Mahonia: Misunderstood and under-appreciated?

As gardeners, we all have our favorite and least favorite plants. Once we decide which plants make up each list, we rarely, if ever, let them move from one list to the other. However, for every rule there is an exception. To that end, I must admit that Mahonia, a group of plants in the genus Berberis that was once firmly entrenched on my least favorite list, is now perhaps not quite ready to be ranked amongst my favorites, but certainly one I see a lot more value in than previously.

When I’ve mentioned this to other gardeners, I sense that Mahonia is or has been on a lot of least favorite lists, but let me attempt to make the case here for Mahonia as a valuable landscape plant in just one sentence. If I told you that there was an easy-to-grow evergreen shrub that could tolerate a range of soils, required little pruning, was largely deer-resistant, had attractive, fragrant yellow flowers in early winter when little else was blooming (that are loved by bees when the temperatures are warm enough for them to forage), and produced colorful blue fruit that ripen by early spring, you would want that plant, right? Well, Mahonia is that plant.

Top left: Mahonia has attractive yellow flowers in early winter, when little else

is blooming. Photo: Nacho, CC BY 2.0. Top right: Close-up of yellow blooms. Photo: J. Martin, Public Domain Mark 1.0 Bottom left: Colorful blue fruit ripen by early spring. Photo: Nacho, CC BY 2.0 Bottom right: The narrow foliage of Berberis eurybracteata  makes it less abrasive and gentler looking than  leatherleaf Mahonia. ‘Soft Caress’ is a popular cultivar of this narrow leaf type that is quite colorful in full bloom and increasing in popularity.

I imagine a lot of you are put off by the foliage, as I was for a long time. Berberis aquifolium, one of the most commonly used species of Mahonia, has sharp pointy leaves much like many hollies. They are long and pinnately compound (meaning that many individual leaflets make up a single leaf). With 9-13 leaflets per leaf and 3-5 spines per leaflet, there’s a lot of opportunity to be rudely poked by this plant. Mahonia grows best in partial sun, where it will maintain a glossy green color. If grown in full sun, the leaves can become bleached and that certainly makes them less attractive. So, between the undesirable color of the leaves when grown in the wrong spot, and its prickliness, a lot of us have crossed paths with Mahonia and been left unimpressed.

Like so many plants, however, Mahonia is much more attractive when grown under the right conditions. In moist, acidic soils under partial shade, such as a wooded area under pines, Mahonia is a nice shrub. If Berberis aquifolium, also commonly known as Oregon holly grape, doesn’t suit you, you may find the slightly softer leaves of Berberis fortunei or Berberis x hortensis more pleasing. Berberis eurybracteata also has much narrower foliage than leatherleaf Mahonia or the hybrids, which makes it less abrasive and gentler looking. ‘Soft Caress’ is a popular cultivar of this narrow leaf type that is quite colorful in full bloom and increasing in popularity. All grow best in well-drained, acidic soil in partial shade.

It should be noted that Berberis bealei, a species of Mahonia still offered for sale in many nurseries, garden centers, and big box stores across the state, is listed as an invasive species by the NC Invasive Plant Council. It also has coarse, sharp leaves that many find unappealing. If choosing to plant Mahonia, it is best to avoid this particular species and instead plant one of the others that I have mentioned.

Matthew Stevens is the horticulture extension agent for Nash County Cooperative Extension. If you have any questions about this article or other aspects of your home gardening, please contact Matthew at 459-1403 or [email protected].