Tree of the week: Arbutus Marina

Good morning, Andre Ethier, you sent a 4-year-old boy to bed very happy last night. We're moving into the season of pennant races and college football, but it is always tree season at L.A. Land, thanks to Pieter Severynen's Tree of the Week.

Arbutus ‘Marina’ -– Arbutus (andrachnoides) 'Marina’

Arbutus "Marina" is the beautiful love child of uncertain parentage. On one side there is the strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, native to Turkey, Lebanon, southern Europe and Ireland, (a pre-Ice Age relic there). The other parent is most likely the Greek strawberry tree, A. andrachne, known to freely hybridize with A. unedo where their ranges overlap. But the Canary strawberry tree, A. canariensis, is also a suspect. In either case, A. "Marina" inherited its parents’ best qualities in a very handsome package. It is distantly related to our native madrone, A. menziesii, which grows from the Coast Ranges to British Columbia.

A moderate grower, this evergreen may reach 30 by 30 feet for a round-headed shape. More open, less dense overall than the strawberry tree, A. "M" also has larger leaves, 4 to 5 inches, sawtooth-edged and leathery green but with a reddish blush in spring. Bark on the trunk is an eye-catching, smooth, deep red-brown color and flakes off in late summer to reveal next year’s cover; twigs have the same color. Branches have a tendency to droop a little and be closely spaced; judicious pruning in youth will increase the tree’s beauty and create a stronger structure. Hanging clusters of tiny, urn-shaped pink flowers that unmistakably show Arbutus’ membership in the heather family may appear year round but especially in spring and fall; hummingbirds find them irresistible. Round, 1-inch berries, yellow when young, red at maturity, may appear in quantity and hang on the tree for a long time but eventually drop and litter the ground. These "strawberries" are edible but not particularly tasty. The tree will take full or half sun and most any well-drained soil. It is moderately drought-tolerant once established, but it will also take lawn watering. It is a great small-size, big-character tree for the garden.

The tree’s history is as interesting as its parentage. Plants were sent from Europe for the 1917 San Francisco horticultural exposition. Charles Abrahams of Western Nursery in the Marina District acquired cuttings. Strybing Arboretum bought a boxed tree when the nursery closed. Victor and Carla Reiter of San Francisco got a cutting from Strybing in 1933. Their tree, planted in their garden in 1944 and still growing there, then became the source of material for the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation, which introduced its descendants to the trade in 1984, under the ‘Marina’ name.

Thanks, Pieter.

-- Peter Viles

Your thoughts? Comments?
Photo Credit: Pieter Severynen

Comments

[Katrina Smith]

I am interested in getting a photograph of Victor Reiters Arbutus 'Marina' tree. I visited Carla Reiter (Victor’s widow) to photograph the tree for our book,KamCards, that we use in the UCLA Extension Landscape Architecture program. The tree died a few years prior to my visit and Carla offered to have her daughter look for a print but none has been located so far. Carla gave me permission to use the picture of their tree once a good copy is located. Randy Baldwin of San Marcos Growers in the Santa Barbara area has a great specimen in his yard, but it is difficult to photograph, as it is so large and surrounded by many other plants. Randy has a lower resolution (quality) photo of Victors' tree; however, I would like a better example for printing. Do you have or know of any other sources for a picture of this plant?
Thanks,

[Dinah Witten]

There are appox. 10 of these trees in the theme park 'Gilroy Gardens' in Gilroy, California located in southern Santa Clara County. Web site www.gilroygardens.org