A Tree For All Seasons

I get so many questions about this tree, I thought I'd 'reprint' some authoritative information:

ARBUTUS 'MARINA' A Tree For All Seasons (The Hort Report, Fall 1995, San Marcos Growers, Santa Barbara, CA)

This evergreen tree is one of our best selling plants; and for good reason - its beautiful! We are so enthralled with it that we grow it in both a low branched form and a high headed form, and 5gal size up to 36in boxes - there aren't too many other trees that are worth this effort. If you have yet to see a good specimen of Arbutus 'Marina', we welcome you to visit our demonstration garden to see the 8yr old tree that is 25ft tall and 30ft wide. The smooth red bark really sets the theme of this section of the garden with most of the color being elements other than flowers. Plants in this area include new hybrids of New Zealand Flax, Astelia, Canna, sedges, bamboo and grasses. Arbutus 'Marina' is a large tree, growing to 50ft tall with a broad dense crown. The upright branches are covered with a smooth mahogany colored bark which exfoliates in late summer to expose the next year's bark - at this stage a beautiful cinnamon color. The dark green leathery leaves of A. 'Marina' are 4-5in long. Flushes of bronze colored new growth from spring throughout summer add interest and lighten the overall look of the tree.

THE FLOWERS - The pendulous clusters of urn-shaped white blushed pink flowers are produced year-round along the coast, with peak in spring and fall. The fruit that follows also appears heaviest in spring and fall in such a manner that the later yellow fruit are also visible while mature red fruit is still on the tree. This adds further to the decorative qualities of the tree as it almost appears as though the tree has Christmas decorations upon it. The fruit is edible with a flavor likened to a mixture of kiwi fruit and strawberry but as with the fruit of the common Strawberry Tree, A. unedo, the texture is gritty.

ITS HISTORY - How A. 'Marina' made its way into cultivation is a curious story. Even though many people have appreciated this tree for better than half a century, it wasn't named and introduced into the nursery trade until 1984 by the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation (SHF). The SHF took their cuttings from a tree in Victor Reiter's San Francisco Garden. This tree had been planted in 1944. Mr. Reiter had aquired his plant in 1933 when he was allowed to take vegetative cuttings from a boxed specimen that was at Strybing Arboretum. The Strybing Arboretum, under director Eric Walther, had purchased the boxed tree from the closing down sale of Western Nursery on Lombard St. in the Marina District. Charles Abrahams, the owner of Western Nursery, was thought to have taken cuttings from trees that were sent from Europe for a 1917 horticultural expostion, one of which was probably this beautiful tree. It is not clear what the exact parentage of A. 'Marina' is although there is speculation that it is either a very good selection of A. ×andrachnoides or a hybrid between this species and A. canariensis. To further add confusion, it should be noted that A. x andrachnoides is itself a naturally occuring hybrid of A. unedo and A. andachne, and that A. canariensis is considered by many to be an insular form of A. unedo. Confused? - It's hard not to be but at least we can appreciate this tree for it's beauty and adaptability in the California garden.