Flaming Manzanita Souffle

[Silas_Sancona]

 A day past Labor day, the last official days of Summer are quickly winding down. After a long and challenging season, it is nice to see some cooler temperatures, by Phoenix standards, showing up in the forecast. Thinking over some ideas i had shared in another thread, it is always interesting thinking about how the various plants we enjoy evolved or came from. In many circumstances, it is a number of environmental and/or ecological factors that helped propel the wide diversity of everything we see today.  For both California, and Florida, fire often shaped what species dominated, let alone others that found a home in a given habitat. While often looked upon as a menace, natural fires help keep habitats clean and thriving. Without it, a given habitat can become degraded, posing a much more serious threat to developed areas nearby. In places like California, fire is such an important link in the health of the land that many plants evolved to withstand it, or, require it for survival. One of those is a member of a normally overlooked genus of CA. Natives, Arctostaphylos, or more commonly known as Manzanita.

When my study of Botany and Horticulture took root, CA native plants were some of the first subjects id pursue collecting and studying in my garden.  Having germinated the "easy" stuff, the next logical step was to attempt seeds of plants considered more challenging or difficult. Among a couple others id collected, i was most anxious to trial seed id collected off some local Big Berry Manzanita, one of the few Arctostaphylos species that grows at relatively lower elevations around the south end of San Jose, and appears to tolerate some pretty extreme conditions (Heat/cold/lower elevation drought) as a pose to other local Manzanita species that benefit from cooler air/ some degree of moisture flowing over the Santa Cruz mountains where they grow. Later on, id learn that the same species grows far enough south and inland that one can see it growing in view of Joshua Trees and other Mojave Desert-type plants.

Another curiosity about Manzanitas, among numerous other plants of California's Chaparral is how long seeds can survive in the soil. In the case of Manzanita, some studies suggest that seed can remain viable for up to.. if not longer than 40 years after being deposited if they aren't collected by Rodents, rot, or are attacked by bugs. In many cases, germination is stimulated only after a fire has deposited a layer of ash and heated the seed enough to wear down any chemical or physical barrier the seed possess.

Having successfully germinated a batch in the past, i collected more seed for future trials. i also collected more from another location a few years later while back in San Jose. Pretty sure the older seed was collected somewhere between '93-'95 before id first left CA. The "younger" batch was collected in '99. After many years, id been looking to re-visit this achievement. As luck would have it, id end up somewhere far better suited, where both winter and summer conditions would be closer to origin compared to really testing it under completely opposite conditions( Florida). It will be interesting to see just how accurate all the research i have read is regarding just how long the seeds actually remain alive.

While the low desert may not be the perfect climate compared to where they came from, it will be interesting to see how much "desert-tolerance" this species possesses. Regardless, anything with smooth, deep Red bark and thick, somewhat bluish green leaves that shows a tendency to withstand some pretty harsh conditions, is well worth attempting. We'll see what the future holds.

And now, how to make Flaming, Manzanita Souffle. **** Note of caution: Do not attempt without adequate preparation. Fire is to always be respected, no matter how contained*** 

#1: Seed batch and light fuel material.


#2: Layering of soil and light fuel in metal "burn" pan


#3 Add seed to bed of light fuel (Pine needles)


#4 Flame on!, ouch!


#5 Get seed bed ready. In this case, a 3 gal container. Soil mix is part native/ part Pumice,Calcined clay, some regular potting soil. Must drain well.


#6 Place seed and layer/mix with burnt fuel Char. Top with a little soil


#7 Add an additional layer of heavier, still burning material (small twigs/pine needles) and allow to smolder. The idea is to create a heavy layer of ash/charcoal and further heat the seeds enough to break any remaining inhibiting factors.


#8 Add one last thin layer of pine needles (un burnt) and thin layer of soil. Place somewhere and allow anything still soldering to burn itself out. I'll water through and move to shade in the Morning. After that, i wait.. Cooler temps will aid in the second step of the germination process, a couple months of Cold Stratification. There should be just enough cool nights before the end of January here to work some magic. Crossin' fingers...


 To truly appreciate what you admire, you must take the time to learn what makes it spectacular in the first place..

Enjoy

[Las Palmas Norte]

That's a cool (and hot) experiment in germination. Makes me wonder what our native Manzanitas (Arctostaphylos columbiana) up here on Vancouver Island (British Columbia) need to germinate? Great post.

Cheers, Barrie.