Re: [SG] Laurus nobilis--and information abut MAHONIA

Nancy, when I moved here from California, I was very homesick for Left
Coast vegetation and tried to grow a lot of it here--unsuccessfully for
the most part. One failure was Mahonia aquifolium, the Oregon Holly-grape
(or Grape Holly, as we called it). It greatly encouraged me that the next
door neighbor had a large, well established planting of it. Evidently the
climate had been to its liking in those early years, and it throve next
door, but it never throve for me, and the neighbor's planting soon
disappeared also. Ran is right that it suffers badly from winter burn and
can look pretty ratty, though I love the fragrance of the flowers, and the
fact that it is technically evergreen is nice.

Mahonia aquifolium is a zone-5 plant, but it is possible that the Chicago
Botanical Garden has one of the special cultivars that are resistant to
winter burn, and I bet if you asked them they could look it up and tell
you where they got it and what its name is. If they are nearby and can
grow it you probably can too. (I thought Cook County was zone 5--are you
positive you're in zone 4?)

I wonder if this is one that Rosemary in zone 6 could grow--she was asking
about shrubs for shade, and it doesn't get much above 3' tall. Growing a
mahonia in the shade in zone 6 might prevent winter burn, although it
might not like your hot, muggy summers. I think both of you should give it
a try and report back to us. Good luck!

Bobbi Diehl
Bloomington, IN
zone 5/6
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