Plant profile: arbutus - we take a look at seven different strawberry trees!

[@theosnepenthes8751]

If you ever get a chance to visit California, you will not only see wild Arbutus menziesii specimens along the entire coast and the whole length of the foothills of the Sierras (the mountain chain that forms the interior spine of California) but you will also see breathtaking gigantic Madrone trees planted as seedlings and never moved again (their roots hate to be disturbed, wherever you plant them should be their permanent location) in many old neighborhoods that now dominate the yards they were planted in. As you said, if you live in the right climate, where there is no summer rain, which is most of California, they will thrive.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I did see some fairly stunning specimens when I travelled through Oregon many years ago and still think of them regularly. Regards Stephen.

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

​​​@@thehorti-culturalists Especially near Grants Pass in Southern Oregon, you can see them basically growing straight out of rocky cliffs, all over the place. But there are also some large specimens near the Columbia River on the Washington side, and also in Washington near Puget sound.

[@bonsummers2657]

Arbutus menziesii doesn't thrive in SoCaL. Arbtus menziesii is not visible in SoCaL except way off the beaten path in rare populations above 2100feet, with extremely rare exception-specimens in lower elevations.

[@theosnepenthes8751]

@@bonsummers2657 Exactly as I said, along the interior mountain spine of California, way off the so-called beaten path. Thank God they are located there, if they had been located any closer to the coast they would have gone extinct decades ago to make room for massive housing developments and strip malls.

[@theosnepenthes8751]

In case the message wasn't clear, and to clear up any confusion, Madrones are found near the coast in Northern California and at higher altitudes in Southern California, although individual wild and planted specimens can be found nearer to the coast there as well. Their largest wild populations are found on the Northern CA coast extending north all the way to British Columbia Canada.

[@mikebartoli4755]

Wow! What an impressive video... This is the first of yours that I've seen, I discovered it because I just bought some property in norther California in the foothills and although there are no Madrone trees on it, they grow all over the area. So I was trying learn about how to successfully introduce them to my property. None of the nurseries in the area sell them and I'm learning through videos like this one that they don't do well when transplanted. The temperate climate here is ideal for these trees so they can be left alone but I have a special connection to Pacific Madrone trees so I want them on my property.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Good luck with your project and thanks for finding us!

[@JasonRainforest]

Now we need the fruit follow-up.. Having your fine selves sampling all of the fruit of your Arbutus species!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

We could try the different fruit but I find them a bit bland in the ones I have tried. Regards Stephen

[@JasonRainforest]

It'll make an interesting video at least, and your reactions to the fruit would be quite amusing too, no doubt. Some people find them bland, whereas other people I know it's actually their favourite fruit (believe it or not!)

[@annebeck2208]

I echo Candace McGuire. These Arbutus menziesii are amazing. They self seed in douglas fir and pine very open wood, they don't get terribly big and stay kind of scrubby. I was able to buy one bareroot from a local nursery only 6 inches high and the instructions were to plant it in it's final location, don't water or disturb it. In 3 years it is almost 1 meter. Now I want those smaller ones!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@redheadedprincess100]

Thanks for sharing arbutus Menziesii is quite a stunner in a good fruiting year the canopy turns bright Scarlett from trusses of berries ❤️

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed it. Regards Stephen

[@peterwerner835]

I just found and old Irish song called 'My Love's an Arbutus'. The lyics are quite lovely. I enjoyed listening to you garden fairies

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Must look it up. Regards Stephen

[@gilbertdingle9915]

Thank you for another interesting and informative video, well done gentleman.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@railiedouglas3018]

I visited the Malmesbury Botanic Garden & was thrilled to find the x androchnoides. I haven’t found one with bark as beautiful as the one I had yet.

[@Salmagundiii]

Yeah it's one of the nicest, but it's kind of a shame it doesn't fruit. A cultivar called 'Marina' in California might have slightly better bark...don't trust sources saying it's an x androchnoides, it's not. It's A. X reyorum. Since you have the parents in AU, someone could attempt to recreate it. And final comment about the bark, Mr. Ryan is a correct that the A. xalapensis in this video looks a bit dull, but having hiked in West Texas I can say there are a few individual specimens in the wild with bark of a smooth shiny red, as fine as any other Arbutus. Alas no one has bothered to select them.

[@timmillan6701]

Thanks for the clarification of ‘Marina’. I had read several sources saying it was X andrachnoides - I may have passed on that erroneous information myself in UT comments. Having grown both, I had a hard time reconciling that relationship. ‘ Marina’, as beautiful as it is, was eliminated from my garden @ 12/14f - X andrachnoides , with decidedly smaller foliage, persisted for several more years until 4f in 2021 killed it to the ground. The plant resprouted and grew to almost 3’ with many trunks. Interestingly, the plant was exposed to 4f again this last Dec, but as of today, has shown no damage or even loss of foliage

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching and glad it was useful!

