Evergreen ornamental shrubs are an excellent culture for landscaping a country house. Planting them in the garden, a person gets the opportunity to create a unique atmosphere in the infield, which will reign all year round. They perfectly decorate the site in the summer heat, creating the necessary partial shade, and in winter, looking beautiful against the backdrop of snow.
general information
Today, around the world, breeders have bred a large number of such ornamental plants.
Many gardeners plant unusual exotic cultures with a striking appearance on their private courtyards. Thanks to them, a unique landscape design is created on the plots. One of such bright exotic plants is the holly magonia - an evergreen shrub. It has decorative foliage, yellow flowers and eye-catching blue berries. Subject to all agrotechnical standards for the cultivation of padonbear magonia, you can get a strong and incredibly beautiful plant. And this despite the fact that the culture was brought to us from North America. This article provides a description of the holony magonia and considers the features of caring for it.
Homeland of the plant
This low evergreen shrub belongs to the genus Magonia and is part of a large family of barberry. His homeland is North America. It was from this continent that the holly magonia came to other continents, having received enormous distribution. This amazing plant existed in the era of the Indians. The latter used it as food and for the treatment of certain diseases.
But the holly mahonia was officially recognized only in 1806, when it was discovered in the North American forests by the American gardener Bernard Mack Mahon, who gave this culture a full description. It was in his honor that this ornamental plant was named. In European countries, holly magonia appeared only in 1822, almost immediately becoming a frequent adornment of city gardens and parks. We have this exotic plant appeared much later - only in the middle of the nineteenth century. Culture quickly won the hearts of domestic gardeners.
Description
Holly paddy is a evergreen low shrub that does not lose its decorative effect throughout the year. Culture can become the central element of garden design in any season: in the summer it is literally strewn with beautiful leaves and flowers, in the autumn berries also appear on it, and in winter it is decorated with branches and a reddened crown. The height of the bush of mahonia holly can reach one and a half meters. That is why it is ideal for framing paths in the garden and creating hedges. A large number of shoots are formed on the shrub, tightly adjacent to each other. They create a fairly dense and compact crown. In young plants, the shoots are painted in a pinkish-gray delicate shade, which changes with the growth of magonia. In an adult bush, the bark is brownish-gray and has longitudinal stripes.
The main decoration of this culture, as a result of which the hollow magonia is used very widely in landscape design, is its foliage, which remains decorative year-round. Often this plant is used in the manufacture of Christmas wreaths. The leaves of the magonia holly are quite large, slightly leathery and have a smooth shiny surface. On average, their length reaches twenty centimeters. They are pinnate and have a complex structure. By their appearance, the leaves resemble oak. This is evidenced by the name of the plant - "magonia holly."
Bloom
To date, several decorative varieties of this plant have been bred. The most popular are such varieties as Apollo, Atropurpurea, Magobarbaris Newberta, Baby. Flowers of magonia holly are collected in large inflorescences paniculate or racemose.
They themselves are very small - 7-9 millimeters in diameter. The shape resembles bells painted in a bright lemon color. Therefore, large inflorescences of this plant are immediately evident. The flowering period is in April and May. In the gardens where this culture grows, at this time begins a real bright "holiday". That is why many gardeners plant this shrub on their sites.
Berries
Fruits on this shrub appear only towards the end of summer or the beginning of autumn. They are oblong and reach a diameter of 1 cm. The color of the berries are dark blue with a bluish bloom and have some fluff. The pulp of the fruits of the mahonia holly has a pleasant sour-sweet taste. Berry picking should be carried out in the last decade of August or early September. They are widely used as a dye for juices and wines.
Many beginner gardeners doubt whether it is possible to eat the berries of mahonia holly. The answer is definitely positive. Moreover, these fruits make an incredibly tasty jam.
Growing Features
Holly paddy is a winter-hardy plant. She is able to tolerate frosts to minus thirty degrees. Culture quietly grows and develops in any climatic conditions. The bush is most affected by abrupt changes in thaw and severe frost. In regions where such weather changes often occur or where frosty but snowless winters are frequent, it is necessary to partially or completely cover the culture.
