Mahonia aquifolium
Oregon grape
Common names: Holly-leaved barberry, Mahonia
At a glance
- Light
- Partial shade
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −25 °C
- Harvest
- Jul–Aug
- Spacing
- 100 cm, rows 120 cm
- Water need
- Low
Description
Mahonia aquifolium is an evergreen shade shrub with leathery, holly‑like leaves, bright yellow flower clusters in April, and blue‑black ripe berries in midsummer. The tart fruits can be used to make deep‑blue jelly or juice. Roots and bark have traditional uses. The shrub is hardy, shade‑tolerant, and a valuable early nectar source for bees.
Care instructions
Plant in autumn (September, week 38) or spring in a semi‑shaded to shaded spot with humus‑rich, evenly moist soil; avoid full midday sun. After establishment it is low‑maintenance. Prune as needed immediately after flowering (May, week 19) to keep the plant compact. Watch for Mahonia rust and remove infected foliage.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
HarvestJul–Aug
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy, sandy
Give the Oregon grape a humus-rich, loose, fresh to moderately dry soil with good drainage; sandy-loamy to humus-rich is ideal. It likes slightly acidic to neutral conditions (pH 5.5 to 7.0); it tolerates very calcareous or slightly alkaline soils only moderately, and you should definitely avoid waterlogging.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar–Apr
The Oregon grape is undemanding and needs hardly any fertiliser on normal garden soil. In spring work a thin layer of ripe compost in shallowly around the base of the plant; at planting you can put some horn shavings in the planting hole. In the following years the annual helping of compost in spring is entirely enough.
Overwintering
The Oregon grape is an evergreen shrub and gets through the winter in the DACH lowlands without any trouble and without protection. Established plants need neither covering nor mulching. In dry frost without snow cover, make sure there is enough soil moisture; give young plants some leaves around the roots in their first winter; in windy spots fleece protects against leaf scorch; and prune only in early spring.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- From seed
- Division
- Layering
Cuttings (easiest method): In late summer or early autumn (from about September), cut semi-hardwood shoots about 10 to 20 cm long at an angle. Remove the lower leaves and insert the cuttings into pots of seed compost. Place them in a sheltered spot in partial shade and keep the soil evenly moist; avoid waterlogging so that the cuttings do not rot. Once they have rooted (recognisable by fresh shoots), you can plant the young plants outdoors after about a year in spring, when there is no more risk of frost.
Sowing: Harvest the ripe, dark blue berries in autumn and clean the seeds of the pulp. For successful germination the seeds need cold stratification: put them in moist substrate and place the container in the fridge for several weeks (about 4 to 8 weeks). Then sow in a bright spot. Oregon grape is a light germinator, so cover the seeds only very thinly with soil and keep them evenly moist. Germination then takes several more weeks. Alternatively, you can sow fresh seeds outdoors directly in autumn and let the natural winter cold do the stratification. Seedlings grow slowly and are only planted out when they are about 20 cm tall; overwinter them under protection in a cold greenhouse or cold frame in their first year.
Division of suckers: Oregon grape forms underground runners that develop their own shoots. In spring or autumn you can carefully separate these daughter plants at the edge of the mother plant with a spade; leave generous room around the runner so as to spare the roots. You either plant the separated plants straight away in their new location or pot them up first and let them establish before you transplant them.
Layering: In spring, bend a long, flexible shoot growing near the ground down to the soil, score the underside lightly and fix this section in the ground with a wire staple. Cover the spot with soil and keep it moist. After one growing season it has usually formed its own roots. Then you can separate the layer from the mother plant and transplant it.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
For your garden
Grow Oregon grape yourself
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