Transplanting Manzanita

I love getting helpful planting tips from gardeners who have won the battle that each of us Yarnellians face up here on this rocky, windswept mountain. One prized piece of information came to me as an aside the day a stranger helped me cope with a rattlesnake- bitten cat.

George, the stranger, operated an antique shop next door to our veterinarian. His home and spacious garden were located to the back of his business. While I waited for my kitty, George gave a tour of his beautiful shady garden to help soothe my stressful day. (News of rattlesnake bite travels fast in these here parts).

He attributed all his gardening success to the dense shade provided by native trees--transplanted from Kirkland Creek ONLY in the month of January.

We've been heeding that advise for transplanting manzanita, an ornamental evergreen native to Yarnell, with good results. Several years ago, two manzanita plants came up in our driveway; David transplanted them in January. They are now shoulder high.

Manzanita, according to Wikipedia, grows in the chaparral biome of North America but doesn't even list AZ in the zone. Indeed it is much prized, but not protected, and grows beautifully here in AZ. The berries and flowers are edible, its thin mahogany bark can be dried and used for a tea and Native Americans used its leaves to clean their teeth. Some species are among the rarest plants in the world; one endangered species was recently cloned in CAL.

Today it was my turn. Again, two manzanita plants sprang up in our driveway. This was their second winter, time to transplant before they became sizable enough to risk being run over. Thankfully no cloning is necessary for Badboulder's manzanita.

Manzanita is far and away my favorite chaparral shrub. I will go to great lengths to avoid getting into their space.

Their beauty as ornamentals is such that I once convinced David to set a dead one in concrete. My sis and I strung it with fairy lights as we laughed and sipped a margarita. The lights now need replacing--a delicate chore as it is old enough to be a bit crumbly. I need my sis and a margarita.

I was working away from home the day an APS representative informed David that the chaparral, on our land but under their electrical line, must be cut. David asked them to please spare the manzanita, pointing out that it never attains great height, doesn't have a long life span and was the most desirable plant we owned. They left the beautiful manzanita which has benefited from the removal of dense brush.

When we furnished our condo, I wanted to display a piece of manzanita, a memento from Badboulder. It was a casualty from the burial of our propane tank. Amazingly, some leaves are still intact, adding interest to our RED wall.

Usually in January, the sweet fragrance of the manzanita's tiny pink blossoms perfumes Badboulder's air. We've had shiveringly cold nights for over a month this year which probably accounts for a delay. It'll be worth the wait!

FROM THE KNOTHOLE: Back when I used to work for America West Airlines, one of my best friends was Jim, but I called him Manzanita Man. You see, to make extra money, he had a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to go into national forests and cut manzanitas. He used plaster to set the cuttings, usually around 6 feet tall, in a 5-gallon bucket. He was connected with several interior decorators in the Scottsdale area who placed manzanitas in the homes of their wealthy clients.

a parting shot from bbman: where were you when kennedy was shot? one of our favorite perennial questions. don't think i have ever met anyone who does not connect with that day. i was in mexico city attending the university of the americas. i was living in a room over the garage of a rather wealthy mexican family. when i arrived home that evening, the mother of the household and her daughter, rosita, came to meet me and, through sobs and tears, offered condolences for the loss of president kennedy.