Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Arctostaphylos pajaroensis is a species of manzanita known by the common name Pajaro manzanita. It is endemic to California, where it is known mainly from Monterey County. Historical occurrences have been noted in Santa Cruz and far western San Benito Counties; these may no longer exist. Most of the extant populations are located in the hills south of the Pajaro River Valley. It is a member of the chaparral plant community. This is an erect shrub growing at least a meter tall and known to exceed four meters in height. It has shreddy red or grayish bark with woolly hairs and long white bristles on its smaller twigs. The dense foliage is made up of gray-green, reddish-tinted leaves with smooth, toothed, or rolled edges. They are oval to somewhat triangular in shape and 2 to 4 centimeters long. The shrub flowers in the winter, bearing large loose flower clusters of pink to nearly white urn-shaped flowers. The fruit is a drupe about 7 millimeters wide.

In the garden its combination of reddish new growth and pink flowers is striking. It can be pruned to ground cover height or allowed to mound up. Though native to the coast, it has performed well in inland gardens with well drained soil in sun to part shade. It has an unusually long bloom time for a manzanita. The horticultural variety 'Paradise' is most often available in nurseries.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

3 - 15 ft Tall
10 ft Wide

Form

Mounding, Spreading

Growth rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Fragrance

Slight

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Color

Pink, White

Flowering season

Winter, Spring

Special uses

Hedge

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Very Low

Summer irrigation

Max 2x / month once established

Ease of care

Easy

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 15° F

Soil drainage

Fast

Soil description

Tolerates clay soil but performs best and lives longest in well drained soil.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.0

Maintenance

As needed to shape

Propagation

Seed or rooted cuttings

Site type

Slopes, seaside bluffs as a component of central coast chaparral

Plant communities

Chaparral

In the wild it occurs with a variety of central coast species including Chamise (Adenostoma fasciculatum), Dwarf Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis), Blueblossom (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus), Coffeeberry (Frangula californica), Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia), Douglas Iris (Iris douglasiana), Twinberry Honeysuckle (Lonicera involucrata), Sticky Monkeyflower (Diplacus aurantiacus), Monterey Pine (Pinus radiata), Black Sage (Salvia mellifera), and Lupines (Lupinus spp.).

Bats
Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 40 likely

Confirmed Likely

Aethaloida packardaria

Miranda Underwing

Amphipyra pyramidoides