PlantFiles: Leatherleaf Mahonia, Beale's Barberry
Mahonia bealei

I have grown one specimen of this plant in Arlington, Texas, under high deciduous shade in rather poor, sandy soil, which is now nearly 20 years old. It has stayed healthy, flowering and setting berries every year, but grown very slowly, and is still barely 3 feet tall, with three main stems. We like it enough we planted a second one two years ago, which is also doing well, but growing very slowly. Both are quite drouth and heat tolerant, given sufficient shade and mulch. They appear to have no pests or diseases in our area.

I hadn't seen mahonia before buying our current house, where it has seeded everywhere. The berries are edible to people and animals (sour!), so the birds have done their part to spread this around. There is a speciman at the back of my property that is almost 10 ft. tall, looks very spindley with just a tuft of leather leaves at the top.

I give this a negative because simply based on the number in my yard it is very invasive. It readily self-seeds and the attractive berries means animals will seed it as well. I have multiple mahonia 'stump clumps' in my yard that are anywhere from 2-5 inches across where previous residents have cut the plant down. Trust me, it doesn't work: each of those stump clumps has one or more new plants on it. The few I have managed to dig up have both a tap-like root and a thick horizontal root structure: much like a tree, expect the mahonia root system under the ground to be about the same size of the plant above the ground. Between this root system and the prickley leaves, digging this up is an absolute CHORE! I've managed to dig up 3 out of over 20: I'm starting with the small ones first.

Another con is that my area doesn't get cold enough for the leaves to change quite properly, so the bright reds and yellows mahonia is known for are sporadic at best.

The positives I can give this plant are the beautiful berries (as others have described) and the exceptionally bright yellow color of the root flesh. I haven't tried yet, but I am fairly certain you could make dye or ink out of it. Also, the spikey leaves make it a very good security planting at property lines, in front of windows, etc.

For those that want this plant, I will happily trade full clumps of the over-ripe berries for seeds. Also, I saw it in the Home Depot garden center just this week.

We had quite a large 3ft specimen growning on it's side by a creek bed, it was in great shape so we decided to dig it up & try and transplant it to our shady planting bed where we have another Mahonia, only 10 ft away, We did this just a couple of weeks ago & the leaves have all yellowed, we are hoping that it lives and comes back strong. Does anyone know if they are difficult to transplant?

I dug up a start of this bush from my sister in laws large, beautiful, bush, located in Alabama. I dug up the sprout in October, 2006 and kept it over the winter in our green house. It is almost May now and it is doing great. It is green, strong and has many new shoots. I am looking forward to seeing it grow and flourish in my own back yard in Worthville, Kentucky.

I saw this plant in a garden at the Highland Lake Inn near Hendersonville, NC at the end of May - at least I think it was this plant. The cluster of berries almost looked like grapes, with less "ripe" ones looking green and more ripe ones like a deep purple. From a Northerner this plant was unusual and striking, and I assumed it was an ilex (which I am more familiar with).

This is another favorite in the Deep South for its evergreen structural presence, very early Spring, fragrant flowers, and big powdery blue berries. At my grandparent's home, now the home of my 97 year old Aunt, in South Georgia, a huge one, planted in the 1950's, grows against a white open-brick-work wall, which emphasizes the deep blue-green color of its leaves. This very old, large plant is growing in the part shade of large oaks, with evergreen Aspidistra and Liriope.

My Southern Living Garden Book says Leatherleaf Mahonia grows to about 10 to 12 feet tall, and I have seen old plants taller than this. My book also says it will grow in the Coastal South, but I haven't seen any yet here in the plant nurseries in Northcentral Florida, zone 8b. But I am sure I will eventually find one.

I don't own this plant YET, but a client of mine does. It is an awesome looking very unusual plant! Leaves look just like Holly to me, only a little bit larger. The blue berries look JUST like blueberries, only a tad more oval, and they cascade like bunches of grapes. I'm definitely going to try to add this one to my little shade garden, if I can locate one!

I love this shrub because it so unusual. Visitors to my garden often think it is a holly at first, but the shape of the leaves just isn't quite right. Then they notice (if it's the right time of year) that is is flowering in February - long stalks of fragrant yellow flowers. In the spring/early summer the blue berries appear, almost the size of a grape. The birds feast. At least in my neighborhood it's a show stopper.

GROWTH HABIT, RATE:
Upright and coarse habit (large stems and leaves).
Annual Growth Rate: less than 12 inches

Leatherleaf Mahonia is a large shrub with
holly-like, bluish leaves and many upright stems. The small
fragrant yellow flowers are produced in large
clusters. These are followed by blue clusters of hanging fruit that are often eaten by birds.
ADAPTABILITY:
Moist, well-drained soils, requires acid pH. Performs best if given some winter protection.

FUNCTIONS:
Specimen, massing, border, best where flower fragrance can be appreciated in the spring.

PROBLEMS AND MAINTENANCE:
May become leggy and require pruning. Winter scorch on leaves in colder zones.