Description

Sandmat manzanita has a very narrow range near the coast of Monterey Bay. It grows in sandy soil as a very low groundcover or mounding shrub. The ‘Wavelength’ selection is a mounding form, up to about three feet in height. This manzanita tends to root at the leaf nodes as they touch the ground, so there is really no limit to how wide it might grow. Although this is a coastal species it may be grown away from the coast in the right setting. I have grown one for years at my home in West San Jose (zone 15/16). It has thrived in a raised bed amended to form a gritty, well-draining soil. It is against a south facing wall, but the spot only gets about four hours of sun a day in the summer, but much more when my ash tree loses its leaves for the winter. It receives no irrigation other than an occasional wash.