Check with the Rancho Santa Ana botanical garden, which is probably where you saw the Manzanitas...they have a weekly consultant day for questions like that. The manzanitas in the botanical garden I doubt are trimmed, they are grown "hard"--without irrigation, so their shape is natural. Your friend's garden Manzanita probably has much richer, easier conditions, and is expressing that situation by growing lushly. Cutting off all irrigation (gradually) will probably eventually get you that bare limbed habit.

Never amend the soil near a manzanita. The nutrients will cause the mycorrhiza to detach from the roots, leaving the plants open to attack by pathogens. Manzanitas strongly associate with the ectomycorrhiza in the first four or so inches of the soil. Unless your house is in a newer subdivision, where the top of the soil has been recently scraped away and then bulldozed back into place, there is likely mycorrhiza in your soil. This is particularly true if you have other plants that have mycorrhizal associations. If you have several of these plants in the ground, you may have a mycorrhizal "grid" in your soil. I took out a couple of diseased Myrica californicas and planted a Howard McMinn manzanita in between the two ground-down stumps back in March. The Howard McMinn grew from the size of my hand to 22" x 30" in seven months. That said, I don't see how inoculating one's soil with more mycorrhiza would hurt. The best way to enhance and maintain the mycorrhiza population in your soil is to mulch heavily with bark from plants that have mycorrhizal associations. The bark provides nutrients to the fungi. Oak, pine, fir, and Doug fir bark mulch all work really well. Spread a 3" deep layer in a 3' diameter around where you're going to plant. Water heavily a few times over the course of a couple of months, and your soil should have a strong mycorrhizal population. Add fresh mulch every spring. It's also important to note that it is possible to under-water a manzanita in its first year (I've done it). Manzanitas planted in the spring will probably need water every 10 days or so during that first summer. From June-October, stick your finger a few inches down into the soil. If it's dry, water it (around the perimeter of the root ball). If the soil is moist, check again the following week. In addition, some ESTABLISHED manzanitas do best with at least some summer water. Some of the A. hookeri cultivars do best with water every 10 days or so. On the other side of the spectrum, A. glauca Big Berry prefers no summer water. Some species, such as A. densiflora, have cultivars with very different water tolerances (Howard McMinn can take once-a-week water, while Sentinel doesn't like more than once-a-month water). Be sure to water in the early morning, when it's cool outside. Watering at 2 pm when it's 102 degrees will promote root rot! Below is a link that contains water requirements. Here is a link that might be useful: Manzanita requirements

BAHIA ~ The hebes in my last garden did GREAT for the entire 6+ years I owned the house. Thanks for the suggestion of Crowea, tho - never heard of it before. It's a little shorter and less dense than what I had in mind, but could work. I'm hoping the hedge will be between 3-4' tall and wide, so I don't think the Lavenders you mentioned get big enough. Diplacus aurantiacus is a little rangy for what I had in mind, and Arctostaphylos 'Howard McMinn' too large, but Callistemon 'Little John' sounds like a good possibililty - thanks! Maybe I need to consider a less formal looking mixed hedge? WANDA~ I love Polygala 'Petite Butterfly' and just planted 5 of them in my new front yard. They could also work well in the back for this small hedge - thanks! AL~ I've had good experiences in Encinitas with Hebe 'Amy', but have been told that sometimes they do fail due to phytopthera (sp?). I just love them, tho! Thanks to you all for your suggestions!

I agree, manzanitas are wonderful plants. Lots of interest in the bark, no supplemental water, they stay fresh looking even in the middle of summer. Unfortunately my yard seems to be a haven for the branch die back virus. 7 years ago I planted several, Sunset, Sentinal, Glauca, and I think Howard McMinn. All grew quickly, especially the Sunsets, but 7 years later all have died except the Glauca, and it has several dead branches so it's only a matter of time before it goes too.