Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Thinking of upping the Mahonia Count, and why do “their” plants always look better than mine?

Mahonia gracilipes
I’ve decided I can’t live without Mahonia gracilipes any longer.
I remember passing it up at the Fall 2011 HPSO Plant Sale. Never again…it must be mine.
Look at those fabulous red stems and the berries that seem to glow from within!
Yep gonna be mine, soon. Of course that’s how I felt about Mahonia eurybracteata 'Soft Caress' too, and I got it…and the poor plant has never been the same. Something has been munching on its leaves and the green groundcovers around it don’t let it shine like a contrasting color would.
In all fairness I kind of forgot about it, a huge Tetrapanax leaf blocked it from my sight for awhile, and things went downhill from there. I was reminded how beautiful this plant could be when I saw these…
Nice huh?
When I got home I started a “plants to move as soon as it stops raining 24/7” list and this Mahonia was the first thing on it.

The next one on the list? My Magnolia laevifolia. I have no idea what I was thinking when I planted it here. I guess I forgot how big the Hakonechloa and Sweet Woodruff would get over the summer.
At least it has formed those wonderful velvety brown nubbins that will eventually become the flower.
Of course if I want it to grow big and strong like this…
I need to move it.
Staying on theme here is their Beschorneria albiflora
And mine.
Which one looks happier?

Their Melianthus
And mine…
Oh it’s there, under the leaves, under the burlap, held in place with a couple of rocks. Little did I know I could have left it be, and it might still be growing. Instead I got all into my winter prep and cut it back and mulched it. I suppose I should peek under there soon and see what it’s up to.

(by the way, all of the good looking plants were photographed on a walk around McMenamins Kenndy School)

18 comments:

  1. I bought two Mahonia gracilipes at the spring plant sale and I love them. Very classy plants.

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    1. Do you remember which nursery you bought them from? Just curious...

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  2. After killing two Mels, I think I've found the perfect spot, backed against the house under the over hanging roof, seems to be happy, it stays dry and frost free. Now, my Beschorneria is in a pot over wintering in doors. I was a bit nervous about killing that one.

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    1. Was this Melianthus in the ground through last winter too? I too have a Beschorneria in a container that spends winter in the shade pavilion greenhouse, but after watching the one at Kennedy School power through the last one (or two?) winters I decided to try one in the ground. You can see how that's working out.

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  3. Oh, the poor Melianthus! Both of mine are standing 4 feet tall this winter - totally exposed and in all their glory. My routine is to NOT cut them back, but in late November to dump a bucket full of compost over the crown and let it be. Some years they are killed back by frost, but they always start poking through on the first day of spring. I too have a list of things to move as soon as it stops raining - any dry weekend in February will do and then I will be rearranging the garden like a mad woman!

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    1. Genius! I will be following your lead come next year. A dry weekend in February...sounds heavenly.

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  4. You 'must' get that Mahonia gracilipes soon, it'll look great in your garden :) I'm a fan of this Mahonia! It's worth browsing different places too for this Mahonia as they can vary a bit in colour or form, some more 'pewter' than others.

    As for that Mahonia eurybracteata, that's a lovely form you've got (despite you saying it's not looking too well), ours isn't as fine leafed as yours.

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    1. Well okay, when you put it like that, I'll do it! (hehe) And thank you for the kind words about my M. eurybracteata, I feel like a bad Mahonia mom for neglecting it.

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  5. Love my single Mahonia gracilipes although mine would be in the "theirs look better" category, too. Do I need a few more?

    So I could have left my Meliathus major right out there to get snowed on, huh? Oh well, I'll try that next year along with with compost, after seeing Lisa's comment ...less work for me!

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    1. Uhm...perhaps you do! Will we be fighting over them at the YG&P Show?

      I too will be following Lisa's lead. Not only for the less work but that bit of burlap seems to be calling to the neighbors kitty's. No need to provide a nice spot for them to lay.

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  6. I have a Mahonia gracilipes. I bought it last year from Cally Gardens (I know that the nursery is no use to you Loree, but the website is quite interesting www.callygardens.co.uk ).

    My one is only a wee one, but the nursery owner did have a more mature one growing inside the nursery tunnels and it was about 6 or 7 feet wide and about 4 feet tall. It looked fab! One thing I did note though was that as old as it was it had not really branched that much, unlike some of the more common Mahonia varieties.

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    1. Oh that nursery looks like a good one! I look forward to perusing their offerings. Six or 7 feet wide! Wow...that's kind of scary, in a good way!

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    2. If I visit there again I will remember to take a photo!

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  7. Since our state plant is Mahonia, I thought they would virtually take care of themselves. Silly me...ours definitely want something we are not giving them.

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  8. I only know the prickly pear, but that Mahonia is beautiful...perfect. Looks spiny enough on the leaf margins to be of value...

    Back to the Opuntia...the shot of it next to a boulder w/ the thick moss growth...priceless!

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  9. Tactless in TacomaJanuary 26, 2012

    The key to having plants that look like "theirs" is having a knowledgeable staff to care for them 365 days a year. The firm of M.M.& I. (me, myself, and I) has been engaged to care for my garden for years but I don't recommend them. Me insists on working other jobs that actually pay and is never available during winter's brief daylight hours, Myself doesn't like to work in snow, ice, gale-force winds, pouring rain and the like and only shows up on weekends. I is a lazy sort who preferrs to be inside reading garden blogs in the winter, only shows up in the summer, and is probably going through some sort of mid life crisis. The result is that my garden looks great for 15 minutes in July. It's so difficult to find good free help these days.

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  10. Tactless in TacomaJanuary 26, 2012

    Did I mention that all three of M.M.& I. shop like addicts for plants, have the design sense of a root vegetable, plop new finds in the ground willy nilly, squeezing them between existing plantings, and never remove any existing plants; sort of a survival of the fittest mentality. Everything stretches for the small bit of sunlight that might be available. Don't even get me started on the "yard art" they insist on dragging home from thrift stores. The yard looks like a really tasteful garden thrown in a blender, pureed, spread on a snack cracker, garnished with parsley, pimentos, sliced olives,caviar, a few pickles, a dash of paprika and finished off with several little toothpicks (little plastic sword, wood with colorful cellulose ruffly top, etc.) and a birthday candle.

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  11. I've been lusting after 'Soft Caress' mahonia since seeing them on a Dallas garden tour. But I'd probably do best to stick with our native mahonia, commonly known as Agarita (Mahonia trifoliolata).

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