[@SuperVlerik]

Irish Strawberry tree is known in Ireland, as the Killarney Strawberry Tree. It's only native to the SW corner of Ireland, where (for instance) it grows in profusion in Killarney National Park. If you find yourself in te area, it's well worth a pilgrimage.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I hope to get back to Ireland again some time and will certainly try to visit. Of course this tree grows wild in lots of parts of Europe and several Spaniards I met were bemused that we call it Irish Strawberry and it is the symbol of Madrid! Regards Stephen.

[@williambotner2317]

London Kentucky loves u guys

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@MyFocusVaries]

Edit (you just noted that they grow here; I felt a need to do a shout out on behalf of all of the Arbutus trees growing on the coast here in the lower mainland of BC and on Vancouver Island when you originally said arbs grow in Mexico and the US) They extend up into Canada on the West Coast, just along our coastal area (Google tells me only within 8 kilometres of the ocean on our south coast--I know we're too far inland even a 20 minute drive to the coast). Arbutus menziesii. They're beautiful; evergreen all-season interest, or as my garden maintenance friends call them, all-season work!) We call them Arbutus in British Columbia, Canada.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@Shivalika-b2h]

Nice trees.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@matteosollecito2448]

They are arbeautiful!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@HolidayGlow]

What a great lot of trees! I had the Irish Strawberry tree at my last place (Pakenham Upper area) which amusingly enough was apparently planted by Baron Von Mueller many years ago. I was gutted to leave those glorious old trees, especially as the current owners are not garden lovers but what can you do! So nice to see the different sorts!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed our look at the Genus. Regards Stephen

[@railiedouglas3018]

I adored my Arbutus x androchnoides. I’ll be replacing it very soon hopefully.

[@pocketsofmayhem]

I always learn so much from your videos … I might need to move to Australia 😊

[@thehorti-culturalists]

You should! Regards Stephen

[@pocketsofmayhem]

@@thehorti-culturalists Okay, scout me some real estate 😉

[@klecoxs2]

Fantastic Tour through the Arbutus Cultivars , talking Arbutus Andrachnoides there is a stunning example in The Savill Garden which is an enclosed part of Windsor Great Park in England, created by Sir Eric Savill in the 1930s if ever your in the Windsor area well worth a look at this beautiful arboretum.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I saw it many years ago when only 19 but would love to revisit it. Regards Stephen

[@lutomson3496]

we have Madrone and Manzanita here in northern california never saw a fruit on any of them i live at 1500 ft in the sierra nevada foothills ive tried to transplant Manzanita and they dont grow well outside of red dirt... and I have a large Arbutus unedo tree that produces great fruit I never water it, its hardy i get snow once in a while and frost it still does great ive never seen the other fruit bearing variations and the fruit makes great soup much like the red fruit on cactus except no spikes to poke you great information thanks

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad you enjoyed our video and I wish I had a forest of Madrone trees near by. Regards Stephen

[@SobrietyandSolace]

I hear they make great jams and alcohol

[@dbbdeb2327]

How wonderful.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@cbjones2212]

We lived in Malmsbury for a time. Beautiful bot. gardens. I really like the 100 yard dash tree lined avenue that school groups and Sunday picnickers used to use all those years ago.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@railiedouglas3018]

Daylesford’s wonderfully named Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens also has a fabulous collection of trees & shrubs. Including a mature specimen of Clethra, I think arborea. I can’t read the nameplate on my photo alas. Also Arbutus.

[@abysmalsea1210]

Nice Vid, now im looking for an Arbustus for my little garden, this show me the options i have for this.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Glad I could help! Regards Stephen

[@ekundayowt]

Great narrators. Very interesting. I live in West Africa and Wanted to Buy the seeds online and Try cultivating A.Unedo

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching - good luck with the seeds!

[@Salmagundiii]

There's an Arbutus canariensis in the Christchurch Botanic Garden that must be 20m tall and almost as wide...so rather vast! Too bad it doesn't seem like the cultivar 'Marina' made it to your shores, it won't get there these days. It's become the most common in the CA nursery industry because it's relatively showy and easily grown.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I’ll be there this week so I must find it! And I do wish we had ‘Marina’ but alas we don’t. Regards Stephen

[@jessicahall268]

"I love a mycorrhizal connection" should be on a t-shirt!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Not sure I haven't already got Mycorrhiza on some of my t-shirts! Regards Stephen

[@mariabunny9608]

Another great video thank you. I was wondering why the bark peels. I did read that it is a way for the tree to shed unwanted insects etc. Or is it just it just part of its growing pattern. We to here on the pacific coast in British Columbia have lost a lot of our trees due to development. So sad. 🇨🇦

[@thehorti-culturalists]

It is very sad that such a beautiful thing is being lost due to development. What are we humans thinking. I believe the bark shedding could be an insect protection but also it allows the trunks to swell as they age more easily.

