February Nature Almanac: Manzanitas Bloom for Christmas… and for Valentine’s Day
By Ruth Carol Cushman and Stephen R. Jones
February 2022
Just before Christmas, Panchito manzanitas (Arctostaphylos coloradoensis) bloomed in Boulder. Guess they didn’t read the PlantSelect website that says these evergreens flower in early spring!
The tiny, white bell-shaped flowers tipped with pink dangle below leathery, oval green leaves on purplish-red stems. Once established, this low-growing shrub produces red berries that, perhaps, led to the Spanish name, manzanita, meaning “little apple.”
A Panchito manzanita growing and blooming in a yard. Photo by Panayoti Kelaidis, Curator of Plant Collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
We think of manzanitas as being emblematic of California. However, Panchito manzanita is native to the Uncompaghre Plateau in western Colorado and is thought to be a natural hybrid of kinnikinnick (A. uva-ursi) and greenleaf manzanita (A. patula). Unlike many of its relatives in the heath family (Ericaceae), it’s well adapted to a dry climate and fluctuating temperatures.
Panayoti Kelaidis, curator of plant collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens, credits biologist Paul Maslin as being the first to cultivate greenleaf and Panchito manzanitas in his “miraculous” garden on 14th Street near the University of Colorado Boulder.
Panayoti recalls making field trips to the Uncompahgre Plateau in the 1970s and early 1980s with Paul to take manzanita cuttings. In the spring 2021 issue of Aquilegia, the Colorado Native Plant Society newsletter, Panayoti wrote, “I saw manzanitas in the wild in Colorado for the first time. I will never forget the surprise of seeing masses of army-green shrubs covering so many different habitats with such breathtaking variety of forms.”
The cuttings were propagated at the Denver Botanic Gardens and planted in different areas. Surprisingly, the ones in irrigated areas did not persist, whereas the ones that were never watered still flourish!
Panchito manzanita can thrive in areas with no supplemental water like this McDonald’s drive-thru landscaping. Photo by Panayoti Kelaidis, Curator of Plant Collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
PlantSelect, a collaboration between Colorado State University and the Botanic Gardens, studies and recommends new plants for western gardens. They call Panchito manzanita an outstanding selection and recommend planting it on slopes with good drainage while giving it room to grow. Though it’s slow to establish, it may eventually reach a height of 24 inches and a width of 60 inches. Root rot from overwatering is its biggest problem.
Anyone who hikes in Boulder’s foothills knows and cherishes our native kinnikinnick, also known as bearberry, that spreads a cushiony evergreen groundcover under the ponderosas and Douglas firs. Exquisite creamy flowers, similar to those of the manzanita, bloom by February and are followed by small red fruits in April.
William Weber described these kinickknick flowers as “beautiful creations, like porcelain Easter eggs into which one peers to see exotic scenes.” Photo by Stephen R. Jones
In addition to serving as an attractive landscaping shrub, manzanita and kinnikinnick provide cover and food for birds and mammals and nectar and pollen to bees. Native Americans have used various parts medicinally to treat poison oak, stomach aches, kidney problems, bronchitis and more. The berries, though too mealy for most folks, can be eaten fresh or dried. Some tribes made them into cider and used the leaves as toothbrushes.
Only a few manzanita species (members of the genus Arctostaphylos) grow in Colorado, but 105 species and subspecies are found throughout western North America and Mexico, including one of the rarest plants in the world, Raven’s manzanita (also called Presidio manzanita). Only one “mother” plant is known to exist, located in the Presidio area of San Francisco. A few cuttings have been cloned and planted elsewhere in the vicinity and in botanical gardens. The original plant grows in a secret location and became the flashpoint for controversy some years ago: should you cut down a thousand magnificent but non-native trees to restore the sand dunes and save the last of an endangered species? If you’re curious, read An Inconvenient Plant by Joe Eskenazi, published April 16, 2008 in SF Weekly.
Other February Nature Events
During January’s icy days, the open water in Dragonfly Pond at Pella Crossing attracted three Trumpeter Swans and a rare Eurasian Wigeon. It’s a good place to look for waterbirds in winter, including in February.
Mountain Bluebirds start to return to the region.
Easter daisies usually begin to bloom on shale slopes.
Sue Cass recently asked, “Where are all the birds?” on Nature-Net. Some of us have noticed a marked decline in bird numbers, while others (especially in the foothills) say they are still getting a good mix of species at their feeders. What are you observing?
Stephen Jones and Ruth Carol Cushman are authors of The North American Prairie and Wild Boulder County.