Silver Leaf Nursery

Plant Of The Week: Arbutus 'Marina'

Arbutus 'Marina' is a large tree, growing to 50 ft. tall with a broad dense crown. The upright branches are covered with a smooth mahogony colored bark which exfoliates in late summer to expose the next years bark, which at this stage.is a cinnamon color. The dark green leathery leaves of Arbutus 'Marina' are 4-5 inches long with the flushes of bronze colored new growth from spring through summer which adds interest and lightens the look of the tree. The pendulous clusters of urn-shaped white blushed pink flowers are produced year-round along the coast with peaks in spring and fall. The fruit that follows also appears heaviest in spring and fall in such a manner that the younger yellow fruit are visible while mature red fruit is still on the tree. This adds further to the decorative qualities of this tree as it almost appears as though the tree has Christmas decorations upon it. The fruit is also edible with a flavor likened to a mixture of kiwi fruit and strawberry but as with the fruit of the common strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, the texture is gritty.

Plant Of The Week: Cordyline australis ‘Pink Stripe’

If you are looking for that tropical feel and either live near the ocean or in a location that gets down well below freezing this is the plant for your garden! This Cordyline has dense clusters of sword-like leaves with grey/green leaves and pinkish midrib that arch up then downward. If planted in the ground will become a small tree reaching 10-20 feet tall. It is also drought tolerant so it also can be used in dry gardens! If you live in hotter areas, plant it where it will get a little bit of shade during the hottest part of the day.