Mahonia, again

Last week, I blogged about Berberis haematocarpa and it's resemblance to Mahonia.    I illustrated this by posting some photos of Oregon grapeholly, or M. aquifolium, but another common Mahonia species is M. bealei or the leatherleaf mahonia.  Here's a shot of one growing in northern Virginia.

 

Leatherleaf mahonia has, as the common name implies, thicker, larger leaves with sharp spines.  It's stiffer plant than M. aquifolium though is also far hardier. You're more likely to encounter this performing well in zone 6, which makes sense when one considers this species is native to China. 

 You can see the small yellow flower buds have already taken shape on this plant.  Mahonia bealei does bloom much sooner than M. aquifolium, and will display yellow, slightly fragrant flowers as soon as January.  After they bloom, the plant sets large blue berries which tend to languish on the plant, since its non-native status means local wildlife generally avoid the fruit.  (Read: deer-resistant.)

Though it's tempting to use a broadleaved evergreen - especially one that deer avoid and has showy flowers and fruit - I'd pass on Mahonia bealei.  The plant is invasive and threatens to become a management problem in forests where it's begun to appear.