Plant of the Month: December

Mahonia x media 'Charity' (M. japonica x M. lomariifolia) Common name:Mahonia Family: Berberidaceae Vital statistics Height and spread: 5m x 4m (15ft x 12ft) Form: Evergreen shrub Soil: Humus-rich, moist, well drained.. Aspect: Partial shade preferred. Hardiness: Hardy throughout the British Isles

Mahonia x media 'Charity' @ Hyde Hall

Many people think of December as a rather dark and dull month in the garden, but there are a number of plants, in particular several shrubs, that are at their best at this time. These winter flowering shrubs act as a very important backbone in the garden and of course provide some very welcome colour.  A good example of such a shrub is Mahonia x media 'Charity'. This shrub usually starts flowering in late November and will carry on flowering into January. Mahonia has great architectural form to it with its dark green pinnate leaves and upright habit, and then, by contrast, the racemes of bright yellow flowers through the winter. If mahonias are left unpruned they can become very straggly with long bare stems, however if they are pruned after flowering this keeps them much more compact with good foliage coverage to the base.  A good example of such a mahonia is grown in one of the island beds at Hyde Hall in the Hilltop Garden. These island beds contain a 'mixed planting' scheme consisting of trees, shrubs and perennials mixed together in the same border. This type of scheme is probably the best way to grow plants such as mahonias, as they give good evergreen structure to the border and other smaller plants can be drifted around them.

Mahonia

Mahonia is a genus of about 100 species of evergreen shrubs found in woodlands and rocky areas of the Himalayas, east Asia, Central and North America. They are common garden shrubs, grown for their attractive foliage, bright, fragrant flowers, and decorative and edible fruits. The flowers look like yellow lily-of-the-valley, and the foliage is shiny, and the individual leaflets holly-like. Some species are also favoured for their deeply fissured bark.

The fruits are blue-black, small and round, and give rise to the common name of some mahonia species of Oregon grape. They can be eaten raw or cooked. It is an acid flavour but the fruit is rather nice raw, especially when added to muesli or porridge. Unfortunately, there is relatively little flesh and a lot of seeds. The fruit ripens in early spring and good crops have often been seen on plants growing in sheltered positions. The fruit is produced in large clusters and so is easy to harvest.

Berberin, present in the roots of mahonia species, has marked antibacterial effects and is used as a bitter tonic. Berberin is also reported to have anti-tumour properties.

Mahonia was named by Thomas Nuttall after an Irish political refugee, Bernard M'Mahon who set to work in America by opening a seed shop in Philadelphia, and published the 'American Gardener's Calendar' in 1806.

Mahonia x media 'Charity'

Mahonia x media 'Charity' is a superb medium sized to large, upright shrub. Pinnate leaves are 50-60cm (20-24in) long with spiny leaflets. The flowers are deep yellow, slightly fragrant, borne in long spreading and ascending racemes, in large terminal clusters during autumn and early winter.

The name media comes from the word 'intermediate', meaning 'in the middle', or 'between'. It is a hybrid of garden origin, a cross between M. japonica and M. lomariifolia, and the selected cultivar 'Charity' was raised by the Slieve Donard Nursery in Northern Ireland in about 1950.

There are several other cultivars including 'Lionel Fortescue', 'Buckland' and 'Winter Sun', all of which have been awarded an AGM.

Two further cultivars, both seedlings from 'Charity', are 'Faith' and 'Hope', both of which have soft yellow flowers.

Cultivation

Mahonia x media will take full sun but prefers to be in shade or a semi shaded area. It is best in a moist but relatively fertile, humus-rich soil, including chalk soils. It is frost hardy, and the scented flowers are frost resistant, but young growth may be damaged by late frosts.

The shrub does tend to get leggy but can be pruned, large plants can be stooled to about 18" and will regenerate well, it is best though to prune over a 3 year period taking out about a third of growth each year. Pinching out the spent flowering shoots of smaller plants can encourage a more even habit.

Mahonia x media is generally pest and disease free.

Propagation

Propagation is by leaf bud or semi-ripe cuttings in summer.

Seed can be sown outdoors in the autumn as soon as it is ripe, but as this is a hybrid, they will probably not come true.

Another method is by the division of suckers in spring. Whilst they can be placed direct into their permanent positions, better results are achieved if they are potted up and placed in a frame until established.