On the territory of central Russia, adult mahonia does not require such protection, but young can be covered with lapnik. But in the north, for example, in Arkhangelsk, it is desirable to well cover the root system of adult bushes. In some warm latitudes, magonia holly may re-bloom in October. At the same time, inflorescences on the bushes remain throughout the winter, and the fruits ripen by May. This plant feels great in the Russian south, in particular in the Crimea or the Caucasus.
Care
Like any other decorative culture, this plant also requires attention and care. Holly magonia, the care of which even a novice gardener can take care of, pleases with its bright lemon flowers and abundant fruiting. The process consists in timely watering, cultivation and top dressing.
This is especially true for young bushes, which require an increased amount of moisture. Beauty Magonia often needs to be watered in the dry season. Typically, each plant requires one bucket of water. Watering regularity should be at least twice a week. After each supply of moisture, it is necessary to carry out irrigation of the crown, which has a beneficial effect on the general condition of the plant. It is imperative that the soil be loosened after irrigation, since magonium prefers light soil. In dense substrates, the plant slows down in growth or even withers. In the process of loosening, weeds should be carefully cleaned, while you need to work carefully so as not to damage the numerous root offspring. To minimize the process of loosening, you can mulch the soil around the bush with peat or dry wood sawdust.
How is mahonia propagated?
This representative of the barberry family reproduces in several ways. The propagation of the hollow magonia can be carried out by cuttings - green or root, young shoots of roots and seeds. The most time-consuming method is the last. The most successful method is planting the root growth of mahonia.
How to plant
In order for the plant to take root well and develop normally, you need to know some of the features of the plantation of magonia holly. First of all, they relate to the timing. It is best to plant a plant in early spring so that its roots develop before the onset of cold weather. Paddy-footed mahonia does not tolerate transplants. Therefore, experienced gardeners recommend purchasing only seedlings with a closed root system.
The landing site should be light or slightly darkened, but be sure to be sheltered from the wind. The soil of mahonia loves fertile loose, neutral or slightly acidic. Before landing, you should definitely dig the ground. If the site is heavy soil, then you need to make a drainage of coarse pebbles or gravel in the pit. It is advisable to add humus, turfy soil and sand to the ground .
In the case of single plantings, the distance to the neighboring plant should be two, and for group plantings, one meter. The depth of the room in the soil is 40-50 centimeters. The root neck does not need to be dug up: it should be at ground level.
One more piece of advice: since the holly magonia is a non-self-pollinating plant, it requires at least two or three shrubs to be planted in order to get a crop.
Major diseases and pests
In general, this representative of the barberry family has established itself as a plant resistant to various ailments. However, he can be overtaken by illness. Most often, mahonia is affected by spotting, rust and powdery mildew. An important role in the process of caring for this plant is played by preventive spraying. For example, the shrub can be protected from spotting by treating with preparations containing copper. From powdery mildew, which is a white coating that appears on the petioles and lower or upper sides of leaves, experienced gardeners recommend using Fundazole, Callatan, or colloidal sulfur. Spray the plant twice a month. Various sulfur-containing preparations defeat rust. The spring treatment of the foliage “Tsinebom” also protects against this ailment.
Healing properties
The root and bark of mahogany, which contain a significant amount of valuable components, including tannins with ascorbic acid, is used in folk medicine as a medicine that helps maintain the body's tone and improve appetite. In these parts of the plant there is a very large number of biologically active components such as berberine, copper, manganese, zinc, sodium and silicon. The presence of these substances makes it possible to use the collected plant material of the cortex for homeopathic purposes, for example, for the treatment of many dry and scaly skin diseases, including even psoriasis.
Moreover, preparations made on the basis of mahonia improve blood circulation and lymph outflow, and also strengthen the walls of blood vessels or small capillaries.
The berries of this plant have a pronounced antibacterial and antiviral effect. They are recommended to be used in the form of tinctures for cholecystitis and hepatitis, blockage or inflammatory processes in the biliary tract, impaired intestinal microflora.