Arctostaphylos 'Sunset'

Sunset Manzanita is a sprawling, evergreen shrub that commonly grows three foot high and six feet wide. If you sheer the top a few times the plant can be easily held to two foot high. Sheer the sides and you can make a 5 foot hedge.

This hybrid manzanita is a cross of Arctostaphylos hookeri and Arctostaphylos pajaroensis. Sunset manzanita has dark red bark, white flowers(with a little pink), and bright bronze red(all the colors of the rainbow) new growth. Sunset manzanita has some of the good color of Arctostaphylos pajaroensis but is more drought tolerant, better looking the rest of the year, neater, more compact, doesn't need to be pruned, etc., etc. So.. if you like the color use Arctostaphylos pajaroensis 'Paradise' manzanita, but if you're doing a smaller area, like uniformity or don't like the pruning idea use 'Sunset' manzanita.

This natural hybrid likes good drainage (but tolerates clay well), and is found on sandy hills in Monterey County. Has done well in adobe and many of the San Joaquin Valley soils. One of the best foundation plants we have. Stunning against a brick wall or redwood fence. Stunning on a slope as tall, large area ground cover. In coastal plantings it has looked good and performed well for twenty years with no extra water. One of the prettiest bushes or large groundcovers available for sale.

Weird that people plant all sorts of plants that look awful after a year or two when this plant looks nice for decades. Mix with Harmony, Paradise, Sonoma and La Panza manzanitas for a varied ground cover, or throw in some Ceanohtus Yankee Point or Ceanothus Snowball for more variation. You can use a mix of all of those to cover a large slope in someplace like Oakland or Santa Monica and get away with sprinkling  only a few minutes a week after the first season.
NO amending, no fertilizer, no drip irrigation, no weed mat, no compost
A 2-3 inch layer of shredded redwood or cedar bark spread next to these plants is good.
When I used to do garden design and mitigation  I had a big sign on my monitor, KISS.
Click here for more about California Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos).