Enjoy it, it is a beauty!

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  5. Oooh, this is one of my fav colour combos on plants. Both cool and hot at the same time!

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  6. Wow--a cool manzanita that's also a fast grower? If I were to compare most of my mid-spring photos with how the plants look now, you'd have a hard time telling them apart. But I guess down here we're getting ready for the big growth spurt for these plants.

    The color of the new growth is amazing. I think you scored big with that plant!

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