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Ericaceae FAMILY

Arbutus andrachne

Arbutus andrachne

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthSlow

Arbutus andrachne is native to Mediterranean climates with a long, hot dry summer and mild, moist winters. It is hardy to about -15°c[1]. Requires a nutrient-rich well-drained moisture-retentive soil in a sunny position with shelter from cold drying winds, especially when young[2]. Requires a lime-free soil according to some reports[3, 4], but it thrives on a limy soil according to other reports[5, 6, 2]. Established plants are drought tolerant[7]. The flowers are sweetly scented[8]. Dislikes being transplanted, it should be placed in its final position whilst young, giving some protection in its first winter outdoors[5, 4]. Plants are very slow growing. Most plants cultivated under this name are in fact Arbutus x andrachnoides 'Serratula'[2].

Propagation

Seed - best surface sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed should be soaked for 5 - 6 days in warm water and then surface sown in a shady position in a greenhouse[9]. Do not allow the compost to become dry. 6 weeks cold stratification helps[4]. The seed usually germinates well in 2 - 3 months at 20°c[4]. Seedlings are prone to damp off[1], they are best transplanted to individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and should be kept well ventilated. Grow them on in a greenhouse for their first winter and then plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts[PFAF]. Basal cuttings in late winter[2]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, late autumn in a frame. Poor percentage[9]. Layering of young wood - can take 2 years[3, 2]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Arbutus+andrachne>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Shrubs. — Phillips. R. & Rix. M. · Pan Books · 1989 · ISBN 0-330-30258-2 ↩︎Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1,900 species and cultivars.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  5. [5]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  6. [6]Ornamental Shrubs, Climbers and Bamboos. — Thomas. G. S. · Murray · 1992 · ISBN 0-7195-5043-2 ↩︎Contains a wide range of plants with a brief description, mainly of their ornamental value but also usually of cultivation details and varieties.
  7. [7]Some Native Plants for Erosion Control Efforts in Coruh River Valley, Artvin, Turkey — Askin Gokturk; Zafer Olmez; Fatih Temel · 2006 · ISBN 1028-8880 ↩︎
  8. [8]Scented Flora of the World. — Genders. R. · Robert Hale. London. · 1994 · ISBN 0-7090-5440-8 ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.
  9. [9]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  10. [10]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  11. [11]Flowers of Greece and the Balkans. — Polunin. O. · Oxford University Press · 1980 · ISBN 0-19-217626-9 ↩︎A good pocket flora, it also lists quite a few plant uses.
  12. [12]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  13. [13]Alternative Foods. — Sholto-Douglas. J. ↩︎Not very comprehensive, it seems more or less like a copy of earlier writings with little added.
  14. [14]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  15. [15]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  16. [16]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  17. [17]Homeopathic Materia Medica — William Boericke, M.D. · http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/index.htm ↩︎An on-line version of the book
  18. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