Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Del Mar or Costa Baja Manzanita (Arctostaphylos glandulosa ssp. crassifolia) is a rare native shrub that grows in Southern California, primarily in the South Coast region. Depending on the time of year, leaves can be pinkish, slivery, blue green or dark green. It tends to grow in rocky outcrops, slopes and ridges, at elevations from 0-700 feet. It can grow to 8 feet, but is usually under 4 feet with a loose mounding form.

Del Mar Manzanita is beautiful, relatively easy to grow and among the fastest growing of the manzanitas. It seems to do best if planted in the spring, when it can grow quickly and establish itself before the dry summer months. It handles weekly water for the first year after planting, after which it's best to naturalize. Plant on slopes or well draining flats. It will look green and vibrant year round if it can stretch its roots out to a nearby damper spot or irrigated area. It likes sun or part shade.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

6 - 96 in Tall
6 ft Wide

Form

Mounding, Spreading

Growth rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Slight

Calscape icon
Color

Cream, Pink

Flowering season

Winter, Spring

Special uses

Bank stabilization, Groundcover

Sun

Partial Shade, Full Sun

Water

Low, Very Low

Summer irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 10° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium

Soil description

This subspecies prefers eroded sandstone soils of marine deposits that are typical of coastal San Diego County.
Soil PH: 6 - 7.6

Maintenance

Accepts light pruning to shape or direct growth. This plant is subject to periodic branch die-back. This is usually not fatal to the plant. Dead branches may be removed or left in place. This is one of the burl forming Manzanitas that is able to regrow quickly after a fire.

Propagation

Plant may spread by tip rooting

Site type

Rocky outcrops, slopes, ridges, or mesas where it is found in a rare vegetation community known as southern maritime chaparral, along with a number of other rare plants

Plant communities

Chaparral

Summer Holly (Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. diversifolia), Mission Manzanita Xylococcus bicolor), Scrub Oak (Quercus dumosa), California Encelia (Encelia californica), Chamise (Adeostoma fasciculatum), Coastal Pricklypear cactus (Opuntia littoralis), Mojave Yucca (Yucca shidigera), and Tree Poppy (Dendromecon rigida)

Hummingbirds
Bats
Birds
Bees
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 29 likely

Confirmed Likely

Aethaloida packardaria

Orange Tortrix Moth

Argyrotaenia franciscana