Mahonia aquifolium 'Apollo' - Oregon grape
An old-fashioned plant that is so easy to grow can turn into a jewel in your garden if you give it what it needs. We are used to seeing it in country gardens where it does not look its best, often put in the silliest corner, just waiting for the autumn to be sheared like sheep for the attractive evergreen leaves.
Apollo is a modern variety offering leathery, deep green, holly-like but pinnate leaves with serrated or thorny leaf margins, and mainly beautiful flowers that come out in profusion every year in April. They are deep yellow and have a strong but fresh fragrance.This is a low growing shrub that loves a semi-shaded spot or full sun if well mulched. Provide moist, acidic and well drained soil and fertilize it every couple of years, and the plant will show what it is really worth. Pruning is possible after flowering. The flowers may come out early in the spring but frosts cannot damage them, mahonia can even flower under a load of snow. Fully hardy to -29°C (USDA zone 5, possibly 4 with protection).
