Happy New Year to all who observe!  As the year draws to a close, we at Superbloom want to honor a plant that has always been near and dear to our hearts.  This plant was chosen to herald our holiday card this season for its evergreen seasonal beauty, and was also featured in our entry to the Denver Design in Bloom competition in partnership with Shape Architects.  Our top favorite this year (according to our Plants Wrapped) is: Kinnikinnick!

 

If you’ve hiked in Colorado, you have likely come across Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).  It is a low-growing woody shrub often found on rocky, sloped sites, and is particularly fond of the sandy acidic soil where pine trees grow.  It is native to Colorado, as well as across the continent throughout alpine and coastal forests.  If not Kinnikinnick, perhaps you are familiar with its Manzanita relatives, which are all found in similar rocky and sunny habitats.  Of its family, Kinnikinnick is one of the smallest in height, and like many groundcovers, it is a delight to find once one becomes accustomed to noticing it.  Its stout, leathery leaves can be seen turning from yellow to dark green to purplish from spring to fall, and often can be spotted poking out of fresh blankets of snow in the winter as a friendly reminder of all that grows beneath.

So why is it our plant of the year?  It is a hardy little shrub, tolerant of drought and erosion, and can thrive in places where showier plants dare not.  Its stout, leathery leaves are evergreen and provide year-round cover to the soil below, offering habitat for smaller critters.  Butterflies and hummingbirds are fond of their pink, bell-shaped flowers, and several species of the former rely on the plant to host their caterpillars.  The flowers eventually give way to bright red edible berries that persist into the winter, which don’t taste like much to humans but are beloved by bears, birds and other wildlife, earning the plant its nickname, Bearberry.¹

 

Its ability to grow in shallow, rocky soils and dry conditions make it a great contender for different cultivated landscapes, like rock gardens, xeric or water-wise landscapes, and even green roofs under the right conditions.  Its evergreen leaves and red berries provide year-round seasonal interest and an attractive foliage base.  And it is a slow-growing rhizomatic shrub, which means it will spread once established but slowly, and is unlikely to choke out other plants if monitored.

 

Besides being a hardy shrub that plays well with other plants and has much to offer to wildlife, we love this plant because we simply do.   You may find your own plant that you love for reasons tangible or not, and we encourage you to be their champion.  It is important to instill an appreciation for as many species as we can, for a biodiverse world is worth every effort we can spare, large and small.  And from what we have learned from this humble shrub, it is often the little things that can bring the most joy.

 

 

  1.  In fact, the scientific name for this plant means “Bear Grape”  – the Greek arctos (bear) and staphyle (grapes) for the genus name, and the Latin uva (bear) and ursi (grapes) for the species name.  Hence, all of its Manzanita relatives in the Arctostaphylos genus are also Bearberries, but sp. uva-ursi is doubly crowned so.

Arctostaphylos Arrangement

Shape and Superbloom used Kinnikinnick, Pinemat Manzanita, and Greenleaf Manzanita in their entry to the 2024 Denver Design in Bloom Competition

Credit: Sarah Vanderpool, Shape Architects
Credit: Sarah Vanderpool, Shape Architects

Other members of the Arctostaphylos genus we love:

Alpine Arid Bear Bearberry Bird Butterfly Colorado Evergreen Green Roof Hummingbird Kinnickinnick Kinnikinnick Manzanita Meadow Montane Native Groundcover Native Shrub Pollinator Habitat Water-Wise Xeriscape Year-Round Interest “Drought-tolerant plants for xeriscaping” “Evergreen shrubs or groundcovers for year-round interest” “Native Colorado shrubs for pollinator habitat” “Rhizomatic groundcovers for rocky or sandy soils” “Woody plants for green roofs in Colorado”