Mahonia eurybracteata, a yellow-blooming fall shrub

Native to China, Mahonia eurybracteata was brought to us only two decades ago.

Mahonia eurybracteata facts

Name – Mahonia eurybracteata
Former name – Mahonia confusa
Family – Berbericaceae (barberry)

Type – evergreen low shrub
Height – about 3′ tall (1m)

Exposure: part sun or shade – Soil: average, better if rich – Blooming: fall

Growing this plant in your garden will definitely give it an elegant Asian touch! This mahonia plant with wispy, bamboo-like leaves will stand out in both gardens and planters.

The variety most often found in stores is the Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’.

Planting Mahonia eurybracteata

Specimens bought from a store

You’ll generally find the Mahonia eurybracteata in the form of potted shrubs.

• Best is to plant them in the ground in spring, followed by fall.

Follow these guidelines on how to plant a shrub.

Where to plant your new Mahonia

As long as the soil isn’t waterlogged, anywhere in the garden is fine.

• Don’t plant in a spot with stagnant or standing water.

It thrives most in shade or part shade, so you can plant it in the following situations:

• In a shrub bed or flower bed around the house, near a wall, or to the side of a garden shed.
• North-facing part of the house (or South-facing if you’re in Australia or New Zealand)
• At the brink of your tree forest
• Under tall trees

Sowing Mahonia eurybracteata from seed

Seeds can be sown in late winter in nursery pots, indoors.

• After about a month, they’ll germinate.
• Keep them in nursery pots, upsizing them until fall when you can transplant them to the ground.
• Alternatively, transplant them directly in the ground in spring if you’re available over the summer to water them in case of hot weather.

Mahonia eurybracteata propagation

Cuttings are a sure way to get an exact match, and it also blooms earlier. Seed-grown shrubs tend to have a longer lifespan.

Cuttings

Cuttings and layering are two very effective ways to propagate your M. eurybracteata.

These techniques do work very well. When preparing cuttings, it’s best to select stems at the end of summer.

• How to perform cuttings

When air-layering or marcotting, remember to stake the stem you’re working with.

Reproduction with seeds

Your Mahonia eurybracteata will bear hundreds of berries, each of which contains from 2 to 5 seeds. That’s a lot of sowing power!

• Since Mahonia eurybracteata is still rather rare in our parts, seeds will either appear from self-pollination or from cross-pollination with other species.
• Common mahonia is often the “Mahonia aquifolia” species which is different but sometimes cross-fertile with the Mahonia eurybracteata species.
• Because of cross-pollination, it’s probable that not all flowers go to seed. Also, only few seeds will be fertile and germinate!
• More specifically on the Mahonia berry

Dividing the clump

This Mahonia will send out shoots from the base. It’s possible to split the plant clump with a sharp spade.

• Spring is when to divide this plant.

Mahonia eurybracteata care

This shrub will fend off on its own in the ground, but in pots you must water and give it fertilizer.

Watering & Fertilizer

Watering M. eurybracteata

Only during the first year will you need to water the plant. Indeed, the root system isn’t very developed at the start, and it’s important to help it through the first summer heat waves.

• In the following years, only water during long, hot droughts.
• Heat won’t kill the plant, but if it doesn’t have any water at all, it will dry out and die.
• Drought tolerance only appears once the plant is well established.

M. eurybracteata can develop quite a deep root system if need be, with time.

Fertilizer

Not much fertilizer is needed. It will survive on poor soil, but for it to thrive you must give it some sort of fertilizer at least yearly.

• A great option is to make your own fertilizer from weeds such as horsetail and stinging nettle.
• When growing your Mahonia eurybracteata in pots, if it’s too large to repot, then go for topdressing every two or three years.

Pruning Mahonia eurybracteata

Unless it grows too large, you won’t need to trim this slow-growing plant.

Trimming

There usually isn’t any need to prune the plant. All the species and cultivars won’t grow very large for a shrub. Expect it to reach a maximum size of 1 yard or meter tall and wide.

