Howard McMinn Manzanita               ark-tow-STAF-i-los den-si-FLOR-a

• Broadleaf evergreen shrub, mounding shrub, 4-8 ft (1.2-2.4 m) tall by 6-10 ft (1.8-3.0 m) wide, reddish brown stems.  Leaves alternate, simple, 1-3 cm long, elliptic, glossy green, upper and lower sides similar.  Flowers small, pendulous, white with a pinkish ting, in tight, short clusters, produced in spring.  Fruit about 6 mm, somewhat spherical, brick red, matures in the summer, persists into winter.
• Sun to light shade, requires acid soils, tolerates clay-loam soils, best with good drainage; drought tolerant.  Considered a long-lived and dependable selection.  Sunset Western Garden Book (2007) suggest pinching the tips of any upright branches after flowering to make the plant as dense as a "sheared Kurume azalea."
• Hardy to USDA Zone (6)7      Named after Howard E. McMinn, California botanist and author, his books included; An Illustrated Manual of California Shrubs, and A Illustrated Manual of Pacific Coast Trees (with Evelyn Maino).