Great Design Plant: Arbutus 'Marina'
Twisted trunks and snazzy fruit bring wild, all-year beauty to the garden — just keep this small tree away from the lawn
Bill Marken
November 25, 2012
Houzz Contributor. I grew up with a love for California's valleys, hills, and mountains -- and native plants. I've been a magazine editor/writer for my whole career, and was editor in chief of Sunset and Garden Design magazines.
Houzz Contributor. I grew up with a love for California's valleys, hills, and mountains... More
My daughter planted Arbutus ‘Marina' in her Mediterranean-style courtyard, because it reminds her of madrone trees at summer camp. Every time I see her tree, I think of carving a seventh-grade girl’s initials on a madrone trunk while on a Boy Scout camping trip in another time and place. Madrone (or madrona) trees, native to the Pacific Coast from Southern California to British Columbia, have a wild beauty that appeals to the sentimental, romantic side of some of us, at least.
Arbutus 'Marina' is an evergreen hybrid of unknown origin, closely related to the native madrone. They share the family good looks: twisted, glossy reddish trunks with peeling bark, perky little flowers, even pretty fruit. But unlike the notoriously temperamental native madrone, which seems to die at the thought of garden-style watering or at the sight of a patio, 'Marina' fits nicely into garden situations and conditions.
Arbutus 'Marina' is an evergreen hybrid of unknown origin, closely related to the native madrone. They share the family good looks: twisted, glossy reddish trunks with peeling bark, perky little flowers, even pretty fruit. But unlike the notoriously temperamental native madrone, which seems to die at the thought of garden-style watering or at the sight of a patio, 'Marina' fits nicely into garden situations and conditions.
Botanical name: Arbutus 'Marina'
USDA zones: 7 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Light
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 25 feet tall and wide, but can grow to 50 feet
Special consideration: Drainage must be very good, or else root diseases may develop.
USDA zones: 7 to 9 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Light
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 25 feet tall and wide, but can grow to 50 feet
Special consideration: Drainage must be very good, or else root diseases may develop.
Distinguishing traits. Dainty clusters of pink flowers dangle among leathery green leaves, mainly in spring and fall. Even small branches display the peeling bark and glossy reddish new bark.
Eye-catching fruit that appears spring to fall resembles that of the closely related strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo). It's edible if you are a fan of mealy, tasteless fruit. Why bother?
How to use it. Make 'Marina' a magnificent centerpiece of your patio, although it can create a mild mess with falling leaves, flowers, fruit and bark. It's more at home in a wilder, dry section of a garden. Make it a focal point rising up from a planting of mixed California natives such as manzanita, rhamnus and ceanothus. Keep lawns and frequent watering away. (Note that in this photo, the lawn is not allowed near the trunk.) Pruning away the lower branches has trained this tree to develop a round top.
Multitrunk 'Marina', with lower branches left in place, has found a happy (dryish) home here with succulents and gravel mulch.
Growing tips. Before planting, make sure that the soil drainage is pretty good to excellent. Incorporate ground bark or other organic matter into the planting hole.
Growing tips. Before planting, make sure that the soil drainage is pretty good to excellent. Incorporate ground bark or other organic matter into the planting hole.
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tiggernme
I am having problems with anything that grows under my strawberry tree from the second year it was planted. The tree is happy, healthy and beautiful, but the few small plants growing near it where it's leaves fall are not thriving anymore and I am wondering if these spent leaves from Arbutus Marina have anything to do with that?
Has anyone else noticed this problem? Has picking up the leaves on a daily basis helped?
Update 8/19: My Arbutus Marina is thriving. It’s probably slightly smaller than if it was growing in a large yard, not a front patio. I don’t have any problems with perennials growing under the tree. Hummingbirds love this tree, both for the flowers, and the few insects the flowers attract.
Just planted an 8 foot tall, multi-trunk Arbutus 'Marina' in a large, raised planter in our SoCal courtyard. Hoping that the container is large enough and the drainage good enough for this lovely tree to flourish. I love the branching structure and the color of the bark. The flower clusters are charming too.