In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

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November 6, 2007

Chronicles of nandina

Nandina - you see it everywhere. But no matter how tired I get of seeing it everywhere all summer, come autumn it never fails to attract my attention.

The large, finely cut leaves turn shades of green, orange, red and yellow. The real show, though, is the berries. Grown in full sun, nandina can produce long, swags of fat red berries clustered tightly together. Held above the plant on long stems, they make great additions to a fall bouquet. In addition, the plant is so generous with stems of berries you can cut and cut and still have plenty for outside.

Also called heavenly bamboo, nandina makes a multi-stemmed, tightly packed shrub. There are low growing varieties that barely top 12 inches, while others can grow to six or more feet tall. Foliage ranges from plump to elegant to feathery. It tolerates a wide range of soil and water conditions. While it grows well in the shade, it makes berries more easily with lots of sun.

I have a row of nandina planted in a rock wall against the house, and it gets no summer water at all. I have another row planted alongside a honeysuckle arbor where it gets more shade and weekly watering. Both clumps reward me with spectacular foliage and berries. The nandina planted in the sun with no water is more reliable in terms of fall foliage color, and long clusters of tiny berries. The nandina planted in the shade keeps its leaves green year round, but makes bigger clusters of berries.

To keep the plants bushy and neat, cut away two or three old stems each year.

Otherwise, just stand back and enjoy the show.

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