Catalog Description
Excellent shrub for massed planting as hedge or screen or planted singly for color accent. New holly-like growth has bronze-red coloring. Purplish-red leaves in winter. Yellow flowers followed by blue berries. Full to partial sun. Irregular, erect stems; grows to 3 to 6 feet tall and wide. Seed grown. |
Design Ideas
This valuable Western native is at home under the high canopies of the pine and fir forests of its home range on the Pacific Coast. A very appropriate plant for natural wild gardens in the Western states, where it is reliably deer resistant. Tall and thin, it is perfect for very narrow spaces at tight gateways and side yards. Often planted hedge-style against fences and walls, but may be used as a freestanding hedge in narrow slots between driveways. Blends into plantings of acid-loving shrubs and trees. Fills odd spots and covers water pipe valves and utility boxes. A common plant in both drought-resistant and Western native landscapes. Works well in Japanese gardens.
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Companion Plants
Oregon Grape grows in the wild with Lemon Leaf (Gaultheria shallon), Vancouver Jade Kinnikinick (Arctostaphyllus uva-ursi `Vancouver Jade`) and a relative of American Rhododendron (Rhododendron catawbiense `America`).
It is at home beneath native trees such as Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), Santa Cruz Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens `Santa Cruz`) and Rocky Mountain Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii `Glauca`).
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Average Landscape Size
Irregular, erect stems; grows to 3 to 6 ft. tall and wide. |
Key Plant Benefits
Excellent shrub for massed planting as hedge or screen or planted singly for color accent. New growth has bronze-red coloring. Purplish-red leaves in winter. Yellow flowers followed by blue berries. |
Care Instructions
Follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system. Watering can be reduced after establishment. Feed with a general purpose fertilizer before new growth begins in spring. |
Growth Conditions
| Growth Rate |
 Moderate Growing |
| Growth Habit |
| Erect |
| Heat Zones |
High:
| 9 (>120 to 150 days) |
| Low: | 3 (>7 to 14 days) |
| Cold Hardiness |
| High: | 9 (20 to 30 F) (see map) |
| Low: | 5 (-20 to -10 F) |
| Water Requirements |
| Water regularly, when top 3 in. of soil is dry. |
| Sun Exposure |
| Full to partial sun |
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Flowering
Flower or Bloom description:
Spike-like clusters of cup-shaped flowers
| Flower Color |
| Yellow |
| Flowering Time/Season |
| Spring flowers, summer fruit. |
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Propagation
| Propagation Method |
1
| Seed grown |
| Best time to Prune |
| Spring after flowering |
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Attributes
Border Plant
Attractive Fruit
Edible Fruit
Fragrant
Fruit-Bearing
Hedge Plant
Attracts Wildlife
Native Plant
Patio Container Plant
Berries
Spring Flowering
Year-round Interest
Woodland Garden
Deer Resistant
Disease Resistant |
Foliage
Spiny edges, divided into leaflets, glossy
| Foliage Shape | Oval |
| Normal foliage color | Green |
| Underside foliage | Green |
| Juvenile foliage | Bronze |
| Mature foliage | Green |
| New foliage | Bronze |
| Spring foliage | Bronze |
| Summer foliage | Green |
| Fall foliage | Green |
| Winter foliage | Purple |
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Plant Lore
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Plant History
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New Plant
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