Dear Barry ,

Thank you for contacting the Jeffco Extension Garden Help Desk with your question regarding manzanitas. Yes, manzanitas grow in Colorado. Our native manzanita is Arctostaphylos patula (greenleaf manzanita).  Related to manzanita is Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, commonly referred to as kinnikinnick, a ground cover.

We have a program in Colorado called Plant Select which strives to identify plants which grow well in our climate. There is a Arctostaphylos species on their list at this link - Arctostaphylos coloradensis. https://plantselect.org/plantstories/colorados-hardy-manzanitas-welcome-winter-beauty/

There is a manzanita in our Plant Select demonstration garden at the Jeffco Fairgrounds.  The garden is open to the public if you'd like to stop by and see it.

https://jeffco.extension.colostate.edu/horticulture/demonstration-gardens/

Reference:

Colorado Gardening: Challenge to Newcomers: https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/07220.pdf

Best of luck to you,

Sue

Master Gardener Help Desk, Horticulture

Colorado State University Extension, Jefferson County

jeffcoextension.org

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303.271.6632 - Direct

303.271.6620 - Office

15200 West 6th Ave, Unit C

Golden, CO 80401

CSU Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

Hi, I'm a master gardener from Laguna Beach, new resident of Lakewood. I left a beautiful Louis Edmond manzanita that I babied for 20 years and figured I'd left them for good, I was in zone 8. Just went to a nursery and there was a manzanita!!!! Are manzanitas something you see around the Denver ares?