THIS FEBRUARY, I’M HIGHLIGHTING MAHONIA BEALEI
I chose to highlight Mahonia for a personal reason. We have one planted in our landscape in front of the store. This Mahonia came with us when we moved here from our old location on Forest Hill Avenue. We potted it up in a large wooden box and it was living in this box for nearly 30 years. Well, now it is planted in the ground and it couldn’t be happier. The leaves on the plant are dark green. It is in full bloom right now. Blooming in winter is just one of the many features that is inspiring me to highlight Mahonia bealei in February.
FUN FACTS ABOUT MAHONIA
Mahonia bealei has a couple common names. I’ve seen it called Leatherleaf Mahonia or sometimes called Oregon Grape Holly. After it finishes flowering, it sets its fruit. The fruit does look like blue grapes. The leaves are prickly and look like a holly leaf. Mahonia is a hardy, evergreen plant for our region. It does prefer to be planted in some shade with moist, well-draining soil.
Here is a list of other fine characteristics of Mahonia bealei:
- Mahonia is labeled as a partly shade loving, broadleaf evergreen
- It can grow to be anywhere between 4 to 10 feet tall with a spread of 3 to 8 feet. PLEASE – keep these dimensions in mind when deciding where to plant a Mahonia.
- Mahonia has winter interest with its yellow flowers that start to appear in January and February.. These flowers are showy and fragrant.
- Once it finishes flowering then the berries start to appear. This fruit is waxy green at first which hang in grape-like clusters and mature to blue-black in late spring.
- The fruit is attractive to birds
- I label Mahonia bealei as a low maintenance evergreen plant.
- Very little pest seem to bother a Mahonia. You may want to keep an eye on the new growth for aphids and possible scale.
- It is considered deer resistant mainly because of the prickly leaves.
Take advantage of this time of year and walk around your landscape to see you think you have a spot to plant a Mahonia bealei. If so, then come see us this coming spring and we will assist you with your selection.
ENJOY FEBRUARY AND PLAN TO “PLANT A LITTLE HAPPINESS”