x media Winter Sun Mahonia
number1gardner
Posts: 2
in Plants
Ive just bought the above,which has beautiful red leaves.
Its classed as an evergreen,so can somebody tell me what happens next,will the leaves drop?
And how do i care for it in general. Many Thanks.
0
Posts
Mahonia are usually tough as old boots.
They don't drop their leaves - hence evergreen.
Some info here that may help -
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=3434
Last edited: 03 November 2016 11:43:03
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Thanku for your reply. I've had Mahonia before, but never one with red leaves. WIll they drop and grow fresh As pictures show me green leaves, bit confused as I know they are evergreen. .
I have had one for years, (not winter sun) but I never saw red leaves.
I replaced my old mahonia as it was not in the best position and bought a M media "winter sun" It is still small but flowers are appearing.
It is a thorny brute of a plant but the flowers in January are lovely and the birds like the ripe berries. They seem to be very tough indeed in my garden. It took two men the best part of a morning to get the old one out with its roots .
I had cut it back within and inch of its life last autumn and it started growing again before I replaced it.
Last edited: 03 November 2016 12:35:00
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
I have 2 mahonias - no idea of the variety.
They both have some leaves that are red, I'm not sure what happens next, I've never kept a close eye on them.
Hopefully someone will be along soon who knows more than we do.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
all evergreens drop leaves at some point, but not all at the same time as deciduous plants do. Have you got a photo? Young growth as well as old will show red on some of the mahonias. A photo will help assess whether or not you have a problem
In the sticks near Peterborough
Old red leaves on mahonia x media tend to imply it's been slightly starved in its pot. Mahonia aquifolium does it readily, but the taller m. x media and m. japonica types need to be under stress for the leaves to redden as if colouring up for autumn. That said, old leaves will drop off throughout the second half of the year as they age and some go reddish. As long as there is fresh growth towards the top and the flower buds are set I doubt there's anything amiss with yours. Be aware, too, that the new growth of many mahonias, including 'Winter Sun', has a dull purplish hue to it. That would imply it's been grown protected somewhere and has kept producing new growth later than normal.
H-C