• If you do need to trim it smaller, do so in spring

Controlling spread and invasiveness

Usually, these hardy plants are slow growers. They’re easy to keep under control. If, however, they start growing too large for the plot of land you’ve allocated to them, there are several things you can do:

• cut dead flowers off when they’ve wilted away. This will deprive you of those edible berries, but it’ll also keep the seeds from sprouting.
• If you’ve the time, better harvest the mahonia instead and use the seeds for food!
• Divide the clump and gift or discard the portion you remove. You’ll only need to this once or twice a decade, though.

Caring for M. eurybracteata in winter & summer

Winter care

This shrub is rather hardy, coping with cold weather dropping down to 14-15°F (-10°C).

• Remember, however, to shelter it from strong winds.
• In open ground, it won’t be as hardy.

You can protect the plant in winter if it gets any colder. Depending on the species and cultivar, some leaves might turn red and/or fall off during stark freezing.

• Winterizing shrubs

Summer care

It will help to spread mulch at the foot of your shrub. This will keep the soil from drying out.

• Mulch will reduce evaporation and keep the ground cooler
• You won’t need to water except during the hottest days, and then only just a bit.
• Any type of mulch will do, there aren’t any better or worse mulches for this plant, but plant mulch will also double as fertilizer.

Diseases and pests that attack M. eurybracteata

There aren’t many diseases or pests that will attack your plant. It’s still rare to see such plants, and local diseases haven’t yet taken hold on it.

You might notice aphids in spring, especially if ants are nearby.

• dealing with aphids
• natural ways of getting rid of ants

Varieties and species of Mahonia eurybracteata

More and more special, beautiful varieties have appeared on the market, here are some of the most amazing.

• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Beijing beauty’ – leaves are laced with small teeth
• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Sweet Winter’ – among the narrowest, softest leaves
• ‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia eurybracteata (subspecies ganpinensis) – the easiest and most common variety, simply wonderful in planters.
• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Chalingba’ (subspecies ganpinensis) – long, elegant leaves with two to four soft spikes along thick, leathery leaves.
• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Marvel’ – smooth-edged leaves quite unlike any other variety
• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Narihira’ (or ‘Nara hiri’) – also a rather common variety, requires more water than others.
• Mahonia eurybracteata ‘Indigo flair’ (or ‘sPg-3-018’ for the specific variety name) – a special variety with deep purple-green leafage.

Botanists distinguish two main types of Mahonia eurybracteata.

• Mahonia eurybracteata subspecies eurybracteata which is slightly more widespread in its native range. It has slightly wider leaves, nearly an inch wide (2.5 cm).
• Mahonia eurybracteata subspecies ganpinensis which has a more reduced native range, but is now more common since it has started to naturalize in different places across the planet. Leaves are narrower, maxing out at about ½ inch (1.5 cm).

Learn more about the magnificent Mahonia eurybracteata species

Threadlike leaves that sway in the wind

You’ll be immediately swayed off your feet when you first set your eyes on a wonderful Mahonia eurybracteata plant.

The beautiful thin leaves are soft and don’t have the typical “Mahonia spine” thorns or pricks on them. They’re still quite leathery to the touch, though, which makes them feel smooth (and helps fight drought, too).

Usually, the deep olive-green to silver-blue leafage is evergreen. In only turns red and falls in the coldest of regions.

Brilliant yellow flowers

And when the sun starts feeling far away, in fall, a power-packed yellow bloom takes you by surprise with a scent similar to that of the yellow mimosa tree.

Benefits for home & health

Mahonia eurybracteata, like its cousins in the Mahonia genus, has many uses. For example, it can be used to dye food and clothes.

• Also: health benefits of Mahonia

Tart but delicious berries

It’s perfectly possible to eat the berries that form afterwards: Mahonia eurybracteata berries are edible.

• A favorite recipe is in the form of berry jam, but there’s also liquor, syrup and more. More about cooking with mahonia.
• Especially if you preserve extra mahonia berries for later use!

Where does Mahonia eurybracteata come from?

It’s native to Chinese area. Recently, new varieties have been introduced. Almost all varieties available in English-speaking countries are protected by patents.

Specifically, some of the native varieties are endemic to the Sichuan province. As such, they grew up near the famed Sichuan pepper tree!