[@oledevilthespiritchasers9602]

Thanks for the informative video. Have you tasted Corbezzolo honey? Strawberry tree honey is very bitter. I just bought some in Rome, from Corsica. At first I thought it was rotten and spat it out, but then read a bit and tried it again and again. Now I find it very interesting, and saw this video to learn more about the honey. It is a treasured honey from Sardinia and apparently kills colon cancer cells in laboratory

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@gavinmatthews5618]

One of my favourites!

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@SobrietyandSolace]

I’d use that bark as mulch in the garden

[@thehorti-culturalists]

so would I if I had enough of it. Regards Stephen

[@SobrietyandSolace]

@@thehorti-culturalists My baby arbutus unedo arrived from Amazon yesterday and they has used bark from the big trees to keep moisture in the soil in the pot! Quite excited.

[@judoboy83]

There is a beautiful Arbutus texana from… Texas! at the Golden Valley Tree Park in Western Australia…

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Wow. Must try to get there one day. Regards Stephen

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

I live in the native range of Arbutus menziesii and I have a baby tree in my backyard now. Not looking terribly amazing, do you have any tips for raising them from seed? Seems like that's going to be the more economical route. I want to help these trees, because they are in decline in their native range because of fire suppression. We need more trees that can tolerate hotter, drier, summers. I wonder if they would benefit from a mycorrhizal inoculant, but I don't think it is known which species it makes the association with. I just gave mine a good wood chip mulch donut and hoped for the best.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

If I were raising them from seed and I have done so, I would scratch up a bit of soil from around an old one to add to the seed raising mix to see if I could add the right mycorrhiza this could even help your young tree. Regards Stephen

[@MDA-rs4uf]

Here in the southeast US we can grow arbutus unedo but not menzesii but I wonder if the Mexican one would work here????

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I think you have a good chance of growing the Mexican arbutus as they do seem a bit more adaptable. Regards Stephen

[@markandrews5481]

@@thehorti-culturalists finding it will be the challenge....thx...m

[@Hayley-sl9lm]

I have since learned a cool story in the oral tradition of the Saanich people of British Columbia about Pacific madrone! They tell of their people being rescued during a great flood by tying their canoe to a Pacific madrone that was growing on top of Mt. Newton. Because it saved them long ago, they refrain from using the wood of this tree for firewood even today out of gratitude for the service it performed . 🙏 🌳⛰️😇

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Fabulous story. Regards Stephen

[@allypayne3098]

My arbutus unedo bush has never flowered the leaves are turning brown on the edges, I can’t find any reference to what the problem could be

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I need a bit more information, like were are you from, aspect of tree and soil type to get a clearer picture of the problem. Regards Stephen.

[@allypayne3098]

It’s shrub size in north west uk, we’ve had a lot of rain this spring, semi shade a mile from the Irish Sea, soil has been amended over 20 years, with bark and is full of night crawler worms from when I had a wormery, I don’t know ph, my fatsia japonica and olive tree nearby are thriving the leaves on arbutus were brown around edges going black towards inner With small black spots, I removed all dying leaves, thank you for replying, any advice will be appreciated

[@banjrew]

I have what I believe is the North American version in Southern California and am looking to do some light landscaping around the base. It's pretty well-established (30-40ft tall) but I noticed there are small roots that are fairly shallow in the surrounding soil. Am I right to assume that there are bigger roots deeper in the soil? And if so, will I disrupt the tree's health if I were to remove some of the smaller, shallow roots at the surface?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

If it is a Madrone I would leave it alone as they are quite sensitive to root disturbance. Regards Stephen

[@doubleooh7337]

The onr i got flowers and fruits all year round, it's called IRISH strawberry tree.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

It was in the video. Arbutus undo is the botanical name. Regards Stephen

[@mickoz9389]

I have glandulosa and x andrachnoides close to each other. I'm always hoping for some hybridization but so far, they don't seem to get on...

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Andrachnoides is sterile as far as I know and doesn’t produce viable seed so is highly unlikely to cross with glandulosa. Regards Stephen

[@mickoz9389]

@@thehorti-culturalists That would explain it!

[@nermienelgheriani64]

I have some questions about Arbutus how can i contact with Stephen?

[@thehorti-culturalists]

You can ask questions through this feature or contact me at my nursery Dicksonia Rare plants on 0354263075. Regards Stephen

[@kerryjean2223]

Does that mean that Rhododendrons need a dry summer? If so, mine I've just bought will be in trouble being an avid waterer in the hottest, driest city in the world, Adelaide South Australia.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

They don't need a dry summer but once established can get quite dry. Adelaide won't make it feel at home! Regards Stephen

[@judoboy83]

I don’t think the so called “Irish” strawberry tree is a natural occurrence in Ireland. The mild climate in Eire allows to grow it, but it is a Mediterranean matorral species: in the Western Mediterranean A. unedo from Portugal and Morocco, Algeria, Spain, France, Italy throughout the Balkan and Greece and in the Eastern Mediterranean A. andrachne with A. X andrachnoides at the point of contact.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for your comments. It is always nice to hear for keen observers of nature. Regards Stephen