J.G. in S.F.
Arbutus x "Marina" #2
Ericaceae
"This highly ornamental, evergreen, flowering tree has all the ornamental virtues and statuesque habit of the native Californian Madrone, combined with the tolerances of the European Strawberry Tree--to which it owes its origins. It is very similar in its characteristics to the common Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) but is probably a hybrid between A. x andrachnoides (one parent of which is A. unedo) and A. canariensis (the latter is also indeed sometimes only given as a variant of A. unedo). Because of its adaptability it can be used for a wide range of purposes in the garden or landscape--as a large bush for screening, as a multi-stemmed structural component, as a single stemmed standard specimen tree or as a sheared but informal hedge or screen.
The largest known specimen of Arbutus 'Marina' is in the San Francisco garden of Victor Reiter, this was planted in 1942 and has reached a height of forty feet with an equivalent spread. The origins of this plant are still unexplained although it is probable that it arrived in San Francisco in 1917 for the Exposition as part of a consignment of plants from Europe. Subsequently a few plants were propagated by Charles Abrahams at his Western Nursery on Lombard Street in the Marina district; at the Closing Down sale of this nursery a boxed plant was purchased for the Strybing Arboretum by the Director, Eric Walther. Victor Reiter was able to propagate his stock from this plant in 1933. A. 'Marina' was evaluated as a potential introduction by the Foundation after obtaining propagating material from this source. It was eventually named and offered in 1984. The cultivar name 'Marina' commemorates the location of the Western Nursery and is a tribute to its owner and one of California's early plantsmen, Charles Abrahams." (Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation)
Today this slow-growing tree is widely used for garden and street planting in the S.F. Bay Area
Photographed in my garden in San Francisco, California
Arbutus x "Marina" #2
Ericaceae
"This highly ornamental, evergreen, flowering tree has all the ornamental virtues and statuesque habit of the native Californian Madrone, combined with the tolerances of the European Strawberry Tree--to which it owes its origins. It is very similar in its characteristics to the common Strawberry Tree (Arbutus unedo) but is probably a hybrid between A. x andrachnoides (one parent of which is A. unedo) and A. canariensis (the latter is also indeed sometimes only given as a variant of A. unedo). Because of its adaptability it can be used for a wide range of purposes in the garden or landscape--as a large bush for screening, as a multi-stemmed structural component, as a single stemmed standard specimen tree or as a sheared but informal hedge or screen.
The largest known specimen of Arbutus 'Marina' is in the San Francisco garden of Victor Reiter, this was planted in 1942 and has reached a height of forty feet with an equivalent spread. The origins of this plant are still unexplained although it is probable that it arrived in San Francisco in 1917 for the Exposition as part of a consignment of plants from Europe. Subsequently a few plants were propagated by Charles Abrahams at his Western Nursery on Lombard Street in the Marina district; at the Closing Down sale of this nursery a boxed plant was purchased for the Strybing Arboretum by the Director, Eric Walther. Victor Reiter was able to propagate his stock from this plant in 1933. A. 'Marina' was evaluated as a potential introduction by the Foundation after obtaining propagating material from this source. It was eventually named and offered in 1984. The cultivar name 'Marina' commemorates the location of the Western Nursery and is a tribute to its owner and one of California's early plantsmen, Charles Abrahams." (Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation)
Today this slow-growing tree is widely used for garden and street planting in the S.F. Bay Area
Photographed in my garden in San Francisco, California