Plant Type

Broadleaf Evergreen, Shrub, Ground cover

 

Height Range

1-3'

 

Flower Color

Yellow

 

Flower Season

Spring

 

Leaf Color

Bronze, Green

 

Bark Color

Grey

 

Fruit Color

Purple

 

Fruit Season

Summer, Fall, Persistent

Sun

Half, Shade

 

Water

Low

 

Growth Rate

Moderate, Slow

 

Soil Type

Sandy, Clay, Loam, Rocky, Unparticular

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Well-drained, Dry

 

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

Attracts Bees, Invasive, Thorns/Spines

Design Styles

English Cottage, Mediterranean, Ranch, Spanish, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Fall Color, Fragrance, Showy Flowers

 

Seasonal Interest

Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

 

Location Uses

Background, Shrub Border, Foundation, Raised Planter

 

Special Uses

Erosion Control, Mass Planting, Fire Resistant, Naturalizing, Small Spaces

 

Attracts Wildlife

Birds

The creeping Mahonia is a low-growing shrub with a creeping habit, making it well suited as an understory groundcover. It grows about 12 to 15 inches tall and spreads 3 to 4 feet, though, due to its stoloniferous ways, will slowly spread wider. It has spiny, holly-like foliage that emerges red and matures to a dull green; though evergreen, leaves take on a bronzy-purple fall hue. Yellow, fragrant flowers bloom April and May, and are followed by berries that ripen purple in the fall and persist all winter. Exceptional four-season beauty. There are some planted at the Greater Avenues Water Conservation Garden.

Grow in well drained soil and part to full shade. When planted in full sun, it invariably experiences scorch by mid-summer. Grows in any soil but prefers soils high in organic content. Once established it requires only periodic watering; more drought tolerant than M aquifolium. Spreads by stolons and so can form a colony; a useful trait if planned for. This is an essential species for providing native bee species with pollen and nectar.