Plant Data Sheet

Arctostaphylos patula

 

Species (common name, Latin name)

Greenleaf Manzanita, Arctostaphylos patula

 

Range

Oregon, south into southern California, Nevada, and Arizona

 

Climate, elevation

Found from 950 to 3050 m in elevation

 

Local occurrence (where, how common)

Most common in the Great Basin and much of the Sierra Nevada. Locally in Klickitat County.

 

Habitat preferences

Open coniferous forests with dry, well-drained sandy loam to silty loam soils.

 

 

 

 

 

Plant strategy type/successional stage (stress-tolerator, competitor, weedy/colonizer, seral, late successional)

This plant is a stress tolerator.

 

Associated species

Douglas-fir, Ponderosa pine, spruce, Lodgepole pine, Redwood, Western hardwoods,    Chaparral, juniper

 

May be collected as: (seed, layered, divisions, etc.)

Seeds on or off the plant. Divisions and cuttings (although not recommended)

 

Collection restrictions or guidelines

It is best to collect during late fruit development by hand or by picking fruit off the ground.

 

Seed germination (needs dormancy breaking?)

Seeds require hot water scarification followed by cold stratification at 4°C for 90 days in moist sand. Clean the fruit by macerating and separating the nutlets by floatation or blowing.

 

Seed life (can be stored, short shelf-life, long shelf-life)

 

Recommended seed storage conditions

Pre-soak dried seed in boiling water for 10 - 20 seconds or burn some straw on top of them and then stratify at 2 - 5°c for 2 months.

 

Propagation recommendations (plant seeds, vegetative parts, cuttings, etc.)

Seed - best sown in a greenhouse as soon as it is ripe. The seed usually germinates in 2 - 3 months at 15°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame or greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer.

 

Cuttings of side shoots of the current season's growth, 5 - 8cm with a heel, August to December in a frame. The cuttings are very slow and can take a year to root. This species is very dificult from cuttings.

 

Division in early spring. Take care because the plant resents root disturbance. Pot the divisions up and keep them in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are growing away actively. Layering in spring

 

Soil or medium requirements (inoculum necessary?)

Greenleaf manzanita grows on dry, well-drained sandy loam to silty loam soils.

 

Installation form (form, potential for successful outcomes, cost)

Seedlings grown in the greenhouse have the best chances for survival. Cuttings can be used but are very difficult to root as are divisions.

 

Care requirements after installed (water weekly, water once etc.)

Water moderately for first year.

 

Normal rate of growth or spread; lifespan

Up to 2 meters tall and 3 meters wide.

 

Sources cited

http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/arcpat/distribution_and_occurrence.html

 

GardenBed.com    http://gardenbed.com/?404;http://gardenbed.com/welcome.asp

 

Propagation of Pacific Northwest Native Plants. Rose, Robin.; Chachuluski, Caryn E. C.; Haase, Diane L.  Corvallis Oregon State University Press, 1998. p.97

 

 

Doug Schmitt