Mahonia aquifolium, Oregon Grape, is a winter flowering evergreen plant that can be used as an informal hedge, although it isn't suitable for clipped, formal hedging. It will grow in any well drained soil and it tolerates shade.
It can be grown as a screening shrub up to about 3 metres high.
Oregon Grape plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).
All of our young trees and shrubs are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).
View our selection of coastal hedging plants or see our full range of hedging.
Mahonia makes an attractive, solid row of screening plants with a rough, wild look to them.
Plant it at 2 plants per metre, with 50cms between each plant.
For a really bushy hedge, we suggest interplanting Mahonia with Berberis darwinii.
Mahonia is a very useful evergreen for bringing colour to your garden. It has profuse yellow flowers in late winter and spring that mature into blue-black berries. Both the flowers and fruit are edible, although the berries contain lots of seeds and not very much flesh. The spiky, glossy green leaves are similar to holly and although they are evergreen, they change colour to deep red in autumn.
Mahonia is a suckering shrub, producing new stems from ground level and, over time, producing a small thicket.
This North American shrub was introduced to Britain in the 1890's and can now be found growing wild in many areas. You can harvest the flowers and infuse them with water to make a refreshing drink and the ripe berries are good to add to cereal or to make jam with.