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Re: Re: Re: Wanting winter interest plants... Mahonia :-)


In a message dated 11/17/97 4:22:11 PM, you wrote:

<<Mahonias in general like moist soils and need to be protected from
hot areas and drying winds.  M. x media is also not particularly hardy,
only flowering around zones 8-9...>>

Only our Creeping Mahonia (Berberis repens) fits this description. We grow it
and do not water it, but it does not spread or flower in spring at our home.
It likes the cooler, damper (high mountain) areas of the state, but it is
hardy to zone 3 or something like that. Some of those areas get 30 inches of
rain/melted snow per year. We (at only 7200 feet elevation) had 33 inches
this year, but it has been a WET year! New Mexico's shrubby Mahonias
(Berberis trifoliata, B. fendleri, B. algerita & B. fremontii) are High
Plains/foot hill plants... they do best at 3000 to 6000 feet elevation, they
do not require much water and are nice looking shrubs. They are not as cold
hardy as the Creeping Mahonia.

<<So it's probably not too great for drought-resistance.  My favorite
evergreen drought-tolerant shrub is Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, or
bearberry.  Mine tripled in size over the past year, with flowers
and fruit all over.  Can't wait for next year!>>

This plant - Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (Kinnickinnick) - is considered a medium
to high water plant in this state. It lives only with extra water (on our
land for example) or in the high altitude, high moisture areas as a wild
groundcover. It IS spectacular to see an acre or two of Spruce and mixed
conifers and Arctostaphylos uva-ursi growing in clumps under these trees, in
the sunny clearings and bare places on the side of the mountain. It is
related to another plant that is drought hardy under dryer (& lower altitude)
conditions... the Point-leaf Manzanita (Arctostaphylos pungens). Pretty
plant. Smells wonderful too.

Even when the rain is identical in quantity, the dry air and drying winds of
the higher altitudes can desiccate plants that have no extra protection. Both
our native Mahonias and our Arctostaphylos species have waxy leaves that help
hold in water. Native plants make all the difference. I was hoping that there
was an interesting, tough Mahonia out there that we could grow. Gertrude
Jekyll grew Yucca in some of her gardens. Never hurts to ask.

Blessings of the Resting Season!
Lee Corbin (Fireraven9@aol.com)
 
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