Mahonia x media Charity

Mahonia x media 'Charity' is a classic in gardens that are a little shaded, appreciated for its beautiful and long yellow and fragrant winter flowering. This large bush also has a very particular habit that gives it an exotic and impressive appearance throughout the year. Its long, evergreen and shiny leaves are divided into spiky leaflets. This highly structured plant will bring colour in winter and a verticality that could be described as a bit daring to any setting.

Mahonia 'Charity' belongs to the family of Berberidaceae. This cultivar is probably the result of hybridization between Mahonia japonica, a small plant, and M. lomariifolia 'Takeda', a much larger one. Both these bushes originate from Japan and China. 'Charity' eventually forms a beautiful bush about 3-4m (9ft 10in-13ft) in all directions. Its growth, quite slow during the first years, then accelerates. Growing on a single trunk that tends to become bare over the years, this Mahonia has an erect, weakly spreading habit, supported by sparsely branched branches. The evergreen foliage is composed of long leaves arranged in rosettes on the stems. Measuring 30 to 40cm (11.8 to 15.7in) in length, they are divided into 21 leaflets arranged in an opposite manner along the central vein, on an almost horizontal plane. Each leaflet, lanceolate in shape, has a tough texture and a spiny and undulate edge. The colour of the young foliage is a fairly light green, darkening in summer, before sometimes taking on more purplish hues in winter. The flowering, long in the heart of winter, extends from the end of autumn (December) to the heart of winter (January-February). The inflorescences are semi-erect to slightly arched, assembled in rosettes at the ends of the young stems. These clusters, measuring up to 20-30cm (7.9-11.8in), are composed of numerous small campanulate flowers of a bright lemon yellow. They are nectar-rich and visited by bees and bumblebees. Their scent is somewhat reminiscent of lily of the valley, but lighter. The flowers give way to small blue berries covered in bloom, decorative and weakly toxic to humans, but appreciated by birds.

A true winter sun, mahonia becomes the focal point in the garden when other plants are dormant. It can replace, for gardeners in cold regions, the southern mimosa, proportionately, both in the garden and in bouquets. Its original, graphic, and highly structured habit adds character to a large slightly shaded planting. For example, associate it with ferns, the blue flowers of Hepaticas or wood hyacinths. To hide the slightly bare base of the bush, consider perennial geraniums or white germander, which is evergreen and really undemanding. A group of 3 subjects placed in a triangle will create a quite spectacular grove. If it is placed at the corner of a terrace or a porch, it will fragrance the air and bring colour close to the house during the gloomy days of winter. This Mahonia can also be used in the composition of an informal or defensive hedge.