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Holly-leaved mahonia is rare in landscape design. The color of the crown, abundant flowering and bright blue berries make the crop decorative. Mahonia is used to decorate gardens, city parks, and areas adjacent to the facade of a building.
Application of Mahonia in landscape design
Mahonia holly belongs to the Barberry species. The shrub grows slowly, by 6 years the height varies from 1 to 1.3 m, the indicator depends on the climatic zone. The plant has earned popularity due to its drought resistance, unpretentiousness to soil composition, and shade tolerance. Does not lose its decorative habit in partial shade. If mahonia holly is located under the dense crown of tall trees, the color of the leaves is paler than in an area open to ultraviolet radiation.
The photo shows Mahonia holly during flowering; the crop is attractive for landscape design throughout the year. By winter, the color of the leaves becomes dark red, looks aesthetically pleasing against the background of snow, and serves as a bright accent in the “sleeping” garden. The plant blooms from early April to May.The culture is completely covered with large inflorescences with bright yellow, small and fragrant flowers. Mahonia stands out among flowering shrubs in the abundance and duration of flowering.
At the end of summer (from August to September), round berries ripen, their arrangement on the inflorescence resembles a bunch of grapes. The fruits are about 12 mm in size and colored blue.
Shrubs are used by professional designers and amateur gardeners to decorate the landscape. The culture is universal in use and can be combined with almost all types of plants. Mahonia in landscape design:
- Used as a tapeworm in the center of a flower bed or lawn.
- Combines harmoniously with stones in rock gardens. A single planting among the main composition of stones attracts attention throughout the year, but especially in winter, when there is no greenery in the garden.
- Used as a background option near the wall of a building, the back of garden benches, ridges.
- Shrubs planted along the garden path create a visual perception of the alley.
- A seedling located along the perimeter of an alpine hill marks the boundaries of an improvised mountain landscape.
- It looks aesthetically pleasing in the center of the edges of city parks.
- The leaves of the holly mahonia are bright green, jagged along the edges with thorns. Using the plant as a hedge has a protective function; a bush with a dense crown is a barrier for animals. Mass planting in one line demarcates garden zones, and in public places separates the sanitary part from recreation areas.
- In city parks it is planted as an accent in the foreground of the composition.
- Placed near tall trees to create a lower tier.
- The shrub looks colorful on slopes, produces basal shoots, and quickly fills free space.
- The culture is used to decorate the front entrance.
In addition to aesthetic perception, holly mahonia in the garden has a practical function. The crop is an early honey plant and attracts pollinating insects. Weeds do not grow under the dense crown of the bush. The berries are used for jam, filling for baked goods, and in folk medicine. The plant is frost-resistant and can be used in landscape design in regions with temperate climates.
What types of mahonia are suitable for creating a hedge?
In its natural habitat, mahonia has about 80 varieties, different in the shape of the bush, the structure of the leaves, and the color of the inflorescences. Based on wild species, hybrids ranging from creeping to large-sized ones have been created for landscape design. To create a hedge, in addition to the holly type, the following are suitable:
- Lomarialeaf Takeda – grows up to 2.5 m, inflorescences – 20-30 cm, leaves are pinnate and long. The aroma is weak, the berries are edible. Heat-loving, average frost resistance, requires shelter for the winter. It grows quickly.
- Hybrid Winter sun created on the basis of wild-growing lomarifolia and japonica. Flowering occurs in late autumn; in cold regions it is grown in botanical gardens. In the subtropical zone in an open area. Grows up to 2 m.
- By hybridizing mahonia holly and common barberry, the species was created Magobarberry Newberg. The plant reaches 1.2 m in height. The culture borrowed its frost resistance from barberry, and its decorative crown and absence of thorns from mahonia.
- Fremonti – large-sized (up to 3 m) with gray-green leaves with pale (closer to beige) flowers.Young leaves are burgundy, by autumn they turn gray. The fruits are red with a purple tint. The seedling grows quickly, forms a dense crown, and is frost-resistant.
- Mahonia japonica Chereti – the tallest representative of the species, grows up to 4-5 m. Branching is average; for hedges it is planted in a dense planting. The leaves are curved, without thorns, bright green, burgundy-purple in autumn. The flowers are yellow, the berries are dark blue. The variety is frost-resistant, growth is slow, and does not require crown formation.
- The variety is suitable for creating borders Denver Strain, growing up to 35 cm, with glossy black berries and leathery leaves of a dark olive color.
How to plant mahonia to create a hedge
To create a hedge from Mahonia holly, two-year-old seedlings are chosen. Work is carried out in the spring before sap flow. Landing sequence:
- The planting hole should be twice as wide as the root system and 45-50 cm deep.
- Drainage and fertile mixture are placed at the bottom.
- The seedling is placed in the center and deepened so that the root collar remains on the surface.
- Fall asleep, tamp down, water abundantly.
The distance between the bushes is left at least 1 m. The crop grows slowly upward, but intensively forms basal shoots, and in 3 years it can completely fill the free space.
Mahonia holly releases berberine into the soil, a substance poisonous to fruit and berry crops. Plum, honeysuckle, and apple trees can be planted nearby. It is not recommended to place currants, raspberries, and gooseberries next to each other; berberine inhibits the vegetation of these plants.
This is the only threat to culture.Mahonia holly does not get sick, it is not parasitized by garden pests. Possible damage is burning of young leaves and freezing of shoots, so protection is required for the winter.
Trimming and shaping compositions
The time for pruning mahonia holly depends on the planting density. If the planting is sparse, the plant is not touched until it fills the entire space. In early spring, cosmetic cleaning is carried out, old branches are removed, and young branches are cut by a quarter. If the goal of landscape design is to form a hedge, after achieving the desired density, pruning is done 2 times a year.
At the first stage, the desired shape is given, then it is maintained throughout the summer. The main pruning is early spring, mid-August. Landscape design techniques include the option of planting low-growing flowering perennials near the mahonia. To prevent mahonia holly from interfering with the growth of flowers, in this composition the lower young shoots are cut off from the main trunks and the leaves are removed. Only the upper part of the bush remains dense.
What plants does holly mahonia combine with?
In the spring, mahonia harmoniously combines with early flowering plants:
- daffodils;
- irises;
- roses;
- tulips.
In summer, mahonia holly adds color to a composition with low-growing and taller flowers:
- azalea;
- magnolia;
- camellia;
- Erica.
Looks harmonious with cotoneaster, Japanese quince, and shadberry. In the design of the territory, preference is given to the proximity of large conifers: thuja, cypress, Japanese pine. Mahonia is placed in the foreground, as a tapeworm or in one line for tagging conifers. To create a hedge, plant alternating:
- with spirea;
- vesicular carp;
- hawthorn;
- snowberry;
- euonymus.
Shrubs have different terms and duration of flowering, and the color of the leaves varies. The care and pruning time requirements are the same. The photo shows an example of the use of mahonia holly in landscape design in a composition.
Conclusion
Holly mahonia in landscape design provides unlimited opportunities for creative work for professionals and amateurs. The shrub has a decorative habit throughout the year. Harmoniously complements any composition. The variety is undemanding in care and soil composition, frost-resistant. Can grow in open areas and in partial shade.
