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Mahonia
The mahonias are very popular shrubs, as evergreens, well resistant to cold and heat, hardly attacked by pests, with a beautiful flowering in late winter. They are medium-sized shrubs, and in Italy few species are cultivated, including mahonia aquifolium, of North American origin, and mahonia japonica, of Asian origin.
They are placed in the garden, in pots or in the open ground, where they generally reach maximum dimensions close to three meters in height and in width; mahonias can be used as single specimens, or to compose a hedge. The leaves are dark green, shiny and oval, with the margin characterized by some sharp spines; the stem is dark and smooth, and the plant tends to branch well, giving rise to a fairly messy and dense shrub.
Towards the end of winter it produces apical panicles of golden yellow star flowers, very fragrant, which attract bees and other useful insects; the scent of mahonia It is easily perceptible in the garden of March, also because few plants are already in bloom. The flowers are followed by fruits, oval berries, similar to small olives, of purple-black color, edible.
Grow Mahonia
La Mahonia is grown in the garden, preferably in the open ground; it does not fear frost and can be left outdoors even in intense and long-lasting frosts. It is positioned in places that are possibly semi-shaded, avoiding direct sunlight for many hours a day, especially in summer.
It loves fresh and loose soils, very well drained, but tends to adapt to any condition, even in the case of stony or excessively compact soils.
It needs watering only in the first years after the plant, and only in the hot season, as once well rooted and developed, it is a plant without necessity, and tends to bear drought very well. Plants that have been planted for a long time can be satisfied with the weather.
It is watered only when the ground has been dry for a few days; in the vegetative season we supply fertilizer mixed with the water used for watering, or we spread around the plant a slow release granular fertilizer.
Generally they have a fairly slow development, and hardly need vigorous pruning; occasionally, at the end of summer, the branches that carried the fruits are removed, and eventually the dry, ruined or poorly developed branches.
Pruning is avoided at the end of winter, so as not to prune all the flowers, and even the autumn because the plant is already preparing the buds for the following year.
MAHONIA IN BRIEF
Family, genus, species Berberidaceae, gen. Mahonia, about 70 species
Plant type: Shrub
Foliage: Persistent, sharp
Height: From 50 to 350 cm
Width: From 50 to 200 cm
Cultivation: Simple
Growth: slow
Exposure: From shade to sun
Rusticitа: From medium to very rustic
Flowering: From yellow to orange
fruits: From blue to black
irrigation: To read
Soil moisture: Dry
Type of land: Rich, but well drained
pH: From alkaline to acid, depending on the species
Use: Isolated specimen, groups, hedges, vase
Berries in the garden
Many garden shrubs produce various types of decorative berries, some of which are very decorative and persistent on the plants for months and months.
The Mahonia is among these, its dark berries are very decorative, and remain on the plant throughout the summer; the advantage is decorative for the garden, also due to the fact that often these berries are sugary, and therefore attract many birds, which eat them freely, as happens for the rowan tree.
Many of these berries, besides being beautiful and useful, are also edible, and above all good; once, when fruit and vegetables were a privilege and not a common consumer good, most of the berry plants were considered a real resource, because small fruits were used to prepare jams and preserves.
In fact, mahonia berries can also be used in this way, even if they have a slightly sugary, slightly sour taste, and therefore the mahonia jam has a particular, rather sour taste.
Jams and tips
The passion for good food, which has led us in recent years to rediscover the taste of cheese combined with fruit, and it is here that we speak of mahonia.
In addition to mahonia berries, jams are also prepared with wild rose berries, the beautiful red and vivid ones, which decorate the garden; also with pyracantha and cotoneaster a particular sweet and sugary mixture is prepared, which vaguely resembles the apple compote, the same is true for the rowan berries, which the plant produces in large quantities.
These fruits are often mixed with apple or quince pulp, to avoid having to harvest large quantities of berries from ornamental plants that are not usually grown in large numbers. Let us remember that the fact that a berry or a fruit is beautiful, colorful and pulpy does not mean that they are also edible; in the garden, in addition to these gastronomic treasures, we also grow plants with poisonous fruits, so we avoid tasting a berry of an unknown plant at random. For example, the dark fruits of the ivy, often produced in large quantities, are toxic, and also the red and fleshy berries of the aucuba; Amelanchier berries, which are widely used in North America to produce jams and sauces, as if they were blueberries, are good and very consumed.
