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Pink-white urns
Evergreen shrub

Hairy Manzanita

Arctostaphylos columbiana

Sculptural mahogany bark and early urn-shaped flowers that feed the West Coast's first bees of spring.

Californiathe Pacific Northwest

Growing Hairy Manzanita

Grown as much for its smooth red peeling branches as its bloom — a living sculpture for a dry, sunny bank from northern California up into the Pacific Northwest. The early urn-shaped flowers are a lifeline for queen bumblebees emerging in late winter and spring. It’s deer-resistant, drought-tolerant, evergreen, and good for winter interest.

Where it grows

Hairy Manzanita is native to California. In the wild you’ll find it across California · Nevada · Oregon · Washington. Always confirm it suits your specific county with your state native plant society before planting.

Regional Garden shows Hairy Manzanita on 4 state pages.

Good for

Sourcing

Where to buy Hairy Manzanita

Seeds & live plants on Amazon

Seed packets, plugs, and starter plants for many of these species ship to your door.

Browse on Amazon

Some links here are affiliate links — we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The surest source of locally-adapted stock is a native-plant nursery or a native plant society sale in your area.

Plant it with

Companions & kin.

Natives that share Hairy Manzanita’s range and conditions.

Evergreen shrub

Oregon Grape

Berberis aquifolium

Holly-like evergreen leaves, fragrant yellow spring flowers, and blue berries — Oregon's state flower.

  • Sun to shade
  • Dry–average
  • 3–6 ft
  • Blooms Mar–Apr
Shrub

Red-Flowering Currant

Ribes sanguineum

Cascades of rose-pink tassels timed exactly to the return of the rufous hummingbird each spring.

  • Full–part sun
  • Dry–average
  • 5–9 ft
  • Blooms Mar–Apr
Shrub

Buttonbush

Cephalanthus occidentalis

Spherical white 'pincushion' flowers over standing water, swarmed by butterflies and bees.

  • Full–part sun
  • Average–wet
  • 5–10 ft
  • Blooms Jun–Aug
Evergreen shrub

California Lilac

Ceanothus thyrsiflorus

Sheets of true-blue spring flowers on an evergreen shrub that hums with bees on the West Coast.

  • Full sun
  • Dry
  • 6–20 ft
  • Blooms Mar–May