Arbutus: Arbutus

I am hoping to plant an Arbutus tree in our south facing front yard in the lower mainland BC. I know very little about them and was wondering if this would be a good idea? How quickly do they grow? What type of soil or conditions do they prefer? How tall do they usually get? Any words of wisdom? Cheers K

 

Native species large tree in time. Strawberry tree and 'Marina' cultivar smaller. Strawberry tree can also be purchased as smaller-growing cultivars like 'Compacta' and 'Elfin King'. All like warm sites with well-drained sandy soil. If you have a heavy soil lasting good results may require replacing soil with sandier one or putting sandy soil on top.

 

Arbutus can be very difficult to establish. They do best close to the coast. Are there other Arbutus trees in your area? That would be some indication of how well it would grow for you.

 

I remember Langley as near Vancouver, unless site is in a frost pocket climate should be fine. Is Langley all on the flat, in the river delta, where cold air sits, or far east of Vancouver?

 

Langley is very near Vancouver. We are at the northern range for A. menziesii, they seem to do much better in certain spots. It would be interesting to hear from locals on the forums how far they grow up the valley and how they respond to local microclimates.

 

We have very sandy soil, but I haven't seen any other Arbutus in the area. I know they have done very well at our place on Galiano. Maybe I will give it a try, who knows? K

 

In my experience, if Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) isn't a routine part of the natural landscape, it will be very difficult to establish otherwise. On the BC mainland they perform well in rocky parts of West Vancouver through Horseshoe Bay, Bowen Island, and up along the Sunshine coast.
Here on Vancouver Island the Madrone is seen from the southern regions around Victoria and environs and up the eastern coast to Qualicum Beach. Scattered sightings in areas north and rare beyond those points. Northern Gulf Islands (Denman, Hornby, Texada, Lasqueti etc) have native stands as do Savary, Cortes and Hernando Islands.
Perhaps best to get a small seedling (1 gallon) or grow one from seed.

Cheers, LPN.

 

This page seems to indicate a very narrow habitat.

http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/treebook/arbutus.htm

Liz

 

There are some transplanted arbutus in Mission and Whonnock, across the river from Langley. A couple in Whonnock would be over 50 years old, about 30' tall. The fellow that planted them put a little salt in the ground when they were planted, not sure how much "a little" was. Those noticed have been planted near the top of a slope, so have very good drainage. Vandrame? Nursery ,between 264th and Nathan Creek on Interprovicial Hwy, in Aldergrove had some in 1 gal. pots 2 years ago and may still be growing them.

 

There is a nice old arbutus on the west side of 200St. Langley, around 45Ave-ish. The gravelly soil in Brookswood area, and much of southern Langley anyway (all old or existing gravel pits!) gives one hope, in spite of the harsh climate.

Do remember to avoid heavy irrigation in summer, and keep lawn fertilizers, etc. away from your tree...kindness will also kill it!