Care and watering of the mahonia
The beauty of flowers, fruits and leaves is not the only reason that leads us to appreciate them so much. Another point in their favor is certainly in the truly sporadic care they require. We will have to dedicate ourselves to them with a little more frequency only in the first few years after planting.
Irrigation
They love dry soils, but we don't skimp water during the first two summers especially if we live in the center - south and the location is not particularly shady. If there is no precipitation we irrigate at least every 15 days.
To avoid frequent interventions it is recommended to prepare a thick mulch.
Protection from the cold
Even the most delicate varieties, from adults, are able to easily withstand temperatures up to -12 ° C. The recent plants need protection instead, especially in the Center-North and in the mountain areas. It is therefore advisable to cover the foot of the bush with abundant organic insulating material. Also the aerial part should be covered with special sheets, to protect from cold and rigid winds.
Heavy snowfall can cause branches to break: we avoid excessive accumulations by intervening in time.
THE CALENDAR OF THE MAHONIA
plant From November to March
Flowering From August to April (depending on the variety)
Fruiting Winter spring
Pruning End of winter
Fertilization of mahonia
To achieve good growth and promote flowering and fruiting it is important to distribute fertilizers and fertilizers regularly. In autumn it is good practice to cover the foot with flour manure, then incorporating in the spring, adding balanced fertilizer. For varieties more sensitive to calcium we prefer a product for acidophilic.
Pruning
Pruning is not necessary. They can be useful if we want to keep a specimen more compact, if we want to rejuvenate it or because of diseases or traumas of various kinds.
On young subjects it is good to intervene after the end of flowering by eliminating the apical part: this will stimulate a further branching, obtaining specimens better lumbered and denser.
Once the required size and compactness have been reached, the pruning will become more sporadic: we eliminate at the base only the oldest jets or those that go in the wrong direction.
Withered inflorescences must be cut only if we do not want them to turn into "berries".
Pests and diseases
It is not uncommon for the tips to become covered with aphids: the plant will be weakened and the leaves will soon be covered with honeydew. We intervene with specific products at the first signs of infestation.
Powdery mildew and rust are also frequent and can cause important foliar drops.
For the first it is important to use specific products for prevention and avoid wetting the foliage.
Rust affects the lower parts and can be prevented with a copper.
Species and varieties
The approximately 70 species of shrubs that make up the Mahonia genus originate mostly from North America and Southwest Asia. In Italy the most widespread of all is the aquifolium, but lately the interest in these evergreens has increased and new species have been introduced and innovative hybrids and cultivars have been obtained. Our choice should mainly take into account the final size of the subject and the flowering period, more or less early.
• Mahonia japonica it occupies up to 1.5 meters both in height and in width, with erect posture. Flowering occurs at the end of winter, in shades of lemon yellow. Later we will have beautiful clusters of blue fruits. The leaves are incised and very sharp.
Among its varieties and hybrids are noteworthy:
• The Bealei group characterized by fragrant flowers, grouped in very long clusters and very persistent black fruits. The foliage has beautiful glaucous shades. They can reach 3 meters in height. Especially when young, they are more sensitive to cold.
• x average "Charity" it grows up to 350 cm and produces, in early spring, large clusters of very fragrant flowers and enormous leaves, finely engraved. Tolerates sunny exposures.
• x average "Buckland" it grows up to 3 meters. In the height of winter it produces large clusters of bright yellow flowers. The leaves are huge and very thorny. It needs at least a sub-acid soil.
• Mahonia aquifolium
At the beginning of spring it produces fragrant yellow flowers that, in autumn, turn into violet fruits.
It grows up to 150 cm and has a nice bushy and compact growth habit. The leaves are sharp, of a beautiful dark green that becomes reddish in winter. Plant suitable for half-shade and shade positions, extremely resistant to cold and requiring little maintenance.
The "apollo" variety is very compact: it grows up to 80 cm and blooms at the end of spring.
• Mahoniax wagneri "undulata"
It grows up to 1.50 m and has beautiful wavy leaves. It blooms in late winter and wants a shady location.
• Mahonia nitens "Cabaret"
This variety is suitable for small spaces or pots because it can grow even 50 cm. It flowers continuously in the second part of the year, in light yellow, but with coppery buds.
