Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Brother James'

'Brother James' Manzanita is from the eastern edge of the Arctostaphylos pajaroensis population. Starts were given to us by Brother James when he was at Mission San Juan Batista.
These are small manzanitas, maturing to 4 ft or so tall and maybe 5 ft wide. They seem to be a little bit more rounded and sprawling than "Arctostaphylos pajaroensis "Paradise". In other words they might look more like a shrub and less like a prehistoric looking mini tree. You could also use this in place of sunset if you want something a little bit more unique but with a similar size and similar bright red new growth. Leaves are more purply gray then the lime green of 'Sunset'. Brother James reported they were different than the others in the area and should be in the trade. We thought it looked promising and introduced it to the nursery trade. We've grown them for awhile now and they seem very stable, yet prehistoric looking. Sometimes the plants are like finding a live dinosaur.
Use as a small specimen plant or in a narrow flower bed or as a wild mini-hedge. Customers that have seen them LOVE them. Very unique and beautiful foliage. New growth is red with some purple. Use with 'Sunset', 'Harmony' and 'Paradise' to make a large scale ground cover.