Louis Edmunds Manzanita                ark-tow-STAF-i-los BAK-er-i BAK-er-i

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, erect, open, to about 6-8 ft (~2-2.5 m) tall, smooth, purple-brown bark.  Leaves alternate, simple, leathery, elliptical to oval, often held perpendicular to the stem, gray-green.  Flowers pearl to dark pink, urn-shaped, blooms in late winter.  Fruit russet-red.
• Sun, well-drained soil; very heat and drought resistant.  Reportedly tolerant of garden conditions and apparently one of the easiest manzanitas to grow.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 7    This selection is name after Louis L. Edmunds a highly regarded California nurseryman, now deceased, who once owned Native Plants Nursery in Danville, California. He collected and propagated many native plants in central California.  He enthusiastically promoted manzanitas (Arctostaphylos species) and California lilacs (Ceanothus).  Many of California's long-popular native plant cultivars are a result of his efforts.