Have you tried Theodore Payne in Sun Valley.
They update their site weekly with inventory.
None today but they should have them in a about 2 months.
Definately will have them for their spring and fall sales.
I got a Dr Hurd from them last year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Theodorepayne

I just bought a 1 gallon Dr. Hurd from Green Thumb this week in San Marcos (northern San Diego county, off the 78). They have other locations in the L.A. area: http://www.greenthumb.com/
Janine

I wish my Green Thumb carried my natives. Mostly just ceanothus.
Anyway you might try Las Pilitas also.

Here is a link that might be useful: Las Pilitas

Tree of Life Nursery.
33201 Ortega Highway
San Juan Capistrano, Ca

Pam

Here is a link that might be useful: Tree of Life Nursery

I was just at Theodore Payne Foundation (in Sun Valley/San Fernando Valley, So.Cal) this weekend and bought a number of manzanitas. They have an excellent inventory of varied species: from low growing ground cover types to taller shrubs. Manzanitas are not trees but rather shrubs. Some can get large depending on species. There a number of hybrids as well. Good selection of ceanothus as well.

Ive had a manzanita in my garden for 2 1/2 years and it hasnt grown more than 2 feet since. I must have the slower species.

Hi,
Thank you so much for all your replies!!

Toyo and Skrip, you bring up a good point. I didn't realize there were different species. I need to keep that in mind.

Toyo, you say you bought a number of them.... on what criteria are you basing your selections, if I may ask?

I bought my manzanitas (I forget what particular species they were) for their compact size. I live near the coast so I shouldn't have problems with them. Many manzanita sp. come from central and northern coastal scrug areas. Then there are those that come from drier upland scrub areas. Make sure you know your growing envirionment. Theodore Payne has descriptions on adult growth height and light and water requirements posted near the stock plants. I wanted the typical reddish branched manzanitas. Though there are gray branched ones as well. Some are fast growing, others slower. I didn't want a particularly large variety. I bought two different coastal manzanitas. Mature height was around 4' tall. Others species can get up to 6 feet. They have the common Arcostaphylos manzanita. But some rare species. And also a good range of low ground cover types (which were in bloom already).
I might go back for some of those.

Toyo is technically correct they are shrubs. But the Dr Hurd is one of a few that can get over 10 feet tall.
I bought Dr Hurd for my birds and I wanted something taller.

Theodore Payne is having Bart O'Brien give a class on Manzanitas on Jan 31.

Bart is one of 3 authors of 'California Native Plants for the Garden' book. It has several pages on Manzanitas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Manzanita class

Thank you! I want the typical red barked one. They are such beautiful "trees". *smile*

It is not necessarily illegal to take manzanita from the wild. For the endangered varieties yes, but not for the type you are talking about. The typical red barked trees are quite abundant in many parts of California. You would have to check to see if it is legal to dig up plants on government land but there is plenty of manzanita on private land and many land owners would like to have it be gone. I would be glad to let you dig up some of mine but Oregon is a bit far.

Here is a link that might be useful: buy manzanita

Here in California, it is "necessarily illegal" to dig up (or otherwise damage or destroy) any native plants on public property. Of course, as firewoodresource points out, you can dig up anything, with permission, on private property (except for oaks in some counties, such as ours).

There are hundreds of different manzanita species and cultivars; some become nice small trees, some are shrubs and some are low, wide-spreading ground covers. With lots of intergrades.

The typical tall ones include: 'Dr. Hurd' (12'), 'Austin Griffiths' (10'), 'Paradise' (8'), A. insularis (6'), A. manzanita (12'), 'Mama Bear' (8').

Joe

As Joe mentioned there are many wonderful selections available in native plant nurseries. For those of you contemplating digging one up in the wild and successfully transplanting into your garden, very few are able to manage this without losing the plant. Al

For those of you contemplating moving an established plant, it would be helpful to know the species and how it reproduces in the wild before attempting the move. Broadly speaking, Manzanitas follow one of two reproductive strategies following fire (but almost never both): seedling or stump sprouting. If it's a known stump sprouter, you might have a chance if you take great care while doing so. If it reproduces by seeds, you're better off finding a large shrub (the older the better), scooping some soil from under the plant and giving them a smoke treatment.

If you are going to attempt transplanting an existing shrub note that the larger and more intact the root-ball is, the better the chance of success - ideally it should be as wide as the canopy and deep enough to include most of the feeder roots (mostly within the top one to two feet of the soil profile); plant high, transplants are more susceptible to problems associated with being placed below grade than pot-grown plants (don't forget settling if the soil in the bottom of the hole has been loosened); as far as pruning, feel free to do some shaping but don't head the entire plant back, tip growth produces auxins that stimulate root initiation.

Ryan

Here is a link that might be useful: Where there's smoke there's germination.

I live in zone 9a in central FL and am having trouble finding where to buy Manzanita trees to plant alongside my driveway.

Any help would be most appreciated.

I don't believe manzanita (Arctostaphylos) would be a good choice for you. The zones you are using are USDA hardiness zones, and that is only a tiny part of whether or not a plant can adapte to your conditions. Sunset zones are a much better guide; Central FL would be zone 26. None of the Arctostaophylos listed in Sunset National are rated for that zone. Florida is humid and has a rainy season that runs from May-October. Summer months are CA's dry season. The plants require excellent drainage. I can understand your desire to grow manzanitas---the red bark of mature trees is gorgeous.

Thanks for that info. I know that our soil would not be an issue, as we do have good drainage.

I was not aware of a Sunset Zone!

Any other suggestions that may be similar?

I am not surprised you are not aware of Sunset zones. They are the zone system used by serious gardeners in the west. Sunset went national in 1997 with a book covering the U.S. and Canada, but the expansion didn't take. I hoarded some of the books because we used the information in our business. The SUNSET SITE has a very abbreviated version of information for the zones from the books; the book generally uses half a page, or up to about 6 paragraphs per zone.

I would have to think about a similar plant substitution. It has been quite a while since I have done work in Florida--a bit rusty! What are the characteristics (flowers, berries, form, bark etc.) you admire most about the manzanita? A new thread on the Florida Gardeningforums might be a good way to get ideas.

We are thinking of putting in a pool our backyard right where a beautiful manzanita tree is. Our pool guy said people would actually come move it for free if they can have it. Anyone interested or have the equipment to do this? It's probably seven feet tall and very established. Only clincher is it will be hard to get it out of our front yard. But could be done with the right